The following is a response to a CAD service provider who was asking about the future of CAD in jewelry stores and if that is the future.

     Providing custom fine jewelry created by CAD in jewelry stores was the future many years ago. As a fellow CAD service provider with double digit years of experience, I was able to ride the technological wave that brought CAD to the small mom and pop shops. It was the best of times. As a retailer, I had found my niche that gave my store a competitive advantage over the competition. Customers were happy and helped spread the word resulting in significant revenue.

     Providing fine custom to the customers derived from CAD is still going strong. There are several roadblocks to new jewelers adopting this strategy. One is the fear of technology. This technology is simple and cost effective to those with experience, but to the inexperienced, it is a scary box of unknowns hidden under the bed. Many will never pull the box out and open it. Another problem is the current cost of precious metals. When the increase of CAD being utilized by stores was at its greatest, gold was hovering around $350 an ounce and platinum was around $500. The low cost of precious metals allowed a company to invest heavily into CAD and since the jewelry could be priced competitively, a good return on investment was easily achieved.

      What retailers need to do in this unfriendly economic situation is to find a way to present goods and services that fit the times. Many are increasing inventory in cheaper goods to match the pocket books of customers. Each retailer has to find their competitive advantage, and use it prosper.

    What you and I need to do as CAD service providers is to find our own competitive advantage so that we appeal to the potential customer, in this case jewelry companies. Here are some things that set me apart: One is my experience. I owned a jewelry company that adopted CAD when the wave was just starting. Even after selling the company six years ago, my experience was enhanced by working with subtraction rapid prototype machines and the most common additive RP machines. Second would be my charges. With experience, speed came along. This allows for a reasonable flat fee for files at $50. It is fairly easy to do four files a day. This low cost, along with what will work on each machine, is very attractive to customers. The third advantage is turnaround time. Since Hawaii, where I live, is several hours later than most of the mainland, the files are being created while the customer sleeps. Many times the customer will awaken with a viable file sitting in their email box.

   Like the jewelry companies, each CAD service provider needs to find their own niche and try to market themselves in their own way. It is all about providing a cost effective service or product that matches the needs of the customer. Things change, and when they do, we need to be ready to change as well.