Mannerisms

"LTC's return on sales, sometimes also called net income, is higher than anyone else's. Our margins range from 44 per cent to 38 per cent. My best competitor couldn't do 38 per cent at the best of times", says Linear Technology Corporation's Founder and Executive Chairman, Bob Swanson, adding, "we generate cash equivalent to net profits which hardly anyone else does, and our margins are higher than the pack's operating margins so we must be doing something different to the pack."

So what's different? "Our interest is for where we can add value and win business on the right terms", says Swanson, "we have to be more selective because we have competitors which can make products which are good enough. So long as we can do something that's better than the competition, we will."

"We want to go for sole-sourced proprietary products", adds Swanson, "customers say: 'We never use sole-sourced proprietary products'. So we committed to deliver on-time, and deliver defect-free products so we needed our own manufacturing."

To maintain a four to six week delivery time, LTC keeps a die bank containing 200m die to ensure customers get a four week delivery time.

In pursuit of a zero defect level, quality has been key. "We have achieved quality level most US companies won't even try to reach and which only Japanese companies and one European company have reached", says Swanson, "we have the best parts, the best delivery, and we turn inventory faster than anyone else in the industry."

So that's it. Make a part which is higher performing than anyone else's part. Deliver it quicker than anyone else delivers their parts. Maintain the highest quality level in the industry.

Easy when you know how.