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This is a very capital-intensive initiative, but certainly the giants we are serving wouldn't be scared by the investment. What they would be scared about would be the economics of this investment. And we have proven that with a large investment in technology and very few people operating in it, we can give a lower price to the customer than he could provide himself. - Federico Pacorini |
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| New Orleans: Federico Pacorini, Owner, SiloCaf of New Orleans, shows us his business -- processing tons of green coffee that arrive every week into the Port of New Orleans. SiloCaf cleans and sorts coffee beans before they go to the roasters. You will meet Frederico's team and will hear him explain how he has built this business by copying tried-and-true methods used in his plant in Trieste, Italy. This story demonstrates the powerful use of technology to develop a Smart Building where everybody and everything is on their computer network.  Lightbulb: The coffee business is
ancient, but Federico's approach is completely modern. And considering the
total cost of starting up this new venture, the investment in technology was
quite small. However, with only $10 million in sales, he has a great deal of
computer power. With 15 PCs that are networked together with a PC server, all
15 employees can share the same information. Now you might think this is
expensive, but probably not what you think it is. Technology officer Massimo
D'Amato thinks that leasing is better than buying. It is cost-effective,
efficient, and enables you to have the very newest technology available, and
any small-business owner can afford this.  Quality is the number one goal of SilCaf and Maurizio Zaves is the first step in making sure what they clean, sort, blend and bag is exactly what they ordered from their suppliers. He brews up and tastes many samples -- he says he only drinks espresso, never a cup of coffee as Americans prefer. This episode is a case study in the Ninth Edition of Business Today. Our veteran entrepreneur, Jim Schell, answers the question, "What is different about starting a business today than when you started your first company in 1967?" Here's what we learned from this episode . . .
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