The Cyndustries List

Hi Matt!

Basically all of us modular manufactures are artists doing something we love
to do and believe in.  We are not large companies, and if any single one of us
companies were to present our business plans to a banker then we would
be totally laughed right out of the bank. 

This would all be much easier for us if we just sold clay pots or something
fairly simple, but instead we choose to create complex products each using
hundreds of unique parts, and there are times when coordinating the flow of
all of these different parts for numerous different product designs can be
challenging.

Due to an extremely loyal, but tiny customer base - we are unable to simply
throw money at our challenges like other industries do, but must instead surf
the waves of parts availability, chemical compliance with new environmental
regulations, price hikes, and cash flow in order to get products shipped out the
door.  Perhaps it is easiest to think of it like biorhythms, when all three curves
actually align together, then we have a clear LAUNCH window and a product
will finally ship.

In the past I have explained that I never had any training in business or in
manufacturing, (I was a Cinematographer for many years with an absolutely
~perfect~ record of filming (43) independent feature films on-time and on-budget) 
however I took a bold step in starting Cyndustries and then spent the next two
years learning on the job just how complicated this business really is!  During
that time we had a lot of wonderful ideas and lots of orders, but I was very
disorganized, so at that time I brought Sabrena into the company as Accountant
and Business Manager and over the following two-years of working together
we got an awesome computerized accounting and order tracking system in place
and really got our act together! 

So you see, there are orders from the early totally disorganized days, and
newer orders that have been handled much more efficiently.  (It is the older
orders that you see mention of in these two recent posts).

Other events and trends that have thrown us curve balls have been some
outside Engineers who have either flaked-out on us or caused horrendous cost
overruns, my throwing my back out for several weeks, my Parents long illnesses
and my Father passing away, then moving the whole company in order to
take care of my Mother, and the imposition of new international shipping
restrictions on the chemical composition of all of our thousands of tiny parts!

To put this in perspective, we actually ~did~ accomplish all of these things,
and we expanded our website to include Synapse Magazine and other
community resources such as the Bug Music Contests and starting this User Group. 
We also designed, engineered, and delivered on the Zeroscillator and did it in all of the 
popular modular formats, submitted a whole system to Electronic Musician for evaluation, 
inspired an article on the latest modulars making the front cover of the magazine and then 
ultimately getting their 2007 Editors Choice Award for Best Analog Synthesizer.
We also started a distributorship through Analogue Haven, and made our first
presentation at a NAMM show,

AND...

we did all of these things while shipping ~hundreds~ of new modules
to happy customers right on time as promised.

Forgive me, but I am somewhat proud of that record and would like to
repeat it for emphasis to us all,

    we did all of these things above while shipping ~hundreds~ of new
    modules to happy customers in fifteen countries right on time as promised.

In the midst of close to (700) orders representing several thousand modules
there are naturally a few shipping horror stories (unfortunately), but
thankfully they are very few and have to do mainly with the earlier
generation of orders before getting our act more together.

Please don't get me wrong, we still have ~more~ improving to do
and we are making many necessary adjustments behind the scenes.

For example, after looking at the fact that we spend a lot of time fussing
with custom circuits and custom changes for people, and then realizing
that all of this intense labor and brain draining represents only 2.5 percent
of our ~entire~ company profit, then we realize that it is unquestionably
in the best interests of the whole customer base that we simply can no
longer do any more custom work.

We can still change the colors of the jacks or LEDs or in some cases
change the actual type of jack, however we will charge a minimum of
$100.00 extra per module, and only do it with the understanding that IF
we accept a custom order, THEN there is no guarantee on delivery time.
The timely processing of regular orders is our number one responsibility.

When we officially discontinue a module, it has absolutely no affect on
any existing orders that have been placed on that module design.
If you ordered an Electric Pencil Sharpener module, and then see that
we have later discontinued it, then in all cases you will still get the
Electric Pencil Sharpener module that you ordered, unless we contact
you specifically about that item in your order for some reason.

Well after discontinuing the Milton Sequencers for example, a customer
literally begged me to build one for him. I explained that it was a totally
custom, custom at this point and that it would take considerable time
and he agreed.   When later I hear this customer complaining here about 
the length of time, I just feel that it simply isn't fair.

So, no more (new) custom work any more. 
(Naturally I'll finish up what has already been started and agreed to).

We actually do ship most orders well within the five-week period that
is advertised on the website, often much sooner even, but some designs
take longer to realize than we expect and for this I really do apologize.
Sometimes it is just the fact that we've gotten clobbered on a rash of 
large expenses all at once and cannot move until we get another few 
orders.  There are days when I am ordering tens of thousands of dollars
worth of parts, and other days when it seems that I don't have two pennies
to scrape together. This business is a very stressful high wire act at times!

Remember that this forum is where people blow off steam and
share their frustrations and that for every one of these anguished posts...
there are also sixty other orders that were shipped perfectly on time!

Should you be worried?  Hell no!

The biggest single new factor in correcting the problems of the past
has been our new policy change towards no longer announcing anything
new on the website until it is built, tested, and in a box on the shelf
ready to ship in quantity.

Have you noticed that we have not announced ~anything~ new
in well over a year?  That is not because we have run out of any ideas
I assure you, instead it is because we will no longer announce
~anything~ until it is already built, tested, and in a box on the shelf
ready to ship to you in quantity.  We are firm on that now.

Ok, so we are learning in our old age of 4+ years as a company.
I really do not want to have to write out long responses like this in
the future (for any reason, LOL!) and I also realize that it is up to me to
listen to criticisms and make adjustments to streamline the company
so that ~everyone~ gets their modules on time.

We have the utmost respect for our customers, but as a tiny company
cannot spend the time writing individual emails to all five hundred
of you.   Please accept our promise to honor each and every order
and to continue making necessary improvements to our methods in
your behalf.  
Thanks to all of our wonderfull customers out there in ModularLand!

So, in the future if you feel that you should be getting more attention
or a better level of service for any reason,  would you please pick
up the telephone and actually ~talk~ to us before making a big 
public fuss?  (310) 573-1936

Respectfully and most gratefully, 


Cynthia