08.31.10
How Strong Are Your Relationships?
In a world where scrutiny is increasing and approved supplier lists are shrinking, knowing how to keep your OEM relationships strong is mission critical.
Without solid OEM relationships, it is safe to say there’s little business for medical device suppliers, vendors and manufacturers. With globalization and the capricious economy, it’s never been more important to have the strongest relationships possible with your OEM customers—to be a supplier of choice, to be the first one the OEM calls with a question or a quandary, to solve their problems, keep them in compliance, and improve their bottom line.
It didn’t used to be that way.
“Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the typical approach was simply to get an RFQ [request for quotes], submit the quote, get an order, and ship a part,” said Chip Harvill, vice president of sales, marketing, and business development for IncisionTech, a manufacturer of critical cutting, piercing, and delivery system components and sub-assemblies for surgical devices in Staunton, Va. “All interactions were done at arm’s length, and there was no ability to truly partner with any of the major OEMs. Today, however, we have strategic relationships with nearly all the major medical device OEMs and work closely with new product design teams in the earliest stages of development.”
John Phillips, president of Operations for Phillips Precision Inc. in Elmwood Park, N.J., a manufacturer of orthopedic implants, instruments, and sterilization delivery systems, refers to these as “extension” relationships, meaning that suppliers operate as an extension of the client.
“We truly believe that if we help our clients be successful in every way we possibly can, we will be successful. These relationships are long-lasting, some as long as 30 years,” Phillips said. “Our goal is to find the best possible partnerships, not just accumulate lots of relationships.”
Ideal relationships for suppliers are with OEMs that are leaders in their product niches and, clearly, whose products fit well with the supplier’s manufacturing capabilities. Diversity in market segment also is important (orthopedic, drug delivery, ophthalmic, cardiovascular). Another benefit of great OEM relationships is that they serve as a record of successful, productive teamwork when prospecting for clients or working with new firms to bring their products to market.
“In our business, customers are requiring full-service solutions,” said Kevin Haines, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing for Solstice Medical LLC, a provider of medical device inventory management and workflow optimization systems in Fort Wayne, Ind. “They want a single supplier that understands their needs and can craft a solution that improves their sales, marketing, or operations efforts.”
In response to the economy, many medical device firms actively are reducing their supplier bases, creating more business opportunities for tier-one companies to provide more services.
“As OEMs shrink their preferred supplier lists, it’s essential to understand their needs, anticipate their requirements, and deliver the solutions they need,” said Craig Schank, vice president of sales and materials for Supra Alloys, Inc., a mill distributor of titanium for the medical and aerospace industries in Camarillo, Calif.
Due to turnover, mergers, acquisitions and company downsizing, medical device makers increasingly depend on their suppliers for extended expertise, technical know-how, and early involvement in their development programs.
“They often look to us to solve problems created by material changes—PVC-free, latex-free, etc.—dictated by regulatory requirements, which are always getting more stringent,” said Don Dagen, business development engineer for Precision Medical Products, Inc. in Denver, Pa., which manufactures, assembles, and packages medical devices. “OEMs depend on us to steer them into the right packaging solution along the product’s market growth and to incorporate these impacts into sterilization validation, packaging, validations, etc. They also want faster turnaround of product being manufactured and product improvements, along with cost reduction programs.”
Keeping the Customer Satisfied
In other words, OEMs want everything—more streamlined processes, faster speed to market, higher quality, better compliance, lower costs, and higher profits. OEMs are highly focused on risk mitigation because the FDA is holding them more accountable for supply chain quality. OEMs will not form deeper strategic relationships with vendors unless they see comparable quality systems and a dedication for maintaining that quality throughout their supply chains.
“OEMs want to see robust quality systems, process validations, continuous improvement resources, and a proven track record,” said Tom Burns, vice president of Business Development for Tegra Medical LLC, a precision machining and contract manufacturing company in Franklin, Mass. “Price remains a very important consideration, but quality and delivery take priority, particularly with finished devices or critical components and sub-assemblies. Experienced OEMs know that total cost of ownership is what matters, not just a lower initial purchase price.”
Phillips indicated that the most frequent requests from his client base have been quality-related, such as ISO 13485 certifications, published control plans, process failure mode and effects analysis data, first article inspections, device history records, etc.
“Over the last three years or so the OEMs have raised the bar related to quality requirements,” said Phillips. “It’s not enough to provide a safe and effective device built to spec anymore; you must also show your competency around the process that will yield these devices. Some OEMs require all of this process data even before the first device is built. We continue to spend money and resources in this area to improve our ability to bid and secure new projects from our clients.”
For many OEMs, the recent economic downturn has provided an opportunity to refocus their efforts on their core business strengths and condense their operations, such as concentrating more on developing new products and assembling medical devices, rather than procuring raw materials or fabricating component parts, supplier experts noted.
“This presents a good opportunity for a company like ours, as many of our customers have shed the non-core aspects of their manufacturing plants in an effort to become leaner and more nimble,” said John Morley, product manager of medical products for Johnson Matthey, a supplier of precious metals, nitinol, and component parts to the medical device industry based in West Chester, Pa.
For example, in an effort to reduce costs, an OEM compared the cost of purchasing precious metal rodstock for in-house machining to the cost of procuring finished machined parts from Johnson Matthey.
“Given the relatively high prices of precious metals, the carrying costs associated with the raw materials, and the scrap generated in the machining process, the total cost of purchasing finished components was competitive with that of buying and machining in house,” said Morley. “While divesting manufacturing capabilities can seem risky, having a supplier partner who can specialize in the manufacture of components brings expert know-how to a device company. By outsourcing non-core manufacturing steps, this client cleared valuable floor space and increased inventory turns through just-in-time delivery systems.”
Investing in OEM Relationships
An ongoing challenge, of course, is meeting an OEM’s evolving needs related to product demand, launch expectations, and quality requirements—all the while keeping them informed and content with the status of the project.
“Personalized customer service is probably the most important factor, so a competent and knowledgeable customer service department is a requirement,” Phillips told Orthopedic Design & Technology.
It’s often difficult to provide the responsiveness that OEMs desire without the benefit of good visibility and demand forecasts. “Contract manufacturers can’t be efficient and cost-competitive if they have assets sitting idle,” said Burns. “There is always a conflicting agenda between managing for high equipment utilization and maintaining sufficient capacity to be able to react to dynamic changes in customer requirements. The best OEMs understand this challenge and work with their strategic suppliers to be as transparent as possible.”
OEMs expect their suppliers to invest (or have access to) the necessary technology to manufacture their devices, which may incorporate advanced materials that require specialized equipment.
“We’re seeing tighter tolerances for both bar products and flat-rolled products,” said Schank. ”Cut-to-size shapes require a combination of plate saws, bar saws, waterjet cutters and, if necessary, upgrades in equipment to improve tolerances and response time. One of our greatest attributes is our quality, from precision grinding to stenciling to packaging, and we do what it takes to maintain that quality and meet customer expectations.”
Suppliers should be prepared to purchase equipment necessary to close pivotal deals with OEMs, especially if it looks like they will lead to long-term relationships. “We have the resources available to invest in expanded capacity, as shown by our recent $2 million expansion this year and the $8 million in capital upgrades we have completed the past six years,” said Morley. “However, it is important that this is done in a disciplined fashion.”
Dagen agreed. “Our customers benefit from our capital investments and typically only provide the tooling required for their products,” he said. ”We are always monitoring when a technology is ready for implementation and usually find a single investment will benefit two or more customers/projects that we already have. We have the expertise and foundation that allows us to maintain core competencies while also adding new ones as required.”
New medical device development mainly remains a domestically based effort. Medical device production, however, continues to migrate offshore to low-cost labor centers around the world. One way to compete with offshore labor is through automation, which reduces domestic labor costs and increases quality and throughput. “There are high barriers to entry for foreign suppliers with respect to quality systems robustness and seamless communications,” said Harvill. “Automation is one of the keys to lowest unit cost in concert with robust process capability. Many suppliers resist customer-driven changes to their core processes, which renders them less competitive over time. IncisionTech invests heavily in new process automation in return for ongoing supply agreements with our key customers.”
OEMs also are demanding more global solutions from their suppliers—they don’t necessarily want to have to work with one group of suppliers for U.S. requirements and another set to service their international needs. “Suppliers need to do their best to craft global solutions while maintaining tight controls on cost,” said Haines. ”By understanding requirements in different regions of the world and creating a global solution, suppliers will usually have an advantage over the competition. Many suppliers tend to focus on their specific region while the OEMs have divisions in multiple countries and prefer to deploy a single solution whenever possible that has benefit to multiple geographic communities instead of several custom solutions.”
If a supplier wants to be a preferred supplier to one of the leading multinational OEMs, having global capabilities, or at least a low-cost-country option, is becoming increasingly important, Burns said.
“Most [OEMs] have personnel in strategic sourcing or supplier development and will usually share the attributes they are looking for as they rationalize their supplier base,” he said. “A supplier can either then try to develop a solution that addresses the need or acquire or joint venture with an existing supplier that fits the bill.”
Talk to Your OEMs
Communication, of course, is essential in meeting and exceeding OEM expectations. It sounds simple, yet communication is one of the greatest challenges in OEM-supplier relationships. Many suppliers are moving toward more face-to-face meetings with OEM representatives—not only does this improve productivity and time to market by making sure things are clearly understood, it is easier to develop friendships and loyalty—two keys to long-term business success.
“We have regional market managers who live within their regions where they can sales call and service their customers directly,” said Schank. ”Supra Alloys has also recently opened a Midwest warehouse in Rochester Hills, Mich., in addition to our Connecticut and California centers, in order to move product closer to the medical manufacturers and their subcontract base.”
Tegra Medical has added the personal touch by increasing its headcount in customer-facing roles such as field sales, customer service, application engineering and project management. Precision Medical Products created the position of business development engineer for Dagen, whose goal is to smoothly transition opportunities into projects for the engineering staff. ”Clear expectations are important and keeping expectations aligned is extremely difficult and requires a lot of communication along the way,” he said. ”Avoiding the overuse of e-mails when a phone call or personal visit is really required is critical. I like to talk, which is okay since my job requires a constant flow of clear communication, both internal and externally.”
Dagen spends a lot of his time getting to know his customers’ situations and requesting key information in the form of forecasts, early warnings on changes in compliance requirements, etc. ”Weekly meetings with assigned follow-up actions is a good way to accomplish this,” he said. “We are in the process of implementing a customer relationship management system with ACT software. This system keeps me organized and attentive of the right level of communication. I don’t pester people too much. I know the last time I talked to somebody and what we talked about.”
Dagen loves the fact this all happens automatically with little extra effort on his part. “Since it’s integrated into [Microsoft] Outook I have had very little learning curve or impact to my day-to-day routines,” he continued. “What is most impressive is the power of knowing the history for each company, contact, and opportunity. I really believe it will allow us to win business that otherwise would be lost or slip through the cracks. Using this software and tracking opportunities keeps me focused on winning the business and matching my level of effort to the situation.”
Precision Medical Products has initiated “lunch and learns” with key suppliers, which allows both companies to understand each other in a broader way. “We include purchasing, engineering, operations and quality assurance personnel in these meetings,” said Dagen. ”The supplier shows us who they are and we show them all our capabilities. This results is an active flow of referrals, as well as better supplier relationships.”
Tegra Medical uses customer surveys as a powerful tool for educating its workforce on customer perceptions. A key responsibility for the sales team leader is tracking customer satisfaction and identifying root causes when things go awry. “Customer care and application engineering teams report up through sales because we feel it’s critical to maintain a customer-centric focus,” said Burns. “They are empowered to elevate an important issue whenever necessary so that communications are streamlined and customers aren’t left wondering who to turn to if issues surface. We also use monthly and quarterly employee meetings to reach as many employees as possible.”
Burns said there usually are some surprises in customer surveys that are enlightening, as well kudos for the right behaviors. “Throughout the year we use specific issues to highlight either breakdowns in communication or examples where good communication allowed us to work through a challenging situation that could have damaged a customer relationship,” he explained. “For example, we recently had a development project that was running into technical challenges. Our project manager was in regular contact with the OEM. He provided concise, relevant updates on the problem encountered, reviewed the proposed solutions, and provided a best estimate on expected timelines; all while engaging with the OEM to learn from their own experiences and insights. In the end, the customer was very satisfied, despite our missing the original delivery date. They were respectful of the technical challenge, appreciative of the proactive communication, and satisfied that we had the proper level of urgency and resources focused on solving the issues. Without effective communication, their perception might have been very different.”
Telecommunications technology takes over when face-to-face communication is impossible. “At the end of the day, people do business with people, so we maximize our communications efforts by investing heavily in new technology infrastructure and a very mobile workforce,” said Harvill. “This allows us to stay in constant contact with our OEM partners around the world. We choose to arm our team with the latest communication tools, knowing that being a ‘late adopter’ is totally unacceptable.”
The heart of IncisionTech’s technology infrastructure is a very sophisticated intranet that enhances communication between cross-functional teams regarding projects and developments. The information system is complemented with a Web-based CRM platform that enables employees to fully leverage both internal and external communications to the customer’s advantage.
“We use the most advanced technologies available, including the latest social media tools for communication,” continued Harvill. “From video conferencing to the iPad, from LinkedIn to YouTube, we are totally connected. We know what a ‘tweet’ [on Twitter] is and we know how to ‘follow’ our customers and they know how to follow us. Integrating social media takes an ongoing commitment from the highest levels within the organization. It is no longer just about the young crowd on Facebook posting what they did last night on their wall. Today, professionals of all ages carry on a valuable dialog with companies and people they trust.”
Solstice’s Haines told ODT that his firm certainly benefits from today’s communication technology options.
”Solstice is a project-based technology company and communication with our customers is absolutely critical,” Haines said. “Face to face is still the best way to communicate, but we employ webinars, videoconferencing, social media and secure websites to connect with our customers. Our ability to share information through electronic interfaces has saved us money and time; our customers appreciate the increased communication because it helps complete projects more quickly and easily.”
Mark Crawford is a full-time freelance business and marketing/communications writer based in Madison, Wis. Contact him at mark.crawford@charter.net
In a world where scrutiny is increasing and approved supplier lists are shrinking, knowing how to keep your OEM relationships strong is mission critical.
Without solid OEM relationships, it is safe to say there’s little business for medical device suppliers, vendors and manufacturers. With globalization and the capricious economy, it’s never been more important to have the strongest relationships possible with your OEM customers—to be a supplier of choice, to be the first one the OEM calls with a question or a quandary, to solve their problems, keep them in compliance, and improve their bottom line.
It didn’t used to be that way.
“Back in the 1980s and 1990s, the typical approach was simply to get an RFQ [request for quotes], submit the quote, get an order, and ship a part,” said Chip Harvill, vice president of sales, marketing, and business development for IncisionTech, a manufacturer of critical cutting, piercing, and delivery system components and sub-assemblies for surgical devices in Staunton, Va. “All interactions were done at arm’s length, and there was no ability to truly partner with any of the major OEMs. Today, however, we have strategic relationships with nearly all the major medical device OEMs and work closely with new product design teams in the earliest stages of development.”
John Phillips, president of Operations for Phillips Precision Inc. in Elmwood Park, N.J., a manufacturer of orthopedic implants, instruments, and sterilization delivery systems, refers to these as “extension” relationships, meaning that suppliers operate as an extension of the client.
“We truly believe that if we help our clients be successful in every way we possibly can, we will be successful. These relationships are long-lasting, some as long as 30 years,” Phillips said. “Our goal is to find the best possible partnerships, not just accumulate lots of relationships.”
Ideal relationships for suppliers are with OEMs that are leaders in their product niches and, clearly, whose products fit well with the supplier’s manufacturing capabilities. Diversity in market segment also is important (orthopedic, drug delivery, ophthalmic, cardiovascular). Another benefit of great OEM relationships is that they serve as a record of successful, productive teamwork when prospecting for clients or working with new firms to bring their products to market.
“In our business, customers are requiring full-service solutions,” said Kevin Haines, executive vice president of Sales and Marketing for Solstice Medical LLC, a provider of medical device inventory management and workflow optimization systems in Fort Wayne, Ind. “They want a single supplier that understands their needs and can craft a solution that improves their sales, marketing, or operations efforts.”
In response to the economy, many medical device firms actively are reducing their supplier bases, creating more business opportunities for tier-one companies to provide more services.
“As OEMs shrink their preferred supplier lists, it’s essential to understand their needs, anticipate their requirements, and deliver the solutions they need,” said Craig Schank, vice president of sales and materials for Supra Alloys, Inc., a mill distributor of titanium for the medical and aerospace industries in Camarillo, Calif.
Due to turnover, mergers, acquisitions and company downsizing, medical device makers increasingly depend on their suppliers for extended expertise, technical know-how, and early involvement in their development programs.
“They often look to us to solve problems created by material changes—PVC-free, latex-free, etc.—dictated by regulatory requirements, which are always getting more stringent,” said Don Dagen, business development engineer for Precision Medical Products, Inc. in Denver, Pa., which manufactures, assembles, and packages medical devices. “OEMs depend on us to steer them into the right packaging solution along the product’s market growth and to incorporate these impacts into sterilization validation, packaging, validations, etc. They also want faster turnaround of product being manufactured and product improvements, along with cost reduction programs.”
Keeping the Customer Satisfied
In other words, OEMs want everything—more streamlined processes, faster speed to market, higher quality, better compliance, lower costs, and higher profits. OEMs are highly focused on risk mitigation because the FDA is holding them more accountable for supply chain quality. OEMs will not form deeper strategic relationships with vendors unless they see comparable quality systems and a dedication for maintaining that quality throughout their supply chains.
“OEMs want to see robust quality systems, process validations, continuous improvement resources, and a proven track record,” said Tom Burns, vice president of Business Development for Tegra Medical LLC, a precision machining and contract manufacturing company in Franklin, Mass. “Price remains a very important consideration, but quality and delivery take priority, particularly with finished devices or critical components and sub-assemblies. Experienced OEMs know that total cost of ownership is what matters, not just a lower initial purchase price.”
Phillips indicated that the most frequent requests from his client base have been quality-related, such as ISO 13485 certifications, published control plans, process failure mode and effects analysis data, first article inspections, device history records, etc.
“Over the last three years or so the OEMs have raised the bar related to quality requirements,” said Phillips. “It’s not enough to provide a safe and effective device built to spec anymore; you must also show your competency around the process that will yield these devices. Some OEMs require all of this process data even before the first device is built. We continue to spend money and resources in this area to improve our ability to bid and secure new projects from our clients.”
For many OEMs, the recent economic downturn has provided an opportunity to refocus their efforts on their core business strengths and condense their operations, such as concentrating more on developing new products and assembling medical devices, rather than procuring raw materials or fabricating component parts, supplier experts noted.
“This presents a good opportunity for a company like ours, as many of our customers have shed the non-core aspects of their manufacturing plants in an effort to become leaner and more nimble,” said John Morley, product manager of medical products for Johnson Matthey, a supplier of precious metals, nitinol, and component parts to the medical device industry based in West Chester, Pa.
For example, in an effort to reduce costs, an OEM compared the cost of purchasing precious metal rodstock for in-house machining to the cost of procuring finished machined parts from Johnson Matthey.
“Given the relatively high prices of precious metals, the carrying costs associated with the raw materials, and the scrap generated in the machining process, the total cost of purchasing finished components was competitive with that of buying and machining in house,” said Morley. “While divesting manufacturing capabilities can seem risky, having a supplier partner who can specialize in the manufacture of components brings expert know-how to a device company. By outsourcing non-core manufacturing steps, this client cleared valuable floor space and increased inventory turns through just-in-time delivery systems.”
Investing in OEM Relationships
An ongoing challenge, of course, is meeting an OEM’s evolving needs related to product demand, launch expectations, and quality requirements—all the while keeping them informed and content with the status of the project.
“Personalized customer service is probably the most important factor, so a competent and knowledgeable customer service department is a requirement,” Phillips told Orthopedic Design & Technology.
It’s often difficult to provide the responsiveness that OEMs desire without the benefit of good visibility and demand forecasts. “Contract manufacturers can’t be efficient and cost-competitive if they have assets sitting idle,” said Burns. “There is always a conflicting agenda between managing for high equipment utilization and maintaining sufficient capacity to be able to react to dynamic changes in customer requirements. The best OEMs understand this challenge and work with their strategic suppliers to be as transparent as possible.”
OEMs expect their suppliers to invest (or have access to) the necessary technology to manufacture their devices, which may incorporate advanced materials that require specialized equipment.
“We’re seeing tighter tolerances for both bar products and flat-rolled products,” said Schank. ”Cut-to-size shapes require a combination of plate saws, bar saws, waterjet cutters and, if necessary, upgrades in equipment to improve tolerances and response time. One of our greatest attributes is our quality, from precision grinding to stenciling to packaging, and we do what it takes to maintain that quality and meet customer expectations.”
Suppliers should be prepared to purchase equipment necessary to close pivotal deals with OEMs, especially if it looks like they will lead to long-term relationships. “We have the resources available to invest in expanded capacity, as shown by our recent $2 million expansion this year and the $8 million in capital upgrades we have completed the past six years,” said Morley. “However, it is important that this is done in a disciplined fashion.”
Dagen agreed. “Our customers benefit from our capital investments and typically only provide the tooling required for their products,” he said. ”We are always monitoring when a technology is ready for implementation and usually find a single investment will benefit two or more customers/projects that we already have. We have the expertise and foundation that allows us to maintain core competencies while also adding new ones as required.”
New medical device development mainly remains a domestically based effort. Medical device production, however, continues to migrate offshore to low-cost labor centers around the world. One way to compete with offshore labor is through automation, which reduces domestic labor costs and increases quality and throughput. “There are high barriers to entry for foreign suppliers with respect to quality systems robustness and seamless communications,” said Harvill. “Automation is one of the keys to lowest unit cost in concert with robust process capability. Many suppliers resist customer-driven changes to their core processes, which renders them less competitive over time. IncisionTech invests heavily in new process automation in return for ongoing supply agreements with our key customers.”
OEMs also are demanding more global solutions from their suppliers—they don’t necessarily want to have to work with one group of suppliers for U.S. requirements and another set to service their international needs. “Suppliers need to do their best to craft global solutions while maintaining tight controls on cost,” said Haines. ”By understanding requirements in different regions of the world and creating a global solution, suppliers will usually have an advantage over the competition. Many suppliers tend to focus on their specific region while the OEMs have divisions in multiple countries and prefer to deploy a single solution whenever possible that has benefit to multiple geographic communities instead of several custom solutions.”
If a supplier wants to be a preferred supplier to one of the leading multinational OEMs, having global capabilities, or at least a low-cost-country option, is becoming increasingly important, Burns said.
“Most [OEMs] have personnel in strategic sourcing or supplier development and will usually share the attributes they are looking for as they rationalize their supplier base,” he said. “A supplier can either then try to develop a solution that addresses the need or acquire or joint venture with an existing supplier that fits the bill.”
Talk to Your OEMs
Communication, of course, is essential in meeting and exceeding OEM expectations. It sounds simple, yet communication is one of the greatest challenges in OEM-supplier relationships. Many suppliers are moving toward more face-to-face meetings with OEM representatives—not only does this improve productivity and time to market by making sure things are clearly understood, it is easier to develop friendships and loyalty—two keys to long-term business success.
“We have regional market managers who live within their regions where they can sales call and service their customers directly,” said Schank. ”Supra Alloys has also recently opened a Midwest warehouse in Rochester Hills, Mich., in addition to our Connecticut and California centers, in order to move product closer to the medical manufacturers and their subcontract base.”
Tegra Medical has added the personal touch by increasing its headcount in customer-facing roles such as field sales, customer service, application engineering and project management. Precision Medical Products created the position of business development engineer for Dagen, whose goal is to smoothly transition opportunities into projects for the engineering staff. ”Clear expectations are important and keeping expectations aligned is extremely difficult and requires a lot of communication along the way,” he said. ”Avoiding the overuse of e-mails when a phone call or personal visit is really required is critical. I like to talk, which is okay since my job requires a constant flow of clear communication, both internal and externally.”
Dagen spends a lot of his time getting to know his customers’ situations and requesting key information in the form of forecasts, early warnings on changes in compliance requirements, etc. ”Weekly meetings with assigned follow-up actions is a good way to accomplish this,” he said. “We are in the process of implementing a customer relationship management system with ACT software. This system keeps me organized and attentive of the right level of communication. I don’t pester people too much. I know the last time I talked to somebody and what we talked about.”
Dagen loves the fact this all happens automatically with little extra effort on his part. “Since it’s integrated into [Microsoft] Outook I have had very little learning curve or impact to my day-to-day routines,” he continued. “What is most impressive is the power of knowing the history for each company, contact, and opportunity. I really believe it will allow us to win business that otherwise would be lost or slip through the cracks. Using this software and tracking opportunities keeps me focused on winning the business and matching my level of effort to the situation.”
Precision Medical Products has initiated “lunch and learns” with key suppliers, which allows both companies to understand each other in a broader way. “We include purchasing, engineering, operations and quality assurance personnel in these meetings,” said Dagen. ”The supplier shows us who they are and we show them all our capabilities. This results is an active flow of referrals, as well as better supplier relationships.”
Tegra Medical uses customer surveys as a powerful tool for educating its workforce on customer perceptions. A key responsibility for the sales team leader is tracking customer satisfaction and identifying root causes when things go awry. “Customer care and application engineering teams report up through sales because we feel it’s critical to maintain a customer-centric focus,” said Burns. “They are empowered to elevate an important issue whenever necessary so that communications are streamlined and customers aren’t left wondering who to turn to if issues surface. We also use monthly and quarterly employee meetings to reach as many employees as possible.”
Burns said there usually are some surprises in customer surveys that are enlightening, as well kudos for the right behaviors. “Throughout the year we use specific issues to highlight either breakdowns in communication or examples where good communication allowed us to work through a challenging situation that could have damaged a customer relationship,” he explained. “For example, we recently had a development project that was running into technical challenges. Our project manager was in regular contact with the OEM. He provided concise, relevant updates on the problem encountered, reviewed the proposed solutions, and provided a best estimate on expected timelines; all while engaging with the OEM to learn from their own experiences and insights. In the end, the customer was very satisfied, despite our missing the original delivery date. They were respectful of the technical challenge, appreciative of the proactive communication, and satisfied that we had the proper level of urgency and resources focused on solving the issues. Without effective communication, their perception might have been very different.”
Telecommunications technology takes over when face-to-face communication is impossible. “At the end of the day, people do business with people, so we maximize our communications efforts by investing heavily in new technology infrastructure and a very mobile workforce,” said Harvill. “This allows us to stay in constant contact with our OEM partners around the world. We choose to arm our team with the latest communication tools, knowing that being a ‘late adopter’ is totally unacceptable.”
The heart of IncisionTech’s technology infrastructure is a very sophisticated intranet that enhances communication between cross-functional teams regarding projects and developments. The information system is complemented with a Web-based CRM platform that enables employees to fully leverage both internal and external communications to the customer’s advantage.
“We use the most advanced technologies available, including the latest social media tools for communication,” continued Harvill. “From video conferencing to the iPad, from LinkedIn to YouTube, we are totally connected. We know what a ‘tweet’ [on Twitter] is and we know how to ‘follow’ our customers and they know how to follow us. Integrating social media takes an ongoing commitment from the highest levels within the organization. It is no longer just about the young crowd on Facebook posting what they did last night on their wall. Today, professionals of all ages carry on a valuable dialog with companies and people they trust.”
Solstice’s Haines told ODT that his firm certainly benefits from today’s communication technology options.
”Solstice is a project-based technology company and communication with our customers is absolutely critical,” Haines said. “Face to face is still the best way to communicate, but we employ webinars, videoconferencing, social media and secure websites to connect with our customers. Our ability to share information through electronic interfaces has saved us money and time; our customers appreciate the increased communication because it helps complete projects more quickly and easily.”
Mark Crawford is a full-time freelance business and marketing/communications writer based in Madison, Wis. Contact him at mark.crawford@charter.net