Innovation, knowledge and flexibility
05 December 2011
I’d like to thank everyone who took the time to update company details and services for our annual EMS guide that will be published in EM&T’s December issue.
I’ve been told more than once that the EMS guide is valued by people in the industry for a reference throughout the year, and to stay that way it must be thorough and accurate.
One thing I noticed from the replies I received was that almost all respondents had raised revenues and employee numbers, showing that it was a pretty decent year for the industry as a whole. Many companies had also added new services and compliance to new standards.
Hopefully this data shows that some sort of economic recovery is underway and things are tentatively picking up.
I recently had the chance to get out and visit one company that still manufactures successfully in the UK and ask what they do to stay competitive in these times. The company, ITL, is based in Ashford in Kent and specialises in equipment for the medical and pharmaceutical industries mainly.
According to Lucy Malby, New Business Development Manager at ITL, there are a number of reasons the company has seen continual growth. The main reason is that ITL can provide a complete service from the initial design to supply chain management for the finished product. This benefits clients by having design and manufacturing in the same plant, ensuring there are no problems with knowledge transfer and also the design team are familiar with the production and test processes and can therefore optimise the design.
Malby also says that companies need to be proactive and knowledgeable about the industries they focus on. Having experience of medical and pharmaceutical techniques and processes has helped ITL gain wins by suggesting improvements that could be made to existing designs to enhance both function and ergonomics. Having industry knowledge also gives a better understanding of customer requirements, and therefore more accurate quoting.
Another area highlighted by Malby was to focus on customer satisfaction. When a customer asks for a process or technology not provided by ITL, the company investigates the viability of providing the service. This willingness to please the customer has gained ITL a good reputation in an industry where there is a lot of business to be gained by word of mouth.
I know a single company’s views and methodology doesn’t speak for the whole industry and other companies use different techniques. What methods did your company use to gain customers over the last year? You can reach me at alistair.winning@imlgroup.co.uk.
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