Joel Scutchfield, General Manager of SMT and Semicon Business Operations at Koh Young America, Inc.
A successful partnership between companies might start with a great machine or great technology that delivers game-changing results, but the real magic comes from the strategic relationship between two companies with matching cultures and a mutual understanding.
I’ve been in the capital equipment market for longer than I care to recall, more than ten years with Koh Young and another couple of decades or so with other SMT equipment providers. In that time, I’ve seen relationships between vendors and customers change from transactional to strategic in their nature.
Here are a few of the key factors I’ve noticed for successful relationships:
Service And Support Excellence
Service has become the primary consideration for many customers, even before technical specifications. Companies now ask about support structure first: How are you going to take care of me? Will you be there when I need you? How far away are you? How quickly can you fix an issue? Can you log in remotely when I need help?
Where we’ve gone that extra mile, I’ve seen those customers become long-term partners, who remember and see the extra value in such a solid partnership. Maybe it’s just karma, but what goes around comes around.
I’ve also found that recognition through customer-voted awards can carry significant weight, especially when they are credible awards programs.
Long-Term Partnership Mindset
There has certainly been a mindset change from selling machines to forging relationships that go way beyond sales, installation and support. Treating first interactions as the beginning of a long-term partnership is absolutely imperative, as is understanding future customer needs before they arise.
Being able to see trends that will impact the whole industry is a real added value to every partner, and I recommend companies plan for every eventuality. Part of this often involves the alignment of a technology roadmap and a shared vision for the future. You can more easily achieve this through constantly talking and sharing ideas.
Peer-To-Peer References And Validation
Facilitating connections between existing and potential customers is another valuable way of building partnerships beyond transactions. References allow customers and prospects to share common problems, best practices, experiences and solutions.
Enabling peer-to-peer discussions at both operational and executive levels is hugely valuable and builds trust and empathy. Case studies and testimonials do this really well. There’s little that is more compelling than hearing a peer talk about a similar issue to yours and then hearing about their experience as they resolved that issue.
Total Cost Of Ownership Focus
It is important to move beyond initial purchase price considerations and understand the long-term operational costs when investing in capital equipment. You need to consider the cost of installation and any disruption that might cause. You need to be mindful of potential downtime, programming time and maintenance time. And you need to think about how you future-proof an investment.
Does the machine that looks like a market leader come from a company that is committed to the level of R&D investment that will keep them at the leading edge, and do they have an almost fanatical focus on operational excellence and getting value from each piece of equipment?
This is, again, a cultural alignment. Companies that are focused on market leadership need partners with the same long-term mindset, otherwise there is a high risk of a need to change partners, which can be costly and time-consuming.
Technology Integration And Automation
A solid partnership is not just about always having the best machine; a lot of value can be derived by how that machine is operated and managed. Helping customers reduce dependency on human operators has become increasingly important, especially when talent is scarce and institutional knowledge is hard to maintain.
By providing solutions that address labor shortages and embracing automation and the use of artificial intelligence, you can help customers to achieve much more with the machines they have and drive even greater value from the data they have. And as you do so, you can help to build trust in autonomous solutions through staged implementation.
Knowledge Transfer And Training
Part of every great installation is great training that goes beyond the user manual. Sharing “tricks and tips” from experienced users is a huge add-value to customers at the outset and throughout the life of the machine.
This knowledge transfer starts with expertise on-site for installation, which should be on-time and with minimal disruption, and continues with exceptional training and ongoing operational support, all underpinned with peer-to-peer opportunities to share tips and tricks learned through user experience.
Clear Communication And Trust Building
Transparent discussion of capabilities and even limitations are key to any honest and open relationship. Telling customers how long a solution will take and sticking to that timeline, keeping them updated on new product development and the rollout of technologies like AI and automation—these are all ways trust is progressively built and communication channels constantly improved.
Strategic Value Addition
Aligning and understanding each other’s strategies can really be a value-add for the entire partnership. Remember, you are not just selling machines, you’re helping your partners to improve operational excellence and supporting their growth plans. You’re understanding and supporting industry-specific requirements for the niches they operate in, like aerospace, medical and automotive, etc.
In many ways, technical specifications are now “table stakes”—they’re necessary but not the secret for successful relationships. I’ve noticed the focus has shifted to comprehensive partnership qualities that support long-term success and mutual growth. This is where the real magic happens, when two organizations align their cultures, strategies and operations to create something greater than the sum of their parts.
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