Call to action
There is a clear call to action for all metal fabrication manufacturers, a great opportunity to gain competitive advantage by taking a more mature approach to customer experience.
With nearly twice as many metal fabricators than in any other industry still believing that price is the main influence to customer loyalty, the gap is widening between the mature and immature companies. There is a significant opportunity for those that take the leap to differentiate from their competitors, sell value-added services and increase market share. We urge all metal fabrication manufacturers to assess their maturity level around customer experience and to look at how modern, next-generation ERP capabilities can help them achieve a more customer focused strategy.
Reaping the rewards
Some manufacturers are already seeing the benefits of making a change to their strategy. A family owned business, Chirch Global was started by Anthony L Chirchirillo in 2002. The company offers cost-effective precision metal fabrication, stamping, progressive die tooling, and sub-assemblies manufactured in Northern Illinois and China. As a result of the company's global business model and its investment in the right ERP platform, Chirchirillo says the company has made a quantum leap—and cites several metrics that underscore this statement.
Return on equity (EBITDA/Equity) exceeded 50 percent in 2010. With regard to top line growth, sales revenues increased by 17 percent from 2009 to 2010, and Chirch saw the addition of new customers in new industries, diversifying the company's customer base. The company also saw gains in employee productivity; the number of Full Time Employees (FTEs) was reduced by 31 percent from 2009 to 2010, while concurrently driving top line revenue growth and throughput.
These outstanding results demonstrate how Chirch is succeeding in its goal of helping its customers "compete with anyone...anywhere in the world," in bringing customers a winning combination of globally competitive prices; access to Chinese resources to support U.S. manufacturing expansion; local customer service, distribution and Just-in-Time delivery, with adherence to the highest quality standards.
