By Robert D. Terrio
Building consistent and superior global service and support is no easy task. In the 21st century, service and support for the electronics assembly industry requires a global scope and a lightening-quick response. The market pressure to produce more products more quickly and at even lower cost necessitates a closer alliance between contract manufacturers and their providers, even to the point of functioning as an in-house department for some organizations. This "partnership in productivity" allows the provider to extend traditional services, such as on-site repair and maintenance and spare parts and materials delivery, into expanded roles as trainers and process productivity advisors.
Innovation places stringent demands on the production facility because equipment and materials must keep pace with technology advancements. Additionally, well-trained operators, fast access to spare parts and supplies, and the ability to quickly troubleshoot process variables or assembly line malfunctions around the clock directly influence productivity and performance.
An Exact Copy of Global Service
A growing trend in the industry is "Copy Exact," which enables global contract manufacturers to implement global assembly operations and replicate the exact product performance and productivity throughout their worldwide facilities. New assembly lines are made identical in every way to established operations in other parts of the world, including equipment, materials and chemicals, building layout, documentation, and training. An operator or line supervisor can then be moved from one plant in the United States to a similar plant in Asia and remain completely operational and functional upon arrival.
Contract manufacturers that operate on a 24 x 7 basis with assembly plants around the globe demand that their equipment suppliers respond accordingly, with the same rigid response and parts fulfilment no matter the location.
For the smaller contract manufacturers, customer support has a different meaning. Running on a "shoestring" production budget precludes them from investing in some of the more extensive parts, service and support practices of their larger manufacturing counterparts. Instead, these contract manufacturers usually demand fast response service and parts on an emergency, as-needed basis, and at a reasonable price. The requirement for the equipment supplier, however, is the same: virtually instant response for any service on any given day at any time of day.
Five Rules of Success
Many elements need to be considered when partnering with equipment and service providers to create a consistent and superior global support organization. There are five rules to providing service.
1. Provide service and support that increases machine uptime - when contract manufacturers need parts or technical assistance, response from the equipment supplier must be quick, consistent and seamless on a global scale, thereby minimizing downtime and maximizing uptime. To meet these goals, parts and supplies must be available 24 hours a day, every day.
2. Provide service that helps control costs - contract manufacturers must be able to count on stable equipment and part prices that enable them to maintain accurate budget predictions and profitability.
3. Provide accessible service, around-the-clock and around-the-world - the resources of the equipment supplier`s support organization must be available anywhere in the world, at any time and by any method of communication. Whether by Internet, wireless, telephone or fax, an assembly operation in need of emergency spare parts, troubleshooting advice or machine repair services needs to interface with the customer support team, receiving knowledgeable assistance and a solution to the problem immediately.
4. Provide worldwide field support - worldwide support, on-site or via phone or remote diagnostics, is absolutely essential to getting machines back on-line quickly. New machinery must also be brought on-line with a qualified field service engineer available to install and provide initial operator training precisely at the scheduled downtime of the assembly line, at any location in the world.
5. Provide expanded service offerings - the equipment supplier industry is continuously increasing the level and types of services provided to customers. Premier equipment suppliers will continuously re-evaluate their service offerings to match these continuously increasing expectations.
ROBERT D. TERRIO is vice president, service and support, Speedline Technologies Inc., 580-A Tollgate Road, Elgin, IL 60123; (847) 695-5750; Fax: (847) 289-3785; Web site: www.speedlinetechnologies.com.
