Shimadzu
UK's office in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire is more than just a company
headquarters, the facility has been developed as a major ‘Centre of Excellence'
for analytical and environmental instrumentation. The new Centre is specifically geared to help UK customers evaluate technical
solutions tailored to their specific requirements.
Shimadzu UK is one of
the most advanced suppliers of high quality analytical measuring instruments
and services in chromatography, mass spectrometry, spectroscopy, environmental
technology and biotechnology to businesses and organizations throughout the UK.
The Milton Keynes facility is focused on creating, developing, promoting and
implementing ‘Excellence' and Shimadzu UK's approach is based on four key
aspects of ‘Excellence' which include: Customer Relationships; Customer
Solutions; Customer Training & Development as well as Customer Service.
When developing the Centre, Shimadzu UK consulted with all of its staff
in a full review of the company's activities to ensure the business is able to
deliver ‘Excellence' in all four key areas. Applying the world renowned
‘Kaizen' methodology of continuous improvement, Shimadzu UK has carefully nurtured a shared,
constructive ‘mindset' within the company that reminds its people to constantly
consider how they can improve their work, their environment and help each
other.
Customer Relationships
When it comes to building Customer Relationships Shimadzu UK has
quite simply made the customer central to everything it does. The
company's structure is designed around the customer with Shimadzu UK's
salespeople focusing on specific sectors. The company will only recommend
solutions once the company's Product Specialists have verified that they can
solve a customer's requirements. Shimadzu UK's internal and external service
people actively build relationships with customers and also provide training.
Of Shimadzu's 9800 staff worldwide more than half contribute to research and
development and provide customer feedback through feedback forums held with
customers.
Customer Solutions
Shimadzu UK
adopts a two stage process to providing Customer Solutions. Firstly,
there is a ‘Discovery' phase where the company listens and strives to
understand the customer's requirements. Secondly, there is a ‘Solution'
phase where the company recommends what it feels will most help the customer.
"One of the central reasons why so many businesses are switching to
Shimadzu is our customer focused approach. The company's sales
specialists do not try and sell a customer a solution before they have learnt
about the customer's business and what precise solution they need," explained Darin Enefer, Shimadzu UK's Sales Director. "The
‘Discovery' phase helps to develop a real understanding of the customer's
needs. We don't really want to present too early. We want to truly
understand the customer. Our sales people and our product support team
have been trained intensively to really understand the customer by using a very
‘open' questioning method to really gain a full understanding of the customer".
"Too many organizations either don't listen, or if they do listen, they
don't have the solutions to back it up. What I love about working for
Shimadzu is that we have a caring approach for customers but we are also able
to do something about what they trying to achieve".
Following the ‘Discovery' phase during which the customer requirements
have been fully appreciated, the company invites them to Shimadzu UK's
Evaluation Laboratory at the company's Centre of Excellence in Milton Keynes
where customers have the opportunity to evaluate its solutions against other
options they may be considering thereby enabling them to make an informed
choice.
Having understood the needs of a customer a highly trained product
specialist then translates these requirements into the appropriate technology
and machinery. Only once Shimadzu is completely satisfied that it has
found a suitable solution will the company invite the customer to a
demonstration of the solution at the company's state-of-the-art evaluation
centre in Milton Keynes.
"We very much believe in the power of the evaluation process. We
bring the customer to our facilities in Milton Keynes
and it is the extension of the ‘Solutions' phase of the whole sales
process. So we have understood from the ‘Discovery' phase the needs of
the customer and then we present the solution. That principle and that process
are very much appreciated by the customer," said Enefer.
Customer Training & Development
Shimadzu UK's
approach to Customer Training & Development is based on four key aspects
which include: On-site installation training (Basic, Intermediate &
Advanced); Classroom Development; Guest Speakers/Hot Topics as well as
Networking Events. The company is also embracing social media networking
tools to keep in contact with its customers and has launched Shimadzu UK
Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The social media toolkit has already
developed a strong, growing fan club that has created an online community that
is regularly sharing ideas and building know how.
The Centre of Excellence in Milton Keynes
provides ongoing training every month for all of the company's staff. The
training is focused on 15 key competencies which include: Customer service
skills; Sales relationship planning; Knowledge of the customer's business and
strategy; Understanding and influencing decision making; Developing multi
contact relationships; Sales platform management; Interpersonal skills;
Presentation skills; Market knowledge; Commercial understanding; Competitor
knowledge and usage; Objection handling; Closing sales opportunities;
Persuasion & influencing skills and Team working.
Customer Service
Shimadzu UK's
recruitment policies and structure are carefully tailored to offer top quality
customer service. All Shimadzu UK
staff are full-time employees and all staff are directly contactable in the UK.
The company runs 15 service engineers plus four support staff who are office
based.
"Shimadzu UK's core company values are that at all times we seek
excellence and focus on quality in everything we do," explained Enefer.
"Listening to our customers is the key to our approach."
Capitalizing on Global R&D Investment
As part of a worldwide operation Shimadzu UK benefits from Shimadzu's
substantial global investment in R&D but it is the company's ability to
listen to its customers and develop tools in accordance with customer needs
that really sets it apart. This approach has been meticulously developed
by Shimadzu UK for the UK
market which has its own unique challenges.
"It is a Shimadzu belief that we are really a global organization so we
have to think strategically in a global sense but very importantly our role is
to address the UK
market in a local sense. So we are very much ‘Think Global, Act Local',"
explained Colin Jump, Shimadzu UK's
managing director.
"Most of our UK
customers operate in a highly developed mature market and are actually part of
global companies themselves. So very often in our discussions and
negotiations customers are turning to us at Shimadzu UK and saying that is
great for what we want but what about our offices overseas? Can you
support them in an overseas environment? Being part of a global
organization allows us to really extend the story of the solution we have given
to the UK
customer to overseas markets and overseas installations."
Creating Long Term, Sustainable Solutions
The underlying reason Shimadzu is so successful in providing long term
solutions is the investment the company makes is R&D. Out of a global
workforce of 9000 staff almost half contribute to R&D. This global
resource is clearly a huge advantage to Shimadzu UK's customer base.
Shimadzu's R&D is not only focused on product capability but also on
sustainability. The company understands that if a product is to be
future-proof it must not only fulfill its role technologically but
environmentally as well and this is as vital to Shimadzu as it is to its
customers.
Shimadzu's ethos is to develop long term customer relationships and this
means that products have longevity - both technologically and in terms of
service and maintenance.
"We have a strong emphasis on ensuring that the products are the very
latest technologies and that they have a very long life for their expected
use. It is gratifying to know that we can be servicing and supporting
equipment that is 25 years old and still going strong. There is a history
and a focus within the company that ensures our products will be giving long
service. That is all part of our design ethic," suggested Jump.
"In the products that we sell the design philosophy is to reduce size
and reduce energy consumption. For example, our latest chromatography
instruments consume 30 percent less electricity. We are also looking at
the actual footprint of the instrument so that we can put more instruments on
any available space on a bench," commented Enefer.
"With this customer focused approach and our huge investment in R&D
Shimadzu is laying solid foundations for sustainability and solid foundations
for growth".
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About Shimadzu
Shimadzu is a world leader in the
design and manufacture of products and services within a broad range of fields
including bioresearch. The company's commitment to the philosophy of
"contributing to Society through Science and Technology" forms its common
managing concept throughout the world: "Solutions for Science since
1875". Instruments for analysis and measurement in industry and research,
environmental testing and other bio-related equipment, and semi-conductor and
media related equipment and software services are within Shimadzu's portfolio.