World-Class Supplier Vs Machine Shop

How do we build great customer relationships?

One of the keys is making sure the customer has consistently positive experiences when interacting with ALL people in our business.

At Leonhardt Manufacturing, as a tier 1 supplier to world-class OEM’s, it’s important our customers see us as an extension of their business and get the service they need from all departments. We ensure our sales, engineering, quality, production and customer service are always responsive and understand the goals and needs of each of their counterparts. For us, making the initial sale is just the very beginning of a long relationship. We like to measure our time with customers in decades, not years.

Especially in the case of outsourced manufacturing, customers know that success is about more than finding the lowest bidder. They need to know they are partnering with a supplier who will deliver after the sale and have the people and culture to help them with all aspects of the manufacturing challenge.

A case in point is a line of heavy weldments Leonhardt Manufacturing supplies to one of the world’s leading crane manufacturers. To move the business from the customer’s facility to ours, engineers and welders from both companies worked side by side on their shop floor and ours to transfer skills and experience.

• A supply chain was set up to utilize existing suppliers that the crane manufacturer was already comfortable with, as well as qualifying new ones where necessary.
• There was close coordination to transfer tooling so as not to interrupt production.
• Our Quality Assurance teams worked together to make sure key tolerances and product characteristics were understood and satisfied.

Making something like this a success requires trust, communication and transparency at all levels. Making sure everyone understands the goal so we can truly become an extension of their business is the key. Scheduling, logistics, quality assurance … all these things require a team of people aligned to a common purpose. It’s the difference between being a world class supplier vs just the typical machine shop.