DDIN Library

How technically qualified is your customer?

Details: Written by Robert Larson

Being a cutting die manufacturer for many years, I have interfaced with many types of customers on a daily basis. My cutting die manufacturing company had over 2500 different customers all over North America and some overseas. We also had a diecutting department with a wide array of diecutting press systems to do jobs for customers, to make test cuts on a customer’s materials or to test out dies before shipping to a customer.

Most customers were joys to work with while others were let us say, stinkers or definite challenges to work with. Some were very professional in their business communications, others have difficulties discovering which end of the phone to talk into. In many cases, we communicated with customers personally, by mail, telephone or fax. Those were the days before e-mail. We had many customers that our sales force visited on a regular basis, but most customers were far away. Many would order on or two dies at a time, probably several times a year. Others, had orders in the shop at all times. The daily mail brought us most of our orders. When we opened a package the adventure began. We had to try to figure out exactly what the customer wanted. In many cases we had to contact the customer and ask one or more specific questions or make recommendations as to what they really needed.

I have attempted to classify the different types of customers that a typical cutting die tooling provider may come across in their daily operations. Of course, we all know that “the customer is always right”. That is except when they send in faulty specifications, don’t really know what they want, make unreasonable demands, leave out critical information when ordering tooling, fail to specify what type of material is to be die cut or do not give us a clue as to what type of a cutting press the dies are to be used on. They expect the diemaker to know what they want or need.

Expert Customer

My favorite type of customer. This customer is fully cognizant of all areas of diecutting and the tooling to best cut the component parts of their product. They know how to communicate all specifications and requirements to their tooling supplier. They have invested in the proper diecutting equipment and feed systems to produce die cut parts at the lowest per cut piece. They have invested in a trained and experienced workforce in optimizing their diecutting operations. The customer recognizes that quality tooling at reasonable prices can indeed maximize the running speeds on their diecutting press systems and minimize expensive downtime. This customer knows what he (or she) wants and demands total excellence from their tooling provider. They tend to develop a mutually respected relationship of value to both parties concerned.

Experienced Customer

This customer is experienced in diecutting the materials that go into their products. He (or she) has ordered cutting dies in the past. Normally buys their tooling by quotes and at the lowest price. Will flip flop from one diemaker to another to get that lowest price. The customer may not be up to date on the latest technologies in diecutting or diemaking. This customer knows enough to be dangerous in demanding tooling from his diemaker. This customer probably does not have any type of training program for diecutting personnel. Often, the customer will not listen to recommendations because he (or she) already supposedly knows it all.

A Non-Diecutting Technical Customer

This customer has extensive knowledge on producing their product, but has little experience in diecutting component parts of their product. In the past, the customer has farmed out diecutting jobs to a commercial diecutting trade shop and let the diecutter use whatever tooling he (or she) wanted to get the job done. Now, the customer wants to bring the diecutting operation in-house but needs mega advice on how to do it. This customer thinks that purchasing used diecutting equipment is the way to go to save money. Often they have little knowledge of intake or output feed systems to improve the efficiency of their diecutting operations. They tend to use people power vs. automated systems to die cut, separate, stack and package die cut parts.

A Technically Naïve Customer

This customer knows about the materials that they want to die cut, but little of the types of diecutting press systems to cut their materials or the tooling to best cut their materials. They may have some type of diecutting press in their operations, but most likely it isn’t the best choice of equipment to cut whatever their trying to diecut. This type of a customer will go to great extremes to try to use their old or experienced equipment on hand in their factory that may or may not be maintained in the best of condition. The customer often goes into panic overload at suggestions to invest in new diecutting equipment or purchase more expensive tooling. The customer knows little of the different options in cutting press systems or of die cutting tooling. This customer will often take the “cheap” route into diecutting their component parts. He (or she) needs good unbiased advice on how to do thing correctly the first time around.

The Totally Naïve Customer

This potential customer has a great idea to produce some product. He has some rough drawings in a ratty old notebook. None of the drawings have any exact specifications to size or shape. He has no funding, no customer, and no idea on how to transform his (or her) idea into reality. He does know that he has to cut out similar component parts to make the product, but knows little or nothing about diecutting. This customer is the type of a person who walks into a diemakers office with his (or her) rough drawings or samples and asks the diemaker to make a die to cut out the parts. He has no or little knowledge of what type of cutting press to cut his parts on. Most likely, our totally naïve customer has no knowledge of a samplemaker to produce prototype parts to test out how to put the new product together. He (or she) is a definite challenge or an opportunity to a diemaker.