Innovate: to introduce something new; make changes in anything established.
Customer Service: assistance and other resources that a company provides to the people who buy or use its products or services.
Related: Value Engineering Saves a Client Thousands
Innovation is a service that companies provide to their customers. Where would we be without product development? Would we still be eating out of wooden bowls and living in dirt houses because no one thought of firing clay or mixing concrete?
Technological innovations have skyrocketed in the last two decades - we started with the walkman, then we had portable CD players, then suddenly it was digital MP3 players, then iPods. iPods turned into iPhones, and iPhones are turning into the every-function mind-reading pocket computer.
Next it will be virtual reality. The Oculus Rift is scheduled to release in early 2016. Who knows what will be next?
Necessity is the mother of value analysis.
Putting aside the Ghosts of iProducts Yet to Come, innovation also happens on a small scale through individual projects.
It only takes one client to say "I have a need that nobody can fulfill" for the creative gears to start turning.
What else pushes invention? When someone looks at a product, process, application, or idea and says, "We can do better."
We've experienced both.
Creating a solution for a client's problem is a direct service to that customer. When a manufacturer takes the initiative to do a value analysis and improve their methods, customers also benefit. Both improve the customer's experience, which is the biggest defining factor of great customer service.
Engineering innovation has to work.
If the newly proposed idea, product, or process doesn't work, well, that's not very good for the customer, is it?
If you're going to be innovative, you have to back up your talk with a darned good walk. Just because something is "innovative" doesn't mean it works.
Clients expect manufacturers to provide the highest quality products quickly and affordably, and ship them on time. There are certain expectations manufacturers have to meet, or we get dropped as a vendor.
Manufacturers can't innovate for the sake of progress. We have to innovate for the sake of our customers - the progress will naturally follow. We need to innovate well and with passion.
Otherwise, what's the point?
As for McHone Industries, we're confident in our abilities to bring new ideas to older products and come away with improvement. If you could use a redesign or fresh eyes on a difficult project, we're excited to see what we can do.
