By Chris Pitzen, Engineering Manager at SJE Rhombus
There are many benefits to building long-term relationships with customers. One of the biggest is the tribal knowledge accrued over time.
The Learning Curve
Sometimes referred to as the “learning curve,” the beginning phases of business relationships are often the most difficult. This can be especially true when partnering on Engineering Projects. When two groups meet for the first time, one team has all the knowledge and one team has none of the knowledge.
To successfully implement a project, most—if not all— of that knowledge needs to be transferred from one team to the other. That knowledge is usually the product of years of experience and hard work, and is often taken for granted. The learning curve can be very steep between groups engaging in first time partnerships. It can often derail projects and partnerships from moving forward.
When these same two groups partner on future projects, that learning curve becomes less steep.
However, there is good news for those who persevere through the growing pains of new relationships. When these same two groups partner on future projects, that learning curve becomes less steep. Thus the amount of knowledge that needs to be passed on is reduced with each and every project. At some point, without even realizing it, the two groups start acting as one and they become a highly functioning design team.
Why We Value Long-Term Relationships with Customers
At SJE Rhombus, many of our customers have been partners with us for over 10 years. The engineering teams at SJE Rhombus are often brought in at the beginning phases of new product development. For our customers, the tribal knowledge we gain while partnering with them proves to be invaluable. We can often anticipate their needs, make suggestions for improvements or suggestions for the integration of new technologies into their product line.
Nothing is worse than finding out you cannot build product because a part is no longer available and you had no indication there was an issue.
In addition, it allows us to look forward and to present options for potential issues well in advance of them becoming serious problems. One such example would be obsolescence. We commonly notify our customers of potential supply chain issues well in advance, allowing them to make last-time buys and set timelines for re-design if necessary. Nothing is worse than finding out you cannot build product because a part is no longer available and you had no indication there was an issue.
As you can probably tell by now, we at SJE Rhombus take great pride in the relationships we develop with our customers. Maybe you want to be next?
