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Chip-Tech
“We
can do it” says Rob Glenn, president of the
Long Island
, N.Y. – based Chip-Tech, Ltd.
“And if we can’t, we’ll find a way.
Saying no is not our job.”
This is what greets
account specialist trainees on their first day and it seems to be
a basic tenet in the structure of Chip-Tech, which began servicing
manufacturing facilities in
Reynosa
eight years ago.
Says Vice President Neal Stevens, “We try to separate
ourselves from the competition by never letting that human factor
be eclipsed by technology. We
continually introduce new systems, technology and software, but
the phones are still answered by people, people who solve supply
problems for manufacturers. “
Since its inception in
1989, this electronic component distribution company has built a
working platform from which it can compete with the largest
distributors in the electronics industry.
And compete it does, having been selected by Johnson
Controls as systems products supplier of the year for 2001.
“Sure, selling is part
of the task at hand,” Steven adds, “but it is more that that.
We work hard to put together a program that will make the
customer want to do business with us.”
The effort has paid off.
Customer’s purchasing, engineering and production
departments have come to equate Chip-Tech with quality,
reliability and dependability.
As a result of that
thinking each account is analyzed to determine the best approach
to the supply problem. Does
the account require custom bar coding?
Which form of consolidated billing is best to help contain
the customer’s paper handling cots?
Is an In-Plant Store the
best solution? In one
instance Chip-Tech is tracking 800 different components for
delivery to the line within 15 minutes.
What about the ability to supply allocated items?
Inventory management that can reduce the customer’s on
shelf liability. Working
with a customer’s engineering department to locate lower cost
alternative components. Standardized
delivery plant to avoid incoming freight charges to the customer.
The infrastructure needed to support these efforts is
large. Hundreds of
man-hours have been invested in building the systems and controls
needed to operate accurately and efficiently.
This effort has been a matter of continual growth and
reinvestment. As the
project evolved and took shape, Chip-Tech sought and gained ISO
9002 certification.
Monitoring all aspects of the
Texas
and
Mexico
operations from Chip-Tech’s
Long Island
,
N.Y.
facility virtually in real time – was again no easy feat, but
was accomplished and is fully operational.
And the plan hasn’t lost the essence of the Chip-Tech
philosophy; key personnel visit the region regularly. Management
thinking is clearly heads up and hands on.
Looking forward
Chip-Tech is currently opening a local
Texas
sales office to bring closer even their support effort for the
Reynosa
marketplace. The new
office located on
South 33rd Street
in the Foreign Trade Zone in
McAllen
,
Texas
, will be outfitted with a sample room and library for the local
engineers. The overall
facility has a large conference area in which engineering
seminars, amongst other will be hosted.
Chip-Tech is taking aim
at even more maquiladoras in
Reynosa
and
Matamoros
with an eye towards the west as
Juarez
and
Tijuana
are in this company’s growth plan.
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