Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/935136
8 SMT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2018 Whatever industry we are in, we are a customer and a supplier at the same time. For instance, my suppliers are the technical article contributors, as well as those experts who speak with me about critical challenges in electronics assembly and provide their insights on strat- egies that would help manufacturers address these issues. (Well, they are supplying me with their insights.) Down the chain, my customers are our production guys—those who lay out the articles in a nice, clean, continuous format that will eventually become the SMT007 Magazine. (Speaking of which, I hope you're enjoying the fresh new look of our publi- cations here at I-Connect007.) Of course, the goal is always 100% customer satisfaction—and the majority of the respondents in our recent survey agree. Interestingly, some say more than 90% is fine, while one says his company is striv- ing for 98%. Be that as it may, dissatisfac- tion in your customer side will eventually result in problems. According to the results of our survey, the loss of business and reputation can be the consequences of not meeting your customers' needs. Which is why, now more than ever, it is important to work closely with your custom- ers. In the words of columnist Dan Beaulieu, "When you start dealing with companies that are literally building products that the world has never seen, including circuit boards with technology that the world has never seen, it's time that somebody talks to somebody." Even though you have trusted supplier part- ners, working closely with them will ensure seamless manufacture and high-quality output. And most of our respondents agree, with more than a third or 40% closely working with at least 50% of their customers. One respondent commented, "Our custom- ers are designing multilayered flex and rigid-flex circuits, and it seems that things go much better with a highly collaborative relation- ship—a great deal of back and forth to optimize design choices." And this has been what we have been hearing over the past year of Editor's Note by Stephen Las Marias, I-CONNECT007 Talk to Your Customers