Dec 13, 2010 
Improvement potential has been identified within the SIPLACE Service offerings, the scope of which is already being extended.
How satisfied are electronics manufacturers with their equipment and the support they receive from its manufacturer? To find out, SIPLACE regularly commissions an external institute to conduct a customer satisfaction survey. In the fall of 2010, roughly 650 telephone interviews were conducted with randomly selected electronics manufacturers from a wide range of industries. They included not just SIPLACE customers, but 253 customers of other equipment manufacturers. The spectrum of detailed questions ranged from equipment evaluations and the respondents’ satisfaction with service and support to questions regarding the image of the various suppliers. Suggestions for improvements were also highly welcome.
Extremely high level of customer loyalty
In terms of the satisfaction of SIPLACE customers – a rating which is computed based on the responses to various questions about products, services and the company itself – the development is particular positive in Asia (led by China) and southwest Europe – besides the traditionally high values in SIPLACE’s home market of Germany. The number of machine installations further underscores these results, because SIPLACE was able to significantly strengthen its position in these highly dynamic markets.
In terms of customer loyalty, SIPLACE received the highest rating from its own customers compared to all other suppliers. More than 90 percent consider SIPLACE their preferred supplier. The Munich-based manufacturer was able to improve in all related areas such as the likelihood of being recommended to others, the likelihood of a repeat purchase, and the overall preference for the supplier. Improvement potential has also been identified in the area of SIPLACE Service offers which is already being extended.
"In terms of customer satisfaction and loyalty, the analysis showed that we strengthened our already strong position even more – and managed to do so in a period in which the takeover of SIPLACE by ASM Pacific Technology was announced. We believe that this is also a sign of the success of the concrete improvements we developed and implemented in the areas of product development and support in response to the results of earlier surveys," says SIPLACE Marketing Director Gabriela Reckewerth about the results of the survey commissioned by her.
"A star is born": Customers of the SIPLACE SX are especially satisfied
One notable result of the 2010 survey is the fact that the satisfaction level of customers who already use the new SIPLACE SX placement platform on their lines rose particularly strongly. Whether placement accuracy, feeder capacity, speed of new product introductions, flexibility or reliability – the innovative SIPLACE SX platform garnered above-average ratings and scored higher than the competition in all important criteria. Users praised particularly the exchangeable SX gantries, the "Capacity on Demand" rental offerings, the SIPLACE MultiStar CPP head, the software-supported setup concepts and the new X-feeders as trailblazing innovations which make their placement processes much more efficient and flexible than before.
"These results are a clear indicator that we will further expand our market position and our technological leadership with the SIPLACE SX. Our development engineers really achieved something great with this model, and many of the SX’s innovations are based on suggestions we received in response to earlier customer surveys. Needless to say, we will continue to focus heavily on our customer orientation in the future. Additionally, the results in the Service area underline the work which we have already started there, extending our Service Portfolio," adds Gabriela Reckewerth.
