Behind the Scenes of Customer Satisfaction: The General Plastics Production Team
Keeping customers top of mind is most commonly associated with marketing and sales teams. But at General Plastics, the production team behind the scenes plays an active role towards that same goal, continually striving for improvement so that our customers receive the best products and service possible.
“The culture of continuous improvement is what drives our success in a very competitive marketplace,” explains General Plastics President, Bruce Lind. “We need to continuously improve for our customers to stay ahead of a continuously changing marketplace. We do it to stay relevant. We do it to stay successful.”
Our mantra at the manufacturing site is consistent, on spec, on time delivery on a daily basis. “Our team works every day to be known as reliable, innovative problem solvers, understanding that it’s a technical relationship to earn the business, and a performance-based relationship to keep it forever,” explains Operations Manager Jeff Brown.
Jeff Brown (far right) during the morning production meeting.
Measuring Success
The production team is broken up into six different process groups, all serving unique product lines. With an aim to be an innovative solutions provider, General Plastics satisfies customers by providing materials with unique properties to meet their more challenging applications in whatever market sector they may be in.
Without failure, the six production teams assess performance measures together every morning to understand the efficiency at which we are operating and to look for ways to improve upon the results of yesterday.
“Communication is the key to our success. The participants in our morning meetings are not just production team members,” Brown points out. “We invite sales representatives, quality assurance, and technical representatives to ensure overall coordination, with the philosophy that if you’re not measuring it, you’re not managing it.”
Having performance measures that are tracked in all aspects of the business is paramount to customer satisfaction. But just the act of measuring would mean little without actions taken to improve upon those results. Our company fosters a forward-thinking culture, always asking ourselves, “What can we do today to make that result better tomorrow?”
Making It Count
The proof is in the pudding. Three years ago, we could make our commitments 9 out of 10 times. Right now, we are fulfilling our commitments approximately 99.5% of the time. We endeavor to be a leader in customer satisfaction. If we receive negative feedback from a customer, we work together to understand how we can improve upon that instance to prevent it from reoccurring in the future. “I’d rather have 200 brains working on a problem than one,” describes Lind. “You can be good at what you do, but a fresh set of eyes will always give you a new perspective.”
A Culture of Improvement
With our measures, we are uniquely set up to create opportunities for employees to grow in their roles, regardless of their position. From the president to our most recent production team hire, every individual has the opportunity to help towards improving results. Even as the company expands, we are relentless about maintaining a constant pursuit toward continuous improvement, whether through training, process change or purchasing a new machine.
Each production team member demonstrates commitment to preserving long-lasting relationships with General Plastics’ customers, and strives to make us your preferred supplier for years to come. Contact us today to discuss how we can find a solution for your unique application. Call us at 866-825-1378.