Speaker 1 (00:00):
From my standpoint, the industry is not functioning right now as not taking sustainable practices. There’s a lot of overselling going on right now. There’s a lot of hype that is not founded on reality. So the hope is that there’s learning lessons from this that you can apply to be able to make informed decisions about how you leverage additive. And whether you’re working with DI Labs, you’re doing it yourself or you’re working with others, it has the ability to make a real impact.
(00:28):
We tend to be more forward thinking, strategic in nature, and less tactical and focused on what’s requested for today. How does that impact our clients? Sometimes we’re probably annoying and we’re probably frustrating because we’re asking lots of questions. And it’s not because we think we can do it better. It’s because we think we can contribute to a solution. And the more that we know, the more that we can help. And we become really invested in our clients’ projects because we want to see it. So we want to be a part of something that’s positive, so we want to contribute to success.
(01:04):
And so it’s like we inherit some degree of ownership of their projects. We come in, we ask lots of questions, “What are you doing? Why are you doing it this way?” And we may have ideas for how it can be done differently because of our knowledge and our areas of expertise like additive manufacturing or engineering or whatever. And in some cases, we can help them lower their cost of goods. And other cases we can help them with advantages or features that they otherwise might not have considered.
(01:36):
And because we’ve been in engineering, we’ve been in manufacturing, we’ve launched our own products, we understand those challenges with projects and we can walk alongside them and help provide them with solutions. So I think at first it might be a little bit uncomfortable, but we’ve experienced that it becomes like we’re an extension of our clients.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And sometimes it can be uncomfortable on both sides. We have some of the smartest clients and teams that I’ve ever engaged with, and we challenge them and they challenge us. What comes out of all that is we get to a solution that’s better off because it’s not just a push a go button, but it’s a collaboration, it’s challenging, and it’s an evolution of where we all started. And that’s the most important part of our operation and how we work with our clients.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
It is definitely a push and pull both directions. Yeah. We’ll give a couple examples on both ends of the spectrum. I can give a really basic example. It was for an additive manufacturing customer of ours. They first came to us with a part that they wanted printed. It was the first step into a potential production opportunity, and they asked for us to print it in a certain orientation and they stated why they wanted that.
(03:03):
Well, we got the file and as we assessed it, we didn’t agree with their orientation requests, so we oriented it differently for optimum properties. And they got that part back and they were really frustrated. They’re like, “Why didn’t you do what I asked? This isn’t right.” They ended up getting a refund. And then as we worked with them, they called us back several days later and said, “You know what? As I’ve been looking at this, I’d like to get more parts made because I think you did it right.”
(03:36):
So we worked with him more. We maintained that orientation, and we had a conversation with them here recently, and he said, “Look, if you hadn’t done that for me all the way back then,” he’s like, “I was on the wrong path.” And I said, “I didn’t know it, and I don’t know that I would’ve ever known it if everybody would’ve done exactly what I asked him to do.” And he said, “Because you guys pushed me,” he’s like, “I’m in this place now where…” We have been in production of his product line. And he said, “Thank you for pushing me initially.”
(04:08):
And that’s a great example. And it’s also an example of Brian’s push me, pull me because this client of ours has made us better as well. They’ve pushed hard on us throughout the years to drive towards excellence in certain areas of his product line, and we appreciate him for that. So it’s a great two-way relationship where he’s contributed to the success of his project by pushing us, and we’ve contributed to the success of his project by pushing him.
(04:38):
And today we’re continuing to do that. We’re making, in some cases, some significant changes in our operation because we believe that we can do better to accommodate a request that he has. And that’s just critical. We appreciate him very much for that, and I believe he appreciates us as well.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
We are determined, but we’re not blind. So working with our clients, making sure that we’re going through the right steps, but there’s sometimes when the quality expectations and the demands on a product that just are misaligned. And in those cases it’s our best interest that we’re not a good fit for that client. So we’ll walk away from those, but-
Speaker 1 (05:24):
Are you saying that their quality expectations are too high?
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Their quality expectations and their requirements that they put on a part are misaligned. We’re not able to meet all of those in the same go. And of course, we’re being pressed by price as well. So in those cases, if we can’t… If there’s no flexibility on both sides, then a solution can’t be had.
(05:54):
Oftentimes as we’re taking on a new program, new project, new client, there’s a very specific request for a part to be made on a certain technology with a certain material. And when we get into that mode, we have this opportunity to educate our clients on other technologies that are available and discuss through… This is what an outcome could look like if we went down this path and we started with this technology. If this is where you want to get to, these are some steps we can take along the way to ensure that once we get there, all of your expectations are met.
(06:36):
So there’s a lot of steering and again, pushing and pulling on the front end of projects to make sure that we understand what their outcome is going to be. So that we can align the best practice with that.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
That’s always been a challenge for us in general, and that’s pushing back because it’s like, how do we know for sure if we’re right or are they right? And this is another great example of customers that have pushed us. As we’ve worked with certain customers, we’ve actually had customers push us and say, “Hey, look, you need to push us,” thinking about product development. And basically asking us to push back more. And so that’s been helpful for us.
(07:28):
And just building the… I guess confidence to be humble, but also voice our honest opinion about what’s the right solution. And that’s where I’d say we’re getting better about that, but there is still a great deal of humility that comes along with that. We’re at no point think that we know it better than anybody else, and we’re learning. And that’s a balance that we continue to find ourselves in is honoring the customer’s intent and also our position of serving them with the knowledge that we have.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
Additive changes so rapidly. We have to define some protocols for today so that we can live and function. At the same time, we’re balancing this… Increasing our understanding in each area. So yeah, things change over time. Sometimes what we were doing a year ago isn’t the right thing for today. So we had to keep flexing and learning, developing, changing those protocols.
(08:43):
Our customers care about the strategic side of our thinking because we add more value to the solution that we provide. And without the collaborative push and pull, we’re missing possible value. So when a part comes in, it has a value proposition of X. And if we can redefine that value proposition with our client, then we can double or triple the value of that product or the solution. So that it’s solving more than just what we believed was the right problem to begin with. It can be solving multiple solutions and can become much more valuable than we started.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
From my standpoint, the industry is not functioning right now as not taking sustainable practices. And I’m not talking about environmental. I’m talking about sustainable from a business decision standpoint, sustainable from communicating honest and clear messaging, promoting themselves and their products with honest honesty rather than overselling.
(09:57):
There’s a lot of overselling going on right now, and we’re seeing some of that with company valuations. We’re seeing some of that with company structures changing. And I believe that we’re going to see more of that both on the equipment side and the service bureau side because there’s a lot of hype that is not founded on reality. And my hope is that that changes and these folks, these actors, that are taking those roles, clean up the act. Because it doesn’t do us any good as an industry to try and build the industry or a business on something that isn’t sustainable.
(10:40):
And that could be everything from promoting equipment that doesn’t really operate as it’s promoted. It could be operating a service provider and doing the same thing, offering something that’s not really provided and doing it at a unsustainable price point. I think naturally a lot of this will get corrected through whatever is ahead of us from an economic standpoint. I hope that it’s a healthy correction, not an unhealthy. But I hope there’s an evolution because I think we need to make an evolution in order to elevate the potential of additive manufacturing to make the kind of difference that it can make.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
I think a point that we can all be at in a project, in a program, if we’re working with outside vendors, working with inside team members, is that we’re trying to navigate where we’re at in that program. And if things aren’t going quite well, you’re trying to do course correction. You’re course correcting through that effort. This is where promises can occur, where we’re going to make improvements, things are going to get better. And over a long-term period of time, maybe it’s a year, maybe it’s six months, the output result doesn’t really change. It continues a downtrend or continues a flat trend.
(12:08):
And what you’re looking for is an evolution or a dramatic change, either on quality or your vendor support or whatever that is. Programs get to the state where you’ve got to see them through long enough to understand, is there going to be an improvement or is this just a long-term failure? And at some point you’ve got to cut those programs off and try something different.
(12:32):
I think if there’s a frustration I have is that we can all be in this mode of being hopeful that the promises made will be delivered upon. And you’ve got to give it enough time to get through that, but at some point you’ve got to cut that thing off and find a different approach. And I believe that’s where we offer the most support to our clients is when they’re in that stage, they’ve experienced a condition that is unhealthy where they’re not seeing all the results that they want to see. They have additional costs as they’re receiving product, they’re having high defect rate. Making that change can be challenging, but we are here to support where we can when we can.
