Case Study: Competitive Advantage Measurement Helps Metalworking Tools Manufacturer Understand the Competition and Compete More Effectively

Results

Our client’s competitor had:

  • Restructured manufacturing techniques
  • Worked more closely with customers and suppliers
  • Focused solely on projects resulting in revenue in excess of $100,000

As a result of these findings, our client was able to compete more effectively

Outcome

The study indicated:

  • The client scored well in overall satisfaction measurements but did not significantly outperform competitors
  • Penetration rates were relatively low with small and medium-volume purchasing customers indicating a lack of focus on small to mid-size customers
  • Many small and mid-size customers had total annual purchases that would have positioned them as “large” customers if their purchases from the client had approached 25%
  • These customers were served by distributors, which typically acted as order takers rather than a proactive sales force
  • Distributors were not effectively communicating the “overall value” of the client’s offering and differentiating relative to competitors

Business Challenge

A leading manufacturer of metalworking tools competed in a marketplace with several major suppliers and dozens of smaller, local operations. To increase overall customer share of wallet, the study focused on understanding critical customer requirements in different end user market segments.

 

Research Objective

To assist the client in understanding the competitor’s organizational structure and general strategy. If a long term, cost-reduction strategy was used – identify the steps the competitor took to implement this strategy.

 

 

Methodology

AMG Research completed 400 telephone interviews with Purchasing and Engineering personnel across five market segments including:

  • Aerospace
  • Automotive
  • Heavy Duty Equipment
  • Machine Shops
  • Oil/Gas

AMG Research’s Competitive Advantage Measurement System (CAMS™) was used to help the client understand its position relative to competitors in critical customer requirements. These measurements allowed the client to focus their efforts in several key areas – particularly those where the client was outperforming their competitors.

 

Why AMG Research was Chosen

AMG Research was selected to conduct the research based on our ability to effectively complete interviews with difficult-to-reach audiences and our unique CAMS™.