Strong Demand Continues
Even though the economic situation remains fluid, Denholms and C E Edwards continue to see strong demand from our customers. We are particularly pleased to hear from past customers who have been quiet over the previous year – a sign that our commitment to staying in touch with customers past and present is valuable!
We saw a reduction in new orders for a couple of months following a strong start to the year though it is encouraging that order levels have risen significantly more recently.
Inevitably, this fluctuation presents challenges. We recognise that efficiency is key to our continuing success and maintaining efficiency requires regular and significant investment. Committing to large scale investment is always a big decision where we need to weigh the challenges of balancing capacity/efficiency against confidence levels regarding the continuity of new order flow.
Avoiding short-termism
We are only too aware of the ease with which an engineering business can fall into the trap of becoming over-reliant on a few big customers. Initially, it;s great when things are going well. Reducing investment both on and off the shop floor can improve the bottom line in the short-term. Then all too suddenly, a drop in demand from a big customer can have unpalatable consequences and when it happens it is often too late to do anything about it.
This risk may seem obvious, but how often has this chain of events meant the failure of previously successful businesses – and the decline in the engineering sector overall.
This is not the path that Denholms and C E Edwards are going to take!
Value-driven ‘Partnership for Performance’
We talk regularly about our ‘Partnership for Performance’ approach where we move away from a traditional sub-contract engineering service model, towards a one-stop-shop based on partnerships with major foundries and similar service suppliers. This approach gives OEM’s the opportunity to see the significant cost and efficiency benefits delivered through reduced supplier counts and single-point quality management.
Strong relationships with a portfolio of high-performance foundries are essential to the Denholms/C E Edwards philosophy and again is proving beneficial as more equipment manufacturers embrace our approach.
The C E Edwards site in Stoke on Trent has recently taken delivery of a range of large pump-case castings direct from our partner-foundry in Sheffield ready for machining, finishing and quality approval before being shipped to our new customer in Belgium for final assembly.
Even in the environment of uncertainty between the UK and our European partners, Denholms and C E Edwards continue to forge strong international working relationships through the bottom line of delivering real value and benefit!
Looking to the future
Investment has been a core element of the Denholms/C E Edwards strategy over the past decade and we recognise it is essential that this policy continues. As we see our ‘Partnership for Performance’ relationships flourish, it creates a great platform to keep capacity investment and demand in balance.
If you would like to find out more how ‘Partnership for Performance’ with Denholms and C E Edwards can benefit your business, either as an OEM or as a service supplier, do get in touch
Alternatively, take a look at our Partnership for Performance Slideshow
