Check out our latest blog post below where we share our approach to customer experience in engineering consultancy.
In 2021, Armech Solutions worked with a family-owned company specialising in the design, development, and delivery of ride systems and services for the theme park industry. They have a stellar reputation for delivering quality, safety, and reliability in a range of disciplines such as design, manufacturing, installation, and aftercare.
This case study is a little different to our usual work, as we focus less on the technical but more about how we worked with this client to build our relationship and provide the best possible outcome for this project.
This was exactly the case for our theme park engineering client, who first came to work with Armech Solutions and our partner company SDEA Solutions in 2019. Having worked with many large consultancies in the past, the managing director was at first hesitant and had a lack trust and faith that this experience would be any different.
This was exactly the case for our theme park engineering client, who first came to work with Armech Solutions and our partner company SDEA Solutions in 2019. Having worked with many large consultancies in the past, the managing director was at first hesitant and had a lack trust and faith that this experience would be any different.
But at Armech Solutions, we aim to bust these industry norms and bring simple solutions to complex problems: with the client’s needs at the heart of all we do. Here’s how we do it…
Consultancies don’t take ownership of projects.
When having previously only worked with large scale firms, we can understand how our clients often have this believe. Consultants are often branded as ‘glorified button pushers’ that need their hand held at every step of the way, lack initiative and want the client to spell out the analysis inputs and acceptance criteria in minute detail. On this project Armech’s scope was “make sure it’s strong enough”. We then took the product design and specification to determine the loads and boundary conditions, the governing standards and methodology to use, and the acceptance criteria. Of course, we presented this – as a basis of analysis – to be reviewed and approved by the client to make sure everybody was singing from the same hymn sheet. But our goal is to remove some load from our clients, not add to it.
How we do it.
Our client feedback for the way that we work has been exceptional. The managing director had this to say:
“When working with Armech, they truly took the time understanding the big picture of our project. They became an extension to our in-house team, took ownership and guided the project to success”
At Armech Solutions, we believe it’s important that we aren’t just running analysis and pushing buttons, we want to build a strong working connection with our clients, and be involved in all relevant aspects of the project. This allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the high-level objectives, and provides a clearer view of how our work should develop to best support the client’s needs. We take responsibility for the project and use our knowledge and experience to make recommendations and decisions. We understand that if our client needs to spend too long holding our hand, they might as well do the work themselves. That’s why we focus on building strong relationships with a small number of clients. We understand their business needs, the way they work, and how we can help them strengthen their offering.
Consultancy firms pass you from pillar to post
This is another common misconception about what working with a consultancy will entail. Often in traditional consultancy firms a senior, experienced engineer will run any initial meetings when in actual fact it is someone far more junior who ends up working on the project. Additionally, different engineers will work on each project in these large firms – meaning there is little to no rapport built between each party, which leads to a poor working relationship.
How we do it.
At Armech Solutions, we are big on relationships and believe clear and open communication is key to mutual success. We cut out the big company bureaucracy and get straight to the work. That’s why we are often involved in client’s in-house discussions and meetings with their clients to discuss project status at no additional cost. We love being involved in the bigger picture of our client’s work and are happy to support in the build of stronger end-client proposals, project and budget plans.
As a small dynamic team, what you see is what you get. Our engineers will take a project end-to-end, ensuring that a strong working relationship can be fostered between individuals, as we know that people are key to success. We never over promise and under deliver, that’s not our style.
Consultants are one trick ponies & their work is too niche.
Due to the highly technical nature of analysis work, often consultancy firms will have a highly specialised focus. Although this can be a positive thing for clients who require this level of expertise, the reality is that most projects do not benefit from such a narrow focus. This often leads to firms outsourcing work to multiple agencies, with the old saying about too many cooks, spoiling the broth being highly pertinent.
How we do it.
As a team, we have over 35 years of experience in a number of different engineering disciplines across a range of industries. This diversity allows us to offer a range of services, all completed to the highest possible standard. We also have specialists in numerical simulation, but we combine this with practical engineering skills, to make sure that the fundamentals are correct before getting to the simulation stage. This diversity is what allows us to take the stress off of our client’s shoulders, as we can see a project through from design, conceptualisation, analysis and more. This client seen the advantages of our full-service flexibility first hard. “We had initially hired Armech to do some specialist analysis that we didn’t have capacity for in-house, however they also wound up providing some really useful design inputs! They brought experience from other industries, which led to significant cost reductions. We discuss potential projects regularly and consider them as part of our team” Managing director of the theme park engineering firm.
Consultancies are too expensive
This is something you will hear time and time again in industry, that working with external consultancies come with astronomical costs. In some cases, this can be true, some consultancies will start billing the minute they send you the very first email at an extremely high cost. They do this of course to cover their own overheads, such as high sales & marketing budgets, presence at exhibitions, and the administrative burden associated with larger companies.
How we do it
At Armech Solutions, we cut out the unnecessary costs and deliver those cost savings to our clients. We believe that advanced engineering shouldn’t cost the earth. Obviously, the hourly rate of consultancy is always going to be more that than of a full-time employee, as we include more than just the personnel costs. But working with us can be a cost-effective solution allowing you to bring in the resource you need, at the time you need it and without the costs and time associated with full time hiring.
Our client had this to say “Cost was an initial blocker when we began searching for a consultancy firm, however working with Armech Solutions was the perfect answer for us. They delivered the work to an extremely high standard whilst staying well within our budget. We were also able to save costs on licensing, hardware & software that we didn’t have to purchase for the project”.
Get in touch.
This is a story from just one of many clients we have surprised and delighted over the last couple of years, and we would like to thank the client for their kind words and feedback that have contributed to this blog post.
Does our way of working sound like it could work for you and your business? Why not reach out to us today and see if we could make it happen for you. Arrange your free of charge initial consultation via the button below!
