SCM, a leading producer of machinery and systems for the entire woodworking industry, records an outstanding trend in the first months of 2021, in terms of financial results and order intake.As confirmed by Luigi De Vito, SCM Division Director, the main figures for this first part of the year are extremely positive and the opportunities and customer contacts are increasing day by day.
“We see 2021 as a year in which to consolidate all our strategic markets, including Taiwan market – says De Vito -. The woodworking industry is showing considerable strength, vitality and courage. This is the right time for the woodworking industry to modernise its factories and make their processes more digital, efficient, flexible and eco-sustainable”.
SCM continues to invest in technology, skills and innovation to support its customers with the "Smart&Human Factory": the vision of a digital factory with state-of-the-art automation systems, but accessible to everyone and based on a profoundly human approach and an all-round rapport with the customer.
Automation, Digitalization and Sustainability are the priorities for 2021 and 2022.
“The digital transformation is closely related to other key topics for SCM, such as ‘smart manufacturing’ – adds De Vito -: closer and closer collaboration between smart factories and new skills, a different relationship with services that are increasingly integrated in the product. All of this is increasingly melting into a unified value for customers, a concept of ‘integrated strategy, product and service’ that we are carrying on, representing the core of our relationship with them. Today, for a customer, it is definitely easier to understand what technology can offer, and when we allow him to make the best decision, we can say we have really been able to improve our contact method”.
Regarding Chinese market
"Despite the difficult health situation linked to Covid-19, in 2020, SCM recorded a double-figure increase in its turnover on the Chinese market and managed to accomplish important results - points out SCM's China Country Manager, Damiano Bragie -. Thanks to the experience of our technical and sales team, we have produced complete system projects in close collaboration with leading industry customers, by handling every aspect of the product manufacturing. In 2021, we predict a growth in orders led by the hi-tech solutions that we will take to the trade fair and the conclusion of a series of important 'turnkey' projects on which we have been working since the end of 2020".
THE SCM MAIN PILLARS TO FACE THIS CHALLENGING TIMES
“2020 was really complicated, but these are the situations where you see the courage and strength of a brand. SCM has never stopped its strategic long-term plan launched before the pandemic to keep consolidating its market shares and support its growth. We are willing to invest in products, innovation and markets, as we are doing in India, further strengthening our presence with dedicated warehouses, showrooms, experts and local technical and sales staff.
Regarding the pandemic, SCM immediately created a task force to respond to the pandemic and redefined a strategy based on few strong pillars.
Safety.
“First of all, the safety of people, our greatest asset; in few hours, we enabled 90 percent of our staff not involved in production to work from home, showing that we were ready, and our employees were just as well. The safety plan involved all our sites, in Italy and around the world. Our subsidiaries, more than twenty, across five continents were affected, and thanks to constant networking, they were able to anticipate problems and minimize possible damage.
To start over quickly when the markets reopened, we worked hard in our departments, in production, to implement strict sanitary protocols and to monitor them constantly, sharing every decision with our employees, trade unions, local and regional authorities”.
Customer support.
“It was never suspended, even during the strictest lockdown periods. We transferred the necessary skills to our subsidiaries around the world, which helped us support our customer base when business travel was banned, both for sales and for customer service, responding to all support requests, continuing to make installations, also remotely and in prohibitive conditions. This strategy has rewarded us, as customer renewed their confidence and really appreciated our will to support their production”.
Investments in logistic, spare parts and service.
“We did not stop big investments: during the pandemic, we launched a deep revision of our “spare parts service”, improving all customer support processes with new tools that help us be closer, quicker and more effective”.
Technologies Research & Development.
“Our technical departments have continued to be fully operational. We worked uninterruptedly on our products, maintaining the same investments in innovation and R&D”.
Skills, people. “
Thanks to our Campus, we have pushed even stronger on the training of employees, immediately providing e-learning services for all our sites around the world: more than 70% out of more than 70 thousand hours of training courses delivered in 2020”.
Marketing.
“We have been pioneers with SCM Live Show. A completely new formula, a global event in live streaming in 9 languages, that proved to be even more successful than we imagined if we consider the contacts and negotiations that stemmed from it. And that’s not all. We are also intensifying our on-line demos from all our Tech Centers around the world”.
Source:SCM
