Executive Perspective: Partnering with Customers to Drive Technological Innovation
Commitment to addressing our customers’ needs and tailoring solutions for them based on their input both enables our best-in-class service and helps drive innovation. It’s this partnership and continuous feedback cycle that helps us to develop new innovations for the Toughbook suite of rugged mobile devices — ultimately helping our customers become innovators themselves. And while our Toughbook products continue to lead the rugged device market, our services and support set us apart as a partner providing the best, most comprehensive, total rugged mobility solutions.
A significant differentiating factor that sets Panasonic apart from competitors is our technical support. Beyond hotline customer support for troubleshooting assistance or discussing repairs, we offer an advanced level of support that customers have come to expect from Panasonic. The mobility engineering team is deeply invested in customers’ operations — so much so that their “office” is wherever the customer may need them. The team truly becomes an extension of customers’ IT teams. We visit customers on site and partner with them for in-depth, technical discussions, and it’s this level of service that is the standard for all our customers — whether they need support for just one device or an entire fleet of mobile tech.
Unmatched Technical Support and Services in the Field
During these field visits, sometimes our customers present challenges that go beyond a simple part repair or software update. It’s no secret that Toughbook customers’ work conditions can be tough on devices. While rugged mobile devices are built to withstand a wide range of environments, our technical services team still faces unexpected obstacles that help us learn and improve our products. For example, one Toughbook customer took their use of the CF-20 rugged laptop beyond what was expected and found that the specific positioning of the device’s hinges were not optimized for their specific use. After opening and closing the device upwards of 10,000 times, the hinge on this detachable device began to wear. Recognizing that this particular customer was using the device differently than others, Panasonic’s engineers reconfigured the bracket on the device to make the hinge more durable to fit their needs. Going beyond traditional pre- and post-sale support, this customer walked away with a device that was redesigned and tailored to their specific needs.
Another Toughbook customer in the security space faced a unique challenge when their work conditions required a device redesign: Working outside in the summer heat, the employees’ regular sunscreen use caused the seal on the screen of their device to erode – due to just one chemical that was not previously tested. The potential impact of sunscreen on devices is not typically a consideration for the design process of a Toughbook, but for this government agency, it was the source of a performance issue with their device. Not only is this chemical now part of the testing process, but the engineering team also redesigned the seal on this set of devices to be resistant to the chemical to hold up during the summertime. The customer also received a separate set of devices to be used in winter months, this time with a seal that allows employees to operate the device while wearing heavy gloves. While significant updates and new product launches are an essential part of our evolution, it is these small incremental upgrades that allow our customers to remain efficient – no matter their environment, challenge or size.
ISO-9001 Certification: Meeting Standards for Quality Management
Being deeply invested in this process, our engineers keep detailed records of a deployment, so if something does go wrong, we have the knowledge to backtrack and identify the exact time and cause of the issue. To provide the quality service that we are known for, our technical services team understands every piece of the puzzle: how each decision affects other departments and ultimately, the end user, allowing our team to resolve problems before they even arise and adapt to unforeseen challenges.
To learn more about our technical services offerings, read our ProServices brochure.
