‘SCM Group’s website www.scmgroup.com has inspired its manufacturing plants and worldwide subsidiaries to use the internet in countless ways to take forward the business of manufacturing and selling woodworking and panel processing machines.
The SCM website has been designed to project the SCM Group and its machinery to prospective customers around the globe. News, company profile, training, exhibitions, research and development information and the range of machinery made in SCM’s 18 plants are on view and the site is designed to be extremely easy to use.
If a prospective customer requires a particular machine, they can simply locate the category and find a picture and full description for every model within it.
Continual updating of the website is essential as machines are added to the range and old models removed. Again, the aim is to ensure customers get the latest and correct information from SCM as they will obviously also view competitors’ sites before making a purchase decision.
SCM Group and its subsidiaries are undertaking continuous development of their internet activities. Early in 2002, for instance, our distributors in the UK will be able to log on and review and track the specifications and delivery dates/schedules for machine orders, so they can give immediate information to customers.
SCM UK will also be able to order and track all spare parts orders and gain entry to all the spare parts inventory at its factories and worldwide subsidiaries. So, for example, a spare part in SCM USA or SCM Spain stores, can be located, ordered and despatched for next-day delivery either to SCM UK in Nottingham or direct to the customer.
SCM now uses e-mail almost exclusively to communicate between personnel in sales, service or production offices around the world, or directly to the customer, even the accounts invoicing and payments.
Downloading of drivers and programs for CNC machines can also be carried out simply, as can updates of software for running machines, like SCM’s own ROUTOLINK Cad/Cam interface.
Remote access
For the sales engineer/representative, often remote from the office or showroom, updated information and machine specifications, documents, images and quotations can be sent overnight, so when the representative starts work the next morning, they have the very latest information to present to customers.
Quotations, with the latest prices and pictures, can be printed from the rep’s laptop, as can the order sheet. At the end of the week, they simply send all the files to the office for reference.
SCM has also invested heavily in financing and accounting packages and links via the internet to its banks, but that’s another story!
This area will remain a major focus for SCM. Any business today that does not have a good website or use the internet effectively will suffer in terms of sales, efficiency and productivity.’
