Customer Service

3D PLUS Strategy to Achieve Customer Satisfaction

Since the creation in 1995, 3D PLUS has prided itself on providing outstanding service to its customers. All teams in direct connections with customers have always been listening customers and supporting them from the design to the aftermarket sales.
3D PLUS is worldwide recognized for its outstanding customer service and has historically been many times congratulated from its major customers, through customer survey or meetings, for its excellence in customer support.

Customer Feedback

3D PLUS relies heavily on formal feedback from its customers to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
This feedback is usually received through periodic scorecards from key customers who provide useful information about our performance in areas most important to them.
Typically, these criteria include Logistics, Commercial, Technical, Customer Support, and Quality performance. This process has resulted in several continuous improvement initiatives at 3D PLUS.

Survey

3D PLUS has complemented the results obtained via scorecards with 1 annual customer satisfaction survey process with our Sales Representatives during our yearly Sales Meeting.
3D PLUS is going to conduct same type of survey with direct customer contact from its web site.

Business Review

3D PLUS promotes regular business reviews leaded by its Sales Manager Area with its major accounts, as a formal forum for feedback in various business aspects including product and technology strategy, logistics, systems, and quality.

Field Quality Organization

3D PLUS has appointed field quality support personnel in North America based in California, in China, Russia and Japan with our Sales representatives’ organization, field application support is in place, elsewhere and as backup of Sales representatives. Product Managers are in charge of technical customer support in addition to Project Managers and Quality when necessary.

Customer Specification Review Process

3D PLUS has a system for the formal review of all customer documents specifications and information requests.
These requests are generally submitted through your 3D PLUS Sales Representatives or 3D PLUS Sales Managers. The response will be prepared by Sales Managers linked with product managers and project managers. All in coordination with experts like process engineering, design center, business planning, manufacturing and quality. Any exceptions to customer requirements are negotiated with and approved by the customer before an order can be placed.

Customer Order Acknowledgment

3D PLUS has a project management system established.
A formal review for every purchase order is taking place prior any activity can be launched.
This formal meeting called “contract review” is leaded by Sales representatives, with project managers, quality, test representatives, manufacturing and procurement. They all verify compliance of customer purchase order with 3D PLUS feasibility in terms of quantity, quality and delivery date. In all cases Sales representatives gives feedback to customer by the return of Acknowledgement form, confirming prices and delivery time.

Returned Material Acceptance (RMA)

3D PLUS strives to supply defect-free products with the highest levels of quality and reliability. Should a product not operate according to the customer expectations in their systems, investigation and analysis is handled by our Failure Analysis and Returned Material Acceptance (RMA) system. 3D PLUS field sales and applications groups work closely with the customer to determine the root cause of failures. However, if further analysis is required, the 3D PLUS Quality group procedure should be used and the suspect parts to be analyzed are returned to 3D PLUS factory.
We ask our customers to provide detailed information on any product returned for analysis in order to ease the fastest response and closure.
3D PLUS places top priority on providing quick containment and quick initial feedback (24hours) to our customers.
A specific process to return materials already delivered to customers is in place at 3D PLUS.

Return Material Acceptance can be authorized in different cases:

• Need options to finish products like tinning, varnish, …
• Need 3D PLUS support for ongoing customer activities,
• Need 3D PLUS investigate conformity of products (Failure analysis).

Depending the case, 3D PLUS will issue a RMA, to authorized customer return to 3D PLUS and ensure good traceability of customer product property.
For some countries with the military grade -55°C or +125°C products will have to go through customs with a specific procedure. In this case directions will be transmitted by 3D PLUS to customer prior return.

Failure Analysis Process

When customer ship us back products with authorized RMA for Failure analysis purpose, 3D PLUS will open a Non Conformance Report with a chronologic number.
3D PLUS will conduct the necessary actions to complete properly the failure analysis with the 8D problem solving methodology, and issue a failure analysis report with a statement of either customer responsibility or 3D PLUS responsibility.
3D PLUS will ask customer agreement prior any destructive analysis activity.
In all cases 3D PLUS responsibility will conduct to internal corrective actions to eradicate the concern.
In some cases, 3D PLUS may alert other customers about the concern.

Product Change Notice (PCN)

3D PLUS relies heavily on continuous improvements to enhance our products. In our fast moving technology, 3D PLUS must also stay competitive. These factors result in changes to our products after they are released for mass production.
3D PLUS has a comprehensive system to manage such changes including inventory management and customer notification when required. Customers are notified through a change notice prior to the implementation of a major change available in our web site.
In some cases, change notices will result in product obsolescence. In these instances, specific details on the last time buy (LTB) date, last time ship (LTS), and replacement part information will be widely distributed through our Sales and Marketing group including worldwide Sales representatives.
The 3D PLUS Web Site includes a PCN query screen that allows customers to easily search our database.

Customer Training Program

3D PLUS reinforced its customer campaign training in 2012 in order to help the users to store, assemble and control 3D PLUS products on board.
Today on regular basis , trainings are performed for clients at customer place or at 3D PLUS, on several topics such as Storage, Manual and Automatic Assembly, visual inspection and Documentation review.
A dedicated training center at 3D PLUS in now operational for 8 people at a time.

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