The Collaborative Connection

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For August Electronics, great partnerships are the pinnacle of success

These days, the concept of partnership as a linchpin of success is a popular talking point for companies across all industries. It’s very easy – and trendy – to discuss but complex to execute. When an enterprise invests in true partnership with their customers and employees, it opens pathways to lasting growth.

August Electronics is currently reaping the rewards of such an investment, offering compelling evidence that the depth of connections can impact growth as much as excellence, efficiency, and capability. The Calgary-based contract electronics manufacturer (CM) takes collaboration seriously and has the impressive growth numbers to prove it.

“We engage with our customers and somewhat become one,” said company CEO Paul Crawford. “We believe that we are the heart of their business. If we weren't there doing the job to the best of our ability for them, they wouldn't be getting the revenue that they require by selling their product.”

Established in 1991, August Electronics offers end-to-end electronic manufacturing services (EMS) from prototyping to production that supports the full product life cycle. Their specialties include but are not limited to surface mount technology, through-hole PCB assembly, mid-to-complex box build assemblies, and equipment refurbishing and repairs. The firm employs design-for-manufacturing to reduce cost, source components intelligently, and enhance delivery.

Their 85,000-square-foot facility can manufacture, service, inspect, test, and troubleshoot electronic equipment for peak and reliable performance in the field. They have the latest machinery, efficient production lines, and rigorous quality testing.

“We offer a comprehensive array of services to meet our customers’ needs,” said co-owner and COO Tanya Korenda. “We not only do PCB manufacturing, but we also do cable manufacturing, full integration into box build assemblies, full functional testing, and then ship it on to our customers’ end customer. We offer customers a full turnkey solution.”

The electronics industry has huge growth potential as more and more, everyday electronics are getting into every product and every industry. The shift in perception from supplier to partner is essential in August's growth and pursuit of what Korenda describes as “the ideal customer.” As she put it, “We're the company with customers that want someone to partner with. As partners, together we are ready to tackle any hurdle along the manufacturing process.”

Fully engaged partners understand the current challenges in the market and are getting their products built because they're providing alternatives and exploring substitutions, working with August to find the ideal options. “Ideal customers are engaged,” noted Crawford. “We both have to be working towards the end goal.”

The company went all-in on the idealistic strategy as a response to market challenges, particularly in supply chain. “We sat down with some of our partners so we could work together on the supply chain issues,” he added.

Some internal restructuring was needed. They increased the size of their account management so they could continue to offer the customer service that they’re known for, and also built up their procurement group, creating “tag teams” that pair a procurement specialist with an account manager to specialize on individual customers' needs.

To help manage shortages, August created software with APIs to scour the market several times a day looking for parts that may be problematic to obtain. When there’s a potential shortage, buyers automatically get an email to alert them and assist with any allocated components.

Adapting and innovating to meet their customers’ needs is another significant differentiator from others in the space. As a CM, they build products to spec. However, August is willing to shift in order to meet customer need, such as building cables, setting up a repair service, and adding special equipment as required.

“We define innovation as adapting to the needs of the customer,” Korenda said. August’s software team creates innovative customer-specific solutions such as process automation that streamlines manual tasks and speeds up production. Customized customer portals provide their partners on-demand access to critical information, including inventory levels, test results, and other key data, eliminating downtime.

August’s corporate culture is one of competence, caring, and enjoyment. “As an ownership group we want to ensure that our team members come to work every single day and enjoy being here because in their waking hours they spend more time in this facility than they are at home,” Korenda said.

Korenda also stressed the importance of cultural alignment within their partner ecosystem.

“A customer can completely change the culture of your company if they don't have the same values, morals, and same culture within their company as August does.”

Leadership makes a conscious effort to engage with customers socially as well. ““We don't take each other too seriously, and we have fun,” said August’s VP of sales, Jason Johnstone. “We get together in person and socialize. We want to extend the August family to our customers. When we talk about partnership, we want to know what makes our partners tick on a personal level. It's just another level of connection that’s not transactional,” he added.

August’s partners appreciate doing business with a company that has integrity, honesty, and a candid approach to pinpointing limitations or problems. “It comes back to shared values between our company and the companies that we're working with,” said Crawford. “Transparency is essential.”

“We're building the team, hiring the right people, making sure that we're aligned with our new employees and with our new customers,” Crawford concluded. “We're really thankful for our employees and our customers.”