| From Residential Systems Online Llanor Alleyne As much as we would like to bury our heads in the sand, or carefully
parse words concerning the truth of a U.S. economic recession, the
reality is all around us. If the fact that former baseball MVP, Jose
Canseco recently admitted to having a judgment on his $2.5-million home in Encino, California, isn’t a sign of the struggling house market, then I don’t know what is.
Last week, I paid a visit to Niles’ 60,000-square-foot factory in Miami to talk to president Frank Sterns, and vice president of sales and marketing, Mike “Sparky” Detmer, about how they see the current state of the custom installation market, where Niles Audio is in this reshaped landscape, and what the company is doing to stay in the game. Philosophical Foundations
“We have a key guiding principle that says we will develop ‘innovative, reliable, application-specific products that delight our customers,'" Sterns said. “That means we spend a great deal of time understanding installers and end users and developing products that are appropriate for the specific application.” Accomplishing Missions How? At its massive headquarters, which spreads over a number of lots, Niles Audio has created pods and pockets of employees who, by virtue of their office locations, are in constant collaboration. This set-up is especially poignant when following the path of a product from creation to shipping.
“We use a team approach that is cross-functional and collocated,” Sterns said. “By that I mean we assign an 'experience' to a product development group such as ‘design a home theater automation system that will appeal to aging baby boomers.’ We then assemble a team that represents all aspects of the company, from hardware to software to purchasing, marketing, quality, etc. We put everyone on the team together in their own area of the building and they work together to develop the product.” Sterns added that the benefits of this team design enables quick decision making, efficient and effective communication, and facilitates better solutions to stubborn problems. “We employ multiple teams working on different products and thus are able to maintain our broad assortment of solutions for custom installers,” he noted.
From production, Niles products undergo a rigorous testing phase, led by Ed Belange, who is tasked with verification and validation of each product while also serving as the company’s compliance manager. Belange, who during my tour was working on finding any possible software kinks in the new wireless iRemote TS, showed a great fondness and seriousness for his role as both product taskmaster and potential disgruntled end user. Surrounded by AV equipment (flat-panel display, high-end stereo system, and sophisticated computer software), Belange runs products through their paces, alerting production immediately to any malfunctions or software anomalies.
Once a product passes its quality control (QC) tests, it is sent for mass production at the company’s manufacturing plant in China. Products and units are then shipped back to Niles, where further QC tests are carried out, before inventory is released to dealers for sale. All product repairs are conducted at the Miami base, with a turn around time of approximately seven days. The Cost of Excellence Niles Audio prides itself on the immense talent of its production team. Such an attentive, detail-oriented staff does not come cheap. While other companies first look to staff cuts to financially weather economic downturns, Niles Audio has chosen to remain aggressive not only in maintaining its cache of engineers and innovators, but also in its delivery of new products.
“Niles is focused on introducing significant new product offerings that drive their respective categories and take share from weaker competitors,” Detmer said. “One example is our new ZR-Multizone receiver line. Featuring ZR-4 and ZR-6, each model has significant advantages over competitive brands in their respective price range – for example, robust amplification that drives 4-Ohm speaker loads, weather-resistant keypads with metadata displays, and plug-and-play iPod integration.” Detmer backs up the effectiveness of the company’s strategy by noting that Niles Audio -- aside from its branded and impressive rang of products -- has a number of value-added wares that keeps them more than competitive. “Niles sets itself apart with our vast value proposition,” Detmer said, “which includes
Dealers Have a Say While Niles Audio, as a manufacturer, remains confident that its products and its vision will more than sustain it through these tough times, the company is also looking to share some of this fearlessness by staying in close communication with its dealers. “Frank and I are conducting a series of "Town Hall Meetings" where we meet face-to-face with our dealers in a forum setting to openly discuss the challenges in the market and propose business practices dealers can use to keep healthy and growing,” Detmer explained. The first of these was held in Newark, New Jersey, toward the end of April during the two-day “Ticket to Success” expo at the Frontage Road Holiday Inn. Along with an open forum, training seminars for the IC2 Home Theater Automation and Control systems and ZR-4 multizone receiver kit were also held. Detmer added, “During these meetings dealers provide us with valuable insight about our products, policies, operations and promotions that we use to adjust our business to best suit dealer needs.” Copyright © 2008 NewBay Media, LLC All Rights Reserved. |
