en 
Industrie 4.0 in Bocholt. Mensch-Maschinen-Interaktion in der Fertigung
German Craftsmanship: Gigaset Factory Tour in Bocholt
2. May 2017 Published by Raphael Doerr
On Tuesday, April 4th 2017, a delegation of twenty full-service and wholesale partners left for the Gigaset factory in Bocholt, Germany. In contrast to many other companies, Gigaset chooses to manufacture its products in Germany rather than Asia, for example. This manufacturing approach is possible thanks to the high level of automation the company employs.
Manufacturing and testing
The factory visit was comprised of two informative sessions. The first session consisted of a factory tour, in small groups. This is where we learned how the brand’s handsets are made. Because we were able to experience the manufacturing process up close, it became clear just how much Gigaset pro focuses on quality. The handsets aren’t simply spray painted, for example. Instead, the plastic basis has the right color from the start – for better color longevity.
Session two was a visit to the Gigaset pro test center. During a tour through the soundproof rooms, we experienced how the company tests the audio quality of its devices. In these rooms, the brand also examines in what way Wi-Fi signals impact DECT transmitters, and the longevity of a handset. This is determined with a drop test: the test devices are dropped in every conceivable way to guarantee nothing will break. During this session, the importance of quality was once again highlighted: the devices have to undergo ten to twelve test processes as a part of a quality inspection.
Positive reactions to leasing concept
Once both sessions ended, Marketing Director Ron Cottaar shared Gigaset pro’s vision of the future, and the brand’s business portfolio. He also teased new products and services that will complement this portfolio in the future. Including leasing, something X2com has been dealing with for a while. Now that we – in addition to hosted switch boards – are bringing devices into the leasing concept, we’re responding to growing customer demand. This way, we offer a ready-made concept – which was well-received by our partners.
Advanced Interop Partner
An additional surprise this day was receiving the Advanced Interop Partner status. X2com is the first company in the Benelux to achieve this status: a great milestone. The status shows that the Gigaset pro and X2com products integrate perfectly, allowing us to offer customers a complete solution. Auto provisioning makes for a quick and easy integration. In the future, we’re aiming for an even higher status level. Together with Gigaset pro, we’re currently researching how to improve the optimization between our platforms and the Gigaset pro products.
Looking back on this day, positive reactions are still coming in – and that shows the tour is worth doing again. Which is a good thing, because the interest in the April 4th visit was so great we were forced to turn several partners away.
Although most partners that came along om the trip were already working with Gigaset pro products, they, too, learned something new. The tour drove their enthusiasm for the total package and they were invited to intensify the collaboration with the brand. The great thing about the Gigaset pro products is that they – in combination with our platforms – are able to offer customers a complete communication solution, instead of just one product. By experiencing this personally during the visit to Bocholt, both we and our partners are able to improve the communication of this message towards our customers.
Comments
