The 2011 Frost & Sullivan European Customer Value Enhancement Award in the Smart E-Meter Market is presented to Mitsubishi Engineering-Plastics (MEP).The company’s willingness to partner with its customers to serve this market has been key to its achieving the leading position. At the same time, MEP entered the Smart e-meter market with the clear intention of partnering not only with its immediate customers, but also with participants further along the value chain such as Smart e-meter and energy companies in order to deliver sustainable solutions.
“By offering sustainable solutions at the design stage, technical support during each step and proactively participating in smart e-meter developments across Europe, MEP stands out from the competition in this market,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst, Deepak Karthikeyan. “MEP is at the forefront of the European Smart meter market with its Xantar and Xantar C range of resins.”
MEP is actively involved at the design stage of the meters, enabling the company to understand exact customer requirements and needs as well as work towards cost optimization with respect to design from the initial stage itself. The reduction in the enclosure wall thickness is one of the key advantages that MEP offers through its integrated working approach, which aims at reducing material consumption, without compromising on other properties such as ductility, hydrolytic stability and fire retardance.
“One specific example of how MEP have created a strong brand differentiation in Europe is the Smart e-meter roll out in France,” remarks Karthikeyan. “Here, MEP worked very closely with energy companies like EDF and Smart e-meter manufacturers like Landis + Gyr (now Toshiba) to develop robust products that met specifications as well as the cost criteria.”
MEP’s technical center in Netherlands, with separate product and application development teams and a clearly defined internal framework, has ensured that the company has the necessary products ready-on-the-shelf. This has resulted in reduced ‘development-to-market’ time. The new FR Xantar and high HDT Glass reinforced grades are examples of this strategic proactive approach.
“Joint product development, dedicated technical support at each step, consistent focus on quality and supply reliability have been the critical differentiating factors for customers to choose MEP and shift from competitor companies,” concludes Karthikeyan. “Its customer value selling approach has helped the company build a stronger brand image and reputation among its immediate customers.”
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Enhancement is presented to the company that has demonstrated excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers with a focus on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. This award recognizes the company's inordinate focus on enhancing the value that its customers receive, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and ultimately customer base expansion.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.
