TAMCO Case Study: Makita U.S.A.

The Case. Makita U.S.A. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Makita Corporation, which is based in Japan. Since introducing their first electric tool in 1958, Makita has grown to become one of the world’s largest producers of power tools and is recognized as the world leader in cordless power tool technologies. Because of their strict attention to quality products and best in class customer service, Makita has become recognized as the leading supplier of power tools to the “trade professional”. Craftsmen, who depend on their tools to earn their livings and build their reputations, count on Makita tools every day.

The Situation
As a successful business experiencing rapid growth, Makita USA has over 30 locations throughout the United States to support its dealer network and contractors. Makita is headquartered in La Mirada, California and has major distribution and service centers in New Jersey, Georgia, and Illinois. In addition to these centers, Makita also has 23 factory service centers located in cities throughout the United States. Makita’s number one priority is top notch customer service. Based on customer feedback suggesting that their customer service levels were beginning to decline and their current communications platform was contributing greatly to the problem, Makita realized that a change to their telecommunications system would be necessary.

Although the existing system was not very old, the call center functionality was behind the times and was beginning to affect their customer satisfaction ratings, along with their revenues. Makita needed a system that could link all of their locations together “seamlessly” so that customers could contact a Makita representative regardless of what time zone they were in, as well as having access to meaningful real-time and historical reports.

The Solution
After much diligence, Makita USA chose the Nortel CS 1000 platform with “state of the art” applications and a robust MPLS network through a TAMCO Partner. However, choosing new technology was just a part of the total solution – having not

long ago invested heavily in a technology solution that was no longer meeting their needs. Makita wanted a solution that would protect them from rapidly changing technology, not to mention their ever evolving business requirements and the additional hardware investments that are a frequent necessity. In order to accommodate their needs and provide them with the peace of mind they were seeking, Makita chose the TAMCO Shield program.

TAMCO Shield provides Makita U.S.A. with the ability to leverage the best that technology has to offer without any of the typical burdens of ownership. Makita was able to preserve their capital for investment in business operations and reduce monthly telecom operating expenses while creating major improvements in technology, revenue generation, customer service, and morale. Makita realized that they didn’t want to own technology but rather treat it as an outsourced service, using it only while it is useful.

The System Replacement Guarantee ensures that they are protected from changing and disruptive technologies so that they will never again be hand cuffed to a system that does not meet their needs. TAMCO Shield offers a total solution that addresses business, fi nance, and technology concerns – not to mention that it has provided Makita U.S.A. with more value and less risk than any other offering in today’s complex and competitive marketplace.