Case Study
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Customer driven strategic thinking and planning
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Mission statement
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Target markets and customers
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Partnerships
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Teams, kaizen, communication and training
• Background
The GSM Group supplies metal and plastic components mainly to the automotive and electronics industries worldwide, and has ca.200 employees on 3 sites in the UK:
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GSM Graphic Arts in Thirsk
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GSM Valtech Industries in Wetherby
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GSM Primographic in Brecon
Thirsk produces labels and front panels for the electronics and other industries, Brecon produces large volume metal labels and Wetherby produces sheet metal kits for the electronics industry. The owner manager,
Barry Dodd, is quoted as saying, “We are engineers who print”.
The company started in 1976 at the Thirsk site and has grown from its roots by a series of well-planned acquisitions and a strategy of continuous improvement in all aspects of its business.
• Strategic Thinking
Barry, the three site general managers and two project managers form the strategy team. Barry says, “There is a time in a company’s development when vital decisions have to be made, and if you don’t make these decisions, things start to drift away, and thereafter it doesn’t matter what decisions you make, you’ve lost”.
He believes having clear goals and objectives is paramount. The GSM Group’s mission statement is:
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GSM Group is committed to supplying metal & plastic components to all industries, realistically priced, with zero defects, delivered when required and produced profitability.
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Our customers come first. GSM will always be helpful, friendly, responsive and pleasant to deal with.
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Using the latest manufacturing techniques and quality systems, GSM will maintain its leading position in UK industry.
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Our team is dedicated to becoming the number one manufacturer in Europe by being more innovative, more cost effective and consistently more