Innovators - Not Imitators
ANKOM Technology is a small company with BIG IDEAS. We view product development as investigators trying to solve problems. We build teams that understand the customer's point of view. We attempt to chronicle a day or week in the life of the end user.
To drive innovation we ask a lot of questions. If you participated in one of our R&D meetings, you'd hear someone saying "So what?" on a regular basis. Not because we want to argue with each other, but because we want to push the limits. The "so what" question seeks answers that lead to improvement and excellence. It forces us to again step into the shoes of the potential user and address his or her needs
As problem solvers we are constantly seeking answers and new approaches. We want to break down the barriers that hinder our customers. Is a process time consuming? We want to save time. Is it labor intensive? We want to automate. Is it imprecise? We want to make it rigorous. Is the process costly? We want to make it economical.
Although we use our experience to improve our processes, we encourage our people to take risks and try new ideas. We don't want our people to fear saying "what if." When we get to the prototype stage, you'll find us on the phone with other researchers and users of our products. We outline ideas and seek their input. In some cases we have them trial the prototype and make improvement suggestions. Our customers are part of the team.
When we introduce a new product or procedure, the questions don't stop. We continue to listen for the voice of our users. Did we satisfy their needs? Did we make their life easier? Did we help their business acheive its goals? Can we improve even more?
Innovators don't stop, because there are always opportunities for change and improvement. Others may choose to be imitators; at ANKOM we choose to be innovators.