In the course of most successful businesses there are many stories worth telling. A particular standout among our success stories is of our Supplier Certification that we earned with Siemens Medical Systems, Inc., Nuclear Medicine Group.

Several years ago Siemens was in the process of developing a new nuclear imaging system that was to be their premier product line. Coinciding with this was the design of a crating system for both domestic and export shipments. A consulting firm outside the area was selected to develop standards including drawings and written procedures. The design took the consulting firm over one year to put together. Once the specifications, drawings and procedure were completed they were given to an outside crater to follow.

Field complaints (of which the worst was damage) began coming in with the early shipments. Customers were also complaining about the design and inability of the pack to protect the contents. Neither the consulting firm nor those doing the physical crating were able to respond to the deficiency effectively.

Clarke Packing & Crating Company was a vendor to Siemens for several years prior to this incident. Because of our reputation in the field of crating medical equipment, Siemens requested a meeting with us for a recommendation.

After reviewing all facts and recent experiences it seemed to us that the consulting firm lacked the practical experience of physically dealing with crating in a real and hands-on manner. It also seemed that the crating source did not have the technical expertise to know how to address the problems that were designed by someone else.

The system in question consists of various components each requiring protection for shipment overseas via ocean freight. The seriousness of the problem required a two-week window of opportunity to totally redesign an effective crating system and develop a written procedure that would eliminate the numerous problems in the field.

To answer the challenge, we worked around the clock to meet Siemens' need. After two weeks we shipped the first unit to their premier customer for comment. The response was overwhelmingly positive. We developed what has become a 100-page procedure that has been in use for almost six years without a single damage report due to crating. We have received many compliments worldwide regarding our quality. Within the first year we earned the status of Certified Vendor for Siemens Medical Systems, Inc. We are proud of this achievement and are challenged every day by Siemens. We are dedicated to working intelligently and with determination to keep them satisfied.