A Case Study in Delivery Excellence for Fixate Retail Solutions

Fixate Retail Solutions creates custom-made high quality point of sales and merchandising solutions from concept to installation, including advice on creative impact and customer interaction. Their point of difference is being able to react quickly to client needs and build reliable displays with minimal lead times from concept to delivery throughout Europe. 

 

Their client Logitech wanted retail customers to experience the sound of their Ultimate Ears range of premium Bluetooth speakers by transitioning between speakers whilst listening to their selected music track. In September 2014 Logitech commissioned a competitive pitch for merchandising companies to demonstrate prototype designs, but Fixate’s electronics partner failed to get their system working by the due date. 

 

 

Circad were contacted by Fixate at 6pm on a Friday evening and briefed on the technical issues. Circad believed they could fix the hardware and software faults over the weekend & provide a working prototype for a meeting in Switzerland at 9am on the following Monday. As a result of this effective intervention by Circad, Fixate were contracted by Logitech to supply a range of interactive demonstration systems for the UE Roll, UE Boom and UE Megaboom to retailers across UK and Europe, with Circad manufacturing the PCB's and electronic subsystems. 

 

Dominic Etheridge from Fixate commented “We were left high and dry by our earlier electronics partners. Circad rescued us and went above and beyond the normal standards of service. Since then they have continued to consistently deliver and at no point have they ever let standards slip” 

 

 

A key differentiator for Fixate is to be able to react quickly to client needs whilst retaining high quality, reliable solutions. Dominic believes Circad shares these values: 

 

“They have a huge enthusiasm for finding the right solution and will work tirelessly to get it right. They are a great partner that helps us to excel with clients in our point of difference.” 

 

The demonstrators, of which over 1000 have been supplied across Europe, are of the highest quality to support the premium products they are demonstrating. It follows that they need to work reliably since a broken display conveys the wrong message about the product. 

 

It is also not an insignificant cost for Fixate to deliver a replacement unit to a location which may be in a distant part of Europe. Says Dominic “We did worry about the risks and costs associated with any unreliability, but testament to Circad’s robust design and quality production is that todate no unit has failed” 

 

Circad’s technology is embedded in a range of displays which are constantly being extended. The demonstrators are now third generation and incorporate a number of design improvements to reduce cost and increase functionality. The latest design features touch sensitive buttons, providing a higher quality interaction that befits the premium audio experience. 

 

Fixate are also discussing with Logitech the application of this customer interaction to video displays, where Circad’s knowledge and experience will be invaluable. Dominic concludes: “Clients put their brand in our hands and trust us to add value. Similarly, we put projects with Circad and trust them to deliver excellent technical solutions that are robust and reliable.”