2022 was a tough year for business, and here at Veethree we were faced with a number of challenges that we had to work hard at to overcome.
Despite this Veethree finished 2022 on a high note and our order book has been the busiest it has ever been.
One of the biggest challenges was the shortage not only of component parts which had an impact on the production line but also a shortage of skilled labor. Using group procurement in three geographies allowed us to source hard-to-find stock ensuring there were minimum delays in our production and provision to clients.
We were also able to offer our clients a different model to continue obtaining stock, using Premium Price Variance (PPV) which is the difference between the baseline price, and the amount it was purchased at. Although this meant there were some price rises this system enabled us to keep in production and keep product flowing to customers.
Fortunately, due to the group size we were able to forge strong relationships with the manufacturers and suppliers ensuring we were able to acquire the components we needed when we needed them.
With the growing order book, and the steady stream of component parts it was essential to keep the production line going, which threw up extra challenges with the continuing global labor shortages. We were able to overcome this with:
- Automation – we invested in automation in the form of two new Apollo Seko robots which addressed the issues of a lack of skilled labor, as well as ensuring better and more consistent quality solder joints for the electrical connections.
- Productivity – we made a number of productivity and efficiency improvements by ensuring we have better fixturing, and faster machines with the introduction of automated machinery. We also invested in building more manufacturing cells to meet demand.
- Personnel – The automation has ensured the staff we have are utilized according to their skills and where they would be most beneficial. This is in addition to using temporary agencies to provide the staff when and where we need them most as well as increasing the staffing levels in general by 25-30%.
We have overcome a number of challenges to finish 2022 on a high, and with our motivations of customer expectations and growing the business we want to continue this trend in 2023.
Moving forward in 2023
With the possibility that 2023 will fall into a recession in the USA, and potentially across the globe, we don’t think that it will necessarily be an easier year than 2022. However, we have some exciting plans and can’t wait to get stuck in.
Veethree will be continuing its expansion with a new building (more information on this coming soon so watch this space), as well as a continued drive to expand the UK team.
We also have a highly experienced and competent growing global team. This is centrally positioning itself in the middle of the US Market and EMEA allowing for a wide pull of talent and exposure to the market and its conditions.
We are really pleased that Veethree Technologies has been appointed internally as the new display technology center for the Veethree group. This means that Veethree Technologies will be leading the development on the new range of TFT displays.
As part of this appointment to develop the portfolio of products it will be necessary to ensure the production is working to its capacity and we have exciting plans in place to make this happen.
2023 is going to be an exciting time for Veethree so if you would be interested in working with us why not check out our job opportunities here, or if you are interested in our products go to the product pages.