Globalisation and technological advancements have introduced flexibility and variations in products and services resulting in increased competition where customers have a choice to choose suppliers with reputable standards for quality, reliability and customer satisfaction. So, companies need to focus on developing innovative strategies which will help them gain competitive edge in the market. And downturn is the best time to do that. The Cover Story in this edition discusses the topic
of customer satisfaction, the key elements needed to fulfil customer demands for timely delivery while also assuring manufacturing profitability, with examples from the machining area. The topic for Industry Focus and Viewpoint sections in this issue is Cutting Tools. Manufacturers are always in search of a good compromise between the quality of machined parts and the machining time in order to reduce the costs.
