2014 U.S. Customer Survey Results - Customers Pick the Top Ten Best Performers
07/17/2014 //
The top ten companies that received the highest customer evaluations are shown in the following table.
Top Ten Best Performers - Questions 1-12
| Rank | Company | Average Score | Total Responses | Base of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Samtec | 4.800 | 182 | US |
| 2 | Kycon | 4.685 | 33 | US |
| 3 | HARTING | 4.574 | 62 | Germany |
| 4 | Phoenic Contact | 4.561 | 108 | Germany |
| 5 | WAGO | 4.535 | 49 | Germany |
| 6 | 3M Electronics | 4.482 | 160 | US |
| 7 | Molex | 4.471 | 284 | US |
| 8 | Corning | 4.469 | 22 | US |
| 9 | Rosenberger | 4.464 | 18 | Germany |
| 10 | Weidmuellar | 4.459 | 68 | Germany |
| Industry Average | 4.316 |
Highest Possible Score = 6.000
The top ten performers include five U.S. companies and five German companies. Samtec was ranked #1 for the third consecutive year.
The following table shows how the 2014 Top Ten ranked in the past five surveys conducted.
Top Ten Rank in Past Five Surveys
| Company | 2007 | 2009 | 2011 | 2012 | 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samtec | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Kycon | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| HARTING | 6 | 26 | 14 | 8 | 3 |
| Phoenix Contact | 3 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| WAGO | NIS | NIS | NIS | NIS | 5 |
| 3M Electronics | 9 | 17 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
| Molex | 4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
| Corning | NIS | NIS | NIS | NIS | 8 |
| Rosenberger | NIS | 4 | 11 | 13 | 9 |
| Weidmueller | 12 | 11 | 12 | 6 | 10 |
NIS = Not in Survey
Of particular note:
Samtec was ranked #1 best performer in four of the past five surveys. Kycon is a strong #2.
HARTING has steadily improved performance since a poor ranking in 2009. Now the company has ranked in the Top Ten in the past two surveys, and recorded a strong #3 position in 2014.
Phoenix Contact clearly has demonstrated its ability to serve customers by a Top Ten rank in all the surveys.
3M Electronics dropped out of the Top Ten only once in the past five surveys.
Molex consistently has a Top Ten rank. Further, Molex is the only company that ranks in both the Top Ten for largest connector companies and Top Ten Best Performers.
Weidmueller has achieved Top Ten status in the last two surveys.
The distribution of responses by job function and sales channel is shown in the following table:
Distribution of Responses By Job Function and Sales Channel
| Type | Engineering | Purchasing | Other | Total | % of Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OEM | 136 | 59 | 14 | 209 | 46% |
| Cable Assy Mfr | 6 | 15 | 11 | 32 | 7% |
| CEM | 13 | 21 | 5 | 39 | 9% |
| Distribution | 9 | 34 | 68 | 111 | 24% |
| Other | 32 | 12 | 20 | 64 | 14% |
| Total | 196 | 141 | 118 | 455 | 455 |
| % of Total | 43% | 31% | 26% | 100% | 100% |
Note, 43% of participants were engineers and 46% were OEMs.
Further articles will identify best performers in areas such as quality, delivery, price, etc.
Ronald E. Bishop
Ronald E. Bishop founded Bishop & Associates Inc., a market research firm that specializes in the world electronic connector industry, in 1985. The firm publishes a monthly newsletter titled “The Bishop Report,” and the twice-monthly digital publication Connector Supplier.
The reports, produced by a staff of 20 researchers, focus on geographic regions, end-user equipment markets, connector products, and interconnect technologies.
The firm also provides executive placement services and conducts multi-client studies and customer surveys, and assists in merger and acquisition activity.