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L3Harris partners and resellers play an important role in getting leading-edge communication solutions to municipalities that need them most. The company’s commitment to supporting their channel with resources has led to a significant turning point in business for Advanced Communications and Electronics, Inc. (Advanced Communications), according to officials of the New Mexico-based operation. Advanced Communications treats those who buy their products as partners, not simply customers, according to Dennis Ewing, the company’s Branch Manager and Government Account Specialist. Having that same mindset at the vendor level has been key to maintaining those partnerships. “We’re not a sales-first company, we’re a service-first company,” Ewing says. “We’re not here to just sell them a box. We’re here to give them an experience where they’re going to get great service and great products from us, all the way to the manufacturer level.” It’s that dedication to customer needs that led the company to grow from a handful of employees in 1994 to multiple locations within only the first few years. However, their original supplier didn’t provide that level of commitment to Advanced Communications, leading to a “disintegrating relationship” after 20 years, according to Vice President, Lori Henz. Decisions the original supplier was making across the state led Advanced Communications to sever ties with them, even though their team was familiar with the products and selling them to customers. |
“We’re not here to just sell them a box. We’re here to give them an experience where they’re going to get great service and great products from us, all the way to the manufacturer level.” Dennis Ewing |
A NEW DIRECTION
With 35 employees dependent on the company to succeed, Henz says it was a “pretty scary” proposition to move to a different supplier.
“We had been in this relationship for many years,” Ewing recalls. “We literally were in that relationship with blinders on. We never really got to see a lot of outside products. Knowing within a couple of days that we had the reach-out from L3Harris Technologies and hearing the enthusiasm in Lori’s voice following that discussion eased my mind. The leadership in our company has always taken good care of us and always led us down the right path.”
Advanced Communications and L3Harris met and had “a really incredible discussion” about the benefits of L3Harris products and support, according to Henz. The two companies had an agreement in place within a week. Before a month had passed, L3Harris and Dailey & Wells Communications, a San Antonio-based Regional Center of Excellence, sent down teams of engineers and project managers to train the entire Advanced Communications team on the ins and outs of the new products and service support.
“In our 20-year history with our previous supplier, we never had interaction with anyone, even over a new product,” Henz says. “It’s really incredible the relationship L3Harris builds with its dealers. The support has remained at that level or higher since that very day. It was like going from a really, really bad relationship to dating the best person in the world.”
The partnership with L3Harris has been a boon for the company, according to Henz. Advanced Communications has increased sales and their customer base. The level of L3Harris and Dailey & Wells’ support for Advanced Communications and their customers “really cements the brand,” she adds.
EXPANDED CAPABILITIESWhile some end-user agencies in the region had concerns with transitioning to a new radio system due to previous investments, Advanced Communications’ deep customer intimacy and trust built over time gave their customers the confidence to follow them in this new phase of the company’s journey. But it was the capabilities of L3Harris’ XL-200P and XL-200M that sealed the deal. “The XL-200s made it where we can say, this product does everything your radio did 1,000 times better, plus you can talk to the biggest public safety agency within the state of New Mexico,” Henz says. “They could do everything they were already doing plus a lot more.” Further, the products have more functionality, audio playback, displays and L3Harris also has the same level of dedication in customer support as Ewing has for his customers, he says. L3Harris personnel provide him immediate support anytime he has a question or problem to solve. “I think the level that we’ve been able to bring to our customers with the backup of L3Harris has shown that you’re not only going to get a great product, you’re going to get great service behind that,” he says. “It’s a team effort. L3Harris pushes us to want to be better. Switching to L3Harris was literally the best decision the company has made in a long time.” |
ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS & ELECTRONICS
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