SEACOMP PROVIDES A NEW WAY FOR CLIENTS AND PROSPECTS TO TOUR MANUFACTURING FACILITIES WITH MATTERPORT

SEACOMP first got its start as an American sales office for a Hong Kong-based LCD module supplier in 1997. Since then, the company has built three separate divisions, all to help customers across the industrial, medical, and consumer product spaces turn their ideas into a reality.

The electronics product manufacturer first opened its manufacturing facility in Dong Guan, China, in 2012, and has since worked with established industry leaders as well as startups at the earliest stages of product development. 

What sets SEACOMP apart in the electronic manufacturing space is their dedication to providing customers with an ethical and reliable partnership as well as a quality customer experience throughout the product development,

engineering, and manufacturing processes.

“The mission of the company is to help innovators deliver awesome,” says Terry Arbaugh, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “All of our customers are primarily in the industrial, medical, and consumer product spaces. They come to us with great new ideas for next-generation products they're working on, and our purpose is to help them get to market and deliver an amazing customer experience.”

A New Way for Clients to Tour Manufacturing Facilities

When SEACOMP works with a client to manufacture their product, Arbaugh says the partnership is all about trust.

“When a customer is choosing a manufacturer, you have to do more than just prove your capabilities as a manufacturing partner,” Arbaugh explains. “You’ve got to build trust. People have to be able to trust you while adding value along the way.” 

Prior to the pandemic, the company established trust with its open-door policy. Any customer-side stakeholder was welcome to visit the factory in Dong Guan and have the opportunity to meet the team, tour the facility and see SEACOMP’s processes firsthand.

Our customers, as well as our internal team, were unable to visit our manufacturing facility beginning January of 2020,” explains Arbaugh. “That included members of our executive leadership team, who are all based out of Hong Kong and typically visit our facility two to three days a week to work onsite with the team.”

SEACOMP needed a way to show clients and prospects detailed processes that 2D images and standard corporate videos simply couldn’t capture. While competitors had turned to live video chats and conferencing, the team still needed to overcome the significant time zone difference between China and customers based in other countries. Needing a safe, accurate, and immersive way for clients and prospects to tour their facilities, SEACOMP found Matterport. 

Working with Matterport Capture Services and a Matterport Capture Technician, the company scanned digital twins of their offices and manufacturing facility that gave clients and prospects 3D walkthroughs of the factory’s equipment and layout without the time, cost, and health risk of travel.  

Arbaugh estimates the use of digital twins is saving approximately $250,0000 in travel expenses per year for employee and customer travel to the manufacturing facility. 

Winning New Business with Digital Twins

Bird Buddy, a smart bird feeder with internet-enabled functionality, found the Matterport digital twin useful in selecting SEACOMP as their partner for product development, engineering, and manufacturing.

"Especially given that we couldn't be there in person due to Covid, the digital twin was extremely helpful for us to understand the quality of the facility, the layout, and organization of the various stations and equipment, and to visualize where and how our products and components would be handled,” says Kyle Buzzard, Co-Founder of Bird Buddy. “It definitely helped build confidence in Seacomp and gave them an edge against their competitors who were not able to provide a similar experience." 

Better Quality Assurance

As Arbaugh explains, the digital twins can be applied at every stage of the customer journey. For prospects, a higher-level decision-maker can easily “visit” the facility earlier than they would in the traditional sales cycle. 

When it comes time for customers to bring in an audit team or internal engineer, the Matterport digital twin can be used through each step of SEACOMP’s production process for quality assurance. 

Client-side engineers benefit from enhanced communications, referencing Matterport during the first of the assembly trials. From molding to final packaging, SEACOMP offers a wide variety of manufacturing services to their clients. With Mattertags, SEACOMP adds information to specific zones and equipment to walk engineers through each stage in detail. 

"Although the digital twins were captured originally for sales and marketing purposes, they’ve become a valuable tool to onboard new employees, helping employees grasp the knowledge of facilities and equipment,” Arbaugh says. “And, the spatial data is especially useful for measuring and analyzing new production lines and reconfiguring the factory floor.” 

"Moving forward, I anticipate more opportunities to use Matterport throughout our operations to enhance experiences for our employees and customers,” says Arbaugh.

ABOUT SEACOMP

The first SEACOMP office opened in 1997 as an American-based sales office for an LCD module supplier from Hong Kong. Since then, the company has rapidly grown to provide manufacturing solutions for customers across the industrial, medical, and consumer goods industries. SEACOMP offers services ranging from manufacturing modules for existing products to taking an industrial design through development and to market. 

HEADQUARTERSCarlsbad, California

INDUSTRY Electronic product manufacturing 

CHALLENGEShow clients and prospects detailed processes of the facility in Dong Guan and see SEACOMP’s processes when they are unable to tour the firsthand. 

PRODUCTS Matterport Capture Services

SOLUTION Working with Matterport Capture Services, the company scanned digital twins of their offices and manufacturing facility that gave clients and prospects 3D walkthroughs of the factory’s equipment and layout without the time, cost, and health risk of travel.

Results

• Reduced travel costs by $250,000 per year for employees and customers 

• Enhance workforce training, helping employees grasp knowledge of facility and equipment

• Convert prospective clients earlier in sales cycle with accurate 3D digital twins of manufacturing facility and offices