What Do You Know About Your Customers' Business?

Dale's company had been selling a mechanical part to a company for about a year.  Dale had been responsible for getting the original order.  One day, checking his company's production schedule, Dale discovered that the customer's volume of orders on this part had increased dramatically.   He realized immediately that it might mean one of two things: 1. the parts had been ordered in error, or 2. the parts were being used in another application, in which case additional tooling would surely be required.  Making a call to the customer, he found that the part was to be used on several new models, but that the need for additional tooling had been completely overlooked.  Needless to say, the customer was exceedingly grateful.  It pays, says Dale, to know as much as possible about your customers' business and be as helpful as you can.