Summary of Findings

• Founded in the year 1988, Temperature Controls' headquarters is situated at 7 Yamma St Sefton NSW 2162 Australia (Sydney). It has offices in other areas of Australia, such as Melbourne and Brisbane.
• Temperature Controls is a manufacturing business that produces level and temperature sensors, as well as thermowells and thermocouples, for a variety of industries. The company maintains the largest stock of RTD sensors, extension cables, liquid level switches, thermowells, and thermocouples in Australia. According to its official website, its Sefton facility (located in Sydney, Australia) carries out designing, machining, manufacturing, testing, and mechanical assembly of its components, and it crafts them according to their clients' specific requirements and specifications.
• The company has a distribution partnership with suppliers such as Shinko, ISOTECH, AOIP, Marlin Manufacturing Corporation, INOR DIN, Novus Automation, Nokeval, Tempol, Optris GmbH, Drago Automation, Grant Instruments (Cambridge) Ltd, and Dostmann.
• A thorough review of its marketing efforts reveals that the company primarily relies on its official website to market itself, as it contains more than 500 pieces of technical literature and drawings.
• Temperature Controls frequently promotes its products through exhibitions held throughout the year. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the company was scheduled to appear at 14 exhibitions in 2020.

Research Strategy:

Strengths

Competitive Edge

• As Australia’s largest stockiest of Thermocouples, RTD Sensors, Thermowells, Liquid Level Switches, and Extension Cables in single, multi-pair, and steel wired armor configuration, Temperature Controls maintains a competitive edge over its competitors. More so, the company was the first Australian manufacturer to get approval for its thermocouples and RTD sensors IECEx in hazardous areas making the company more trustworthy to consumers.

Versatility

• Temperature Controls is versatile and this makes it possible for the company to serve a wide range of customers with different requirements for individual applications. Through detailed product information, the company has over 500 drawings and technical literature items available for different clients. Temperature Controls has a wide range of custom-made CAD drawings.

Weaknesses

Locking Out Small Customers

• Temperature Controls is arguably Australia’s largest stockiest of RD sensors, thermowells, and liquid level switches. As such, it is likely to attract big customers while intimidating start-ups and small-scale customers, albeit unintentionally. Small customers are likely to be comfortable with stockists that cater to small and medium clientele, as prices are likely to be more reasonable.

Not Eco-Friendly

• Even as the world is moving away from plastics in the spirit of eco-consciousness, Temperature Controls is still dealing with plastics. In this case, the company has mechanisms and processes or processors that provide important parameters used in the plastics industry.

Customer Perceptions of The Company and Its Products

• Despite tough competition in the industry, Temperature Controls has continued to not only remain afloat but to be one of the highest-rated manufacturers in Australia. The ranking and rating prove that customer perception is high and the company’s products are of superior quality. Quality assurance includes; X-Ray of welds, Positive material identification, Ultra Sonic testing of bore concentricity, Internal and external hydrostatic pressure testing, and NACE which continue to improve customer perceptions of the company and its products.

Things Temperature Controls Offers That Pyrosales Does Not

Shinko Series Temperature Controllers

• Temperature Controls is the official distributor for the various Shinko Temperature Controller models in Australia. These controllers from Japan come with special options for output or alarm features.

Novus Temperature Controllers

• Temperature Controls also distributes a wide range of Novus electric panel mounts thermostats with sensor inputs that include K, J, T thermocouples OR PT100 3 wire RTD's or Thermistors. Novus electric panel mount thermostats have units that accept NTC thermistors that are compatible with Carel and Eliwell brands.

Summary

• WIKA Australia Pty Ltd is a wholly-owned subsidiary of WIKA Alexander Wiegand SE & Co. KG that sells, distributes, manufactures, services, and repairs "pressure gauges, diaphragm seals, pressure transmitters/transducers, and pressure switches as well as thermometers, thermocouples, RTDs, thermowells, analog, and digital temperature transmitters."
• Its products also include "portable handheld pressure indicators as well as precision pressure indicators/controllers, deadweight testers, and other calibration equipment."
• Founded in 1946, WIKA was established in Australia in 1998.
• Wika is a global company that sells its products in over 100 countries. With its corporate headquarters in Germany, it has subsidiaries in over 43 countries.
• With its range of instruments for measuring pressure, temperature, level, flow, as well as its patented calibration technology, it set the standard in the measurement of level, force, and flow. WIKA measuring instruments are resistant to "harsh external conditions, aggressive media, hazardous areas, or sterile processes." Its "certified measuring instruments comply with all major international directives, feature worldwide approvals, and meet the highest standards of quality and safety."

Research Strategy

Strengths

• The company's 70 years of existence as a whole, and a wide global footing in 43 countries speaks volumes on its trustworthiness and reputation among its customers, partners and peers. In Australia, Wika has a 22-year presence, which is also not a small feat to achieve. It means the company has been able to set a serious customer base of people and companies that trust Wika's products.

• Wika offers a wide range of product options for customers with different measurement needs. When it comes to pressure, Wika offers an array of products and accessories in its portfolio for this need, including pressure gauges, pressure sensors, transmitters, etc. Another wide array of products and accessories are available for temperature, level, force and flow measurement needs.

• Wika is dedicated to the quality of their product offerings. The company has over 300 engineers and technicians working on improving product materials and solutions. Overall, Wika attests that over 10,000 employees are working on maintaining and improving the technology of their temperature, pressure, force, and level measurements. In addition, the company is closely working with universities and industrial companies to see that solutions are developed. The company has also ensured that it maintains high certification standards by having a NATA accredited laboratory and "AS/NZS ISO 9001:2015 and ISO/IEC 17025:2005" compliance certification.

Weaknesses

• Wika is only available on LinkedIn and YouTube and not available on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This may be limiting its marketing potential.

• In the wake of the Covid-19 epidemic, it is not clear what efforts the company is making in terms of helping out hospitals and frontline workers (doctors and nurses) and surrounding Australian communities in restraining the virus. In addition, the company has not outlined comprehensive measures it is taking to protect its employees from the virus. Information on Covid-19 was only available via a link on its LinkedIn page, and rather seemed to focus on ensuring the service delivery of Wika products.

Customer perceptions

• Wika does not provide customer testimonials on its website. Its social media pages (YouTube and LinkedIn) do not have reviews from customers either.
• "WIKA TI.80 Stainless Steel 304 Solar Digital Thermometer" item on Amazon, received a 3.5 star rating. Two reviewers were satisfied with the product while one reviewer lamented that the instrument cracked face within 2 weeks and stopped working in another 2 weeks. He added that it was a disappointed since he liked Wika products.
• The customer who bought "Wika 111.10DW NSF-Certified Pressure Gauge" on Amazon was generally contented with the product, although the photo that was featured in the listing did not correspond to the item he received. Provided both were NSF certified, the customer says that he was satisfied. He gave it a 4-star.

Gaps in offering as compared to Pryosales

• From the product category of Pyrosales, it appears that the company does not offer gas solutions. This includes gas density sensors and indicators, gas density monitors and switches and other maintenance instruments(service equipment, analytic equipment and detection instruments) and accessories (calibration equipment, hose and gas refill set, valves and couplings). All these solutions are available as a category (SF6 gas solutions) in Wika. Furthermore, Pyrosales seems to offer only two gas solutions in their products catalogue; "Skin type — Gas Filled Dial Thermometer" and "Gas Filled Dial Thermometer Temperature Gauge."

• Wika has set out a "force" product category that includes instruments such as compression force transducers, ring force transducers, special force transducers, load pins, tension links, tension/compression force transducers, load cells, bending beams/shear beams, and inclination sensors. On the other hand, a search for inclination sensors, bending beams, load pins, force, ring and compression on the product portfolio of Pyrosales website yields no results. The only transducers on Pyrosale's website are provided in the "level" product category of the catalogue. This implies that they do not offer the aforementioned products that are in Wika's portfolio.

•  Industrial Thermocouple Supplies (ITS) is an Australia-based thermocouple manufacturer supplying a variety of temperature sensing parts/components to various industries. It claims to be among the top producers of "temperature sensor assemblies" in Australia.
• ITS states that it supplies its products all over Australia. It also notes that it can export its products overseas for international clients. However, it does not specify the countries that it is able to ship to, or the market that accounts for a significant amount of its revenue.
• Furthermore, ITS does not provide any pricing information on its website or catalog. It only provides an email address and fax/phone numbers for customers to contact for queries or purchases. However, it claims that its products are offered "at the most competitive prices."
• ITS has continuously made investments in personnel and resources, and it produces all its products in its own manufacturing plants. The company also has the capability to make standard products, or to customize them to the customer's specification.

Research Strategy

Industrial Thermocouple Supplies (ITS) Strengths

•  Industrial Thermocouple Supplies (ITS) mentioned that they can provide a wide range of "temperature-sensing components" that can be used across multiple industries. The company highlighted that it is one of Australia's biggest manufacturers of temperature-sensing assemblies. The company also highlighted that the strategic location of its manufacturing facilities in the Melbourne and New South Wales areas enabled the company to easily distribute its products across the country.
• The company also boasts of its 50 years of experience in the industry.
• The company also mentioned that it can provide various thermo-sensing products by leveraging its massive network of technical equipment providers.
• ITS also mentioned that it can ship its products in various locations around the world.  
• ITS also highlighted that its all-encompassing industry experience and its ongoing investment in resources and staff enabled the company to become one of the leading players in the thermocouple industry.

Weaknesses

• As there are no reports, reviews, or articles found with regard to the weaknesses of ITS, some assumptions on the company's weaknesses were done based on a marketing company's recommendation on what makes a successful business. We selected those practices in the article that can be assessed based on available information.
• Based on the article, businesses need to adopt digital strategies to promote their businesses and ensure that they engage their customers online.
• https://www.industrialthermocouple.com/contact
• Looking at ITS' website, the available communication lines that are available for the customers are limited. Customers can only contact the company through its email, phone, fax, and a contact form.  
• ITS' website does not have the latest in digital customer communication tools such as live chat or chatbot or other online messaging options. Its competitor, Pyrosales, features a live chat and messaging feature on its website.
• Furthermore, as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, companies need to ensure that they have a digital or eCommerce ordering solution to ensure success.
• Unlike Pyrosales, ITS does not have an associated eCommerce store where customers can purchase products.
• ITS also does not have a social media presence on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or other platforms. It also does not have a blog where it can include content that can promote its products. In today's competitive business environment, companies need to be active in these platforms to engage more with their customers and get more sales.
• Furthermore, businesses need to ensure that they continue to advertise their products to build their customer base and generate more sales.
• Based on a search done for any of ITS' advertisements in social media, TV shows, trade shows, and others, ITS appeared to not have any marketing campaigns done to promote its products.

Why Do Customers Buy this Service

• A search done in various product pages and consumer review sites such as Yelp, Choice website, Amazon, the Yellow pages, eBay, the National Association of Testing Authorities of Australia, Google My Business, and other related sites did not yield any customer review on ITS' products. No review or assessment was found on business and consumer publications as well.
•  Business directories searches also did not yield any customer review for ITS' products.
• A search was also done to determine the company's customers and determine if these clients left any review. However, no review of the company nor its products were found.
• Given these findings, an assumption was made that the company's statements on its website can be used to infer the customer perceptions of ITS and its products.
• ITS mentioned on its website that it prioritizes providing quality products and unparalleled customer experience to its customers. The company also provides a guarantee to its customers that they will be supported by industry experts.
• The company also mentioned that its products are compliant with the "highest standards of quality and functionality." It also stated that its products are available at highly competitive prices.

Gap in Offering Compared to Pyrosales

• Based on the search results done on Pyrosales' website, the company does not seem to sell aluminum, cast steel, or stainless steel flanges. ITS sells these flanges as indicated in its online brochure.
•  Pyrosales also do not seem to carry various models of clamp meters. ITS carry these items in various models.

Key Findings

• OneTemp's headquarters are at 136 Richmond Rd, Marleston, Adelaide, Australia.
• The company offers instrumentation products for measuring, controlling, and recording for research, industry, and the environment." It also provides repair and calibration services for its instruments.
• OneTemp was established in 1970. However, the company has not been acquired in the past.
• It has four offices in four of the cities in Australia, including Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane. The company services all areas of Australia.
• It's position statement reads, "OneTemp has built an enviable foundation as a solution-focused instrumentation product company with a strong commitment to service excellence & quality assurance."

Strengths

• OneTemp is committed to providing customers with high-quality "Measuring, Controlling and Recording instruments" that are reliable. They have ensured that they maintain quality assurance certification such as ISO9001:2008 to show credibility to what they offer and work with "some of the world's leading instrumentation manufacturers". They have also made it possible for customers to access repair and calibration services across their locations in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, or Sydney.
• Products provided by OneTemp (HOBO Data Loggers Australia) are award-winning and are used worldwide.
• The company is customer-focused and transparent and provides a wide variety of information for customers, especially for its HOBO Catalogues. Customers have access to white papers, webinars, data logger application stories, videos, podcasts, and newsletters. It is also a certified battery replacement center.
• These resources can be filtered by market and application, making it easier for customers to find what they need on their website.

Weaknesses

• OneTemp's homepage mentions that it offers fast delivery service for customers but there is no sign of how fast the service is, to grab the customer's attention.
• The details provided for delivery services are too wordy and are not visually appealing to let customers know which shipment is free, versus what has to be paid for (including the cost), and does not provide prompts about certain restrictions regarding the use of courier services for delivery (including additional costs that might apply based on the courier service of choice).
• The company might limit itself in reaching more customers because its website shows that it is only active on Facebook, and Instagram.
• However, it has a presence on Twitter where it seems to make posts at least once per month, but this would not be known to website visitors.

Customer Perceptions

• OneTemp does not provide customer review information for its products or testimonials for the company on its website, or social media pages (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn). Customers have also not made any comments on their social media pages relating to the company or its products.
• On the Apple Store, its HOBOConnect product has a 3.7-star rating overall, with one customer complaining of the app crashing whenever they open a file.
• On Google Play store, another customer complained about the time to understand how to collect data using HOBOConnect and the instability in its connection.
• The HOBO UX100-011 was reviewed on Amazon and has a 5-star rating. Customers used this product to measure humidity in places like the basement and guitar cases.
• OnSet products that are also made available by OneTemp, have a 4.7-star rating for both product and service. Customers were satisfied with the professionalism, technical expertise, smooth transactions, ease of set-up, fast delivery, and consistency in providing high-quality service and products.

Products Pyrosales Doesn't Offer

• From the Data Logger category, OneTemp offers Micro Station Data Loggers (e.g. HOBO H21-USB — Micro Station Data Logger), Bluetooth Data Loggers (e.g. HOBO MX1101 — Temp/RH Bluetooth Data Logger), and Pendant Data Loggers (e.g. HOBO Pendant® UA-002-08 — Temperature/Light Data Logger) that Pyrosales does not provide.
• From the Temperature Sensors category, OneTemp offers wireless sensors products such as Monnit Wireless Temperature monitoring products, Jumo Wtrans Wireless Sensors, InTech Wireless Sensors, and Compost Pile HOBOnet Wireless Temperature Monitoring System that Pyrosales does not provide.