Case Study Washington Display

Washington Display designs and manufactures quality retail equipment and point of sale displays for the retail, leisure and automotive industries.

Washington Display ltd began trading in 1989 since then they have established a reputation of providing their customers with quality products and outstanding levels of service.

During the two-year placement my aim was to develop and implement a marketing function into Washington Display.

This has involved an audit into the internal and external market, and the development of a strategy, which fit with the capabilities, and goals of Washington Display.

In the second half of my placement I was involved with the new product development of a product. As part of this process I worked with a group of other Washington Display employees from sales, production and design to produce a product to fill a gap in the market that was identified through the external market audit.

This was a different way for the team to work as they were being proactive to the market, rather than reactive. Throughout the placement the main obstacle was the change of working processes and company culture.Traditionally Washington Display concentrated on the products it could manufacture, and reacted to market conditions.

However part of my job was to change this so that WD was able to predict and adapt to market changes, as well as understand what the customers wanted and how to satisfy their needs.

As part of the KTP scheme, associates are encouraged to undertake in higher levels of education, I chose to embark on a post graduate professional diploma with the Chartered Institute of Marketing. I also completed a NVQ level 4 in management, which all associates are encouraged to do.

As part of the training provided through the scheme all associates are sent away on four training modules, these are a great way to meet other associates as well as learning skills such as negotiation, finance, teamwork etc.

KTP is a great way to get involved in small companies. It provides the company with a resource they wouldn’t normally be able to justify, and the associate with experience they are unlikely to gain in any other way.

However it is not always easy, I often felt that I was being pulled between what the academic adviser felt I should be doing and what the company felt I should be doing.

As I am technically employed by Newcastle University, many of the people within Washington Display saw me as a temporary employee, and therefore were reluctant to get involved in what I was trying to achieve.

However the assistance and backing of Newcastle University was an invaluable resource, which provided a great deal of support.