Making Magic
4 million people will take to the sky today on the back of Rolls Royce engines. Cruising at 35,000 feet to get to that perfect beach, to close that deal overseas, to embrace a loved one. That all of them will get to their destinations safely and fulfill their desires is due, in some small measure, to the work of Jill Barnett.
For more than a decade this theoretical physicist was responsible for the the setting up and operations of Rolls Royce’s global jet-engine facilities. It was fantastic to manage big budgets, run factories and complex supply chains across 50 countries around the world, but the soft-spoken global business leader wanted more. The sheer size of the organisation meant that the value she was adding to the customer was too far removed from her. Jill longed to have a more direct impact on both the bottom line and the lives of her end-customers.
Jill needed to be in charge of her own destiny.
Uncharted Territory
When her family floated the idea of Jill running their small 16-year old wheelchair making business Magic Mobility, she jumped at the opportunity.
To have the entirety of the customer value chain sitting under one roof meant that Jill would be able to influence the product and more directly feel her impact on a niche segment of customers. The immediate challenge was to evolve this respectable family business into a more professional, profitable setup.
Unlike commercial aerospace clients, each and every customer in the disability market had extremely unique needs and circumstances. Jill understood that Magic Mobility’s product would have to be highly customisable. Churning out a standard one-size-fits-all product was not going to be sufficient. To add meaningful value, therefore, the customer would have to be involved in the creation of the product. Factory processes would have to accommodate this core need.
As though this was not challenging enough, the leadership team chose to define one of Magic Mobility’s core values as “maverick” – they would have to deliver a stellar product like no other company was doing. This implicitly meant continuous innovation in a company that did not have the R&D resources of a multinational. How was she going to be able to do this?
Just Enough Systematization
After a decade at Rolls Royce, Jill appreciated the need for Quality Systems but had an aversion to its stifling effect on business. She was determined for bureaucracy and paperwork to not get in the way of Magic’s operations.
For a period, Magic Mobility was able to operate on their own, self-designed systems (3Cs, fishbone diagrams, etc.). But following a recommendation from Enterprise Connect and the desire to compete for tenders, Jill saw the need to review their systems and achieve ISO certification.
Multiple Management Consultants were approached but each viewed certification differently. “PQMC helped us focus. They knew where to put the emphasis and dialed our existing system up or down accordingly.”
“It was imperative that we stayed agile but still adhered to quality principles. PQMC put in place a practical system that enabled us to consistently ensure a high-quality product but yet safe-guarded the flexibility of our assembly line.”
“Some things we do are tightly controlled and well-documented, while other processes are written at a more general level, with less detail, so as to allow for running changes.”
While Jill and her team had extensive operational and technical experience on a global scale, the objectivity of a 3rd-party collaborator in this matter was particularly useful.
Sunrise – A New Day
The dividends of having a management system continue to pay off. Magic Mobility’s profitability has doubled in the last 8 years while business operations have only hired an extra 3 staff in the same period!
But the company that makes the Rolls Royce of wheelchairs have not just been turning heads off-road as their products take on the Australian outback. The world leader in the wheelchair space, Sunrise Medical, have taken notice.
In August 2018, Sunrise Medical proudly announced its acquisition of Magic Mobility. As the entire team at Magic Mobility will be enabling new global customers be to navigate a world that is not flat, the business they have built looks to scale a similarly positive trajectory.
But just as Jill is thrilled, so should all Australians be.
The introduction of a global corporation into Victoria and continuing to operate here in Melbourne will mean greater employment opportunities for local talent and a win for the Australian manufacturing industry and the overall economy. That differently abled populations around the world will finally have access to the Magic way of life is a cause for celebration.
One would be forgiven to think that no excitement lies ahead for this GM now that an ultimate “summit” of sorts has been conquered. Yet what is most inspiring about Jill is that she remains just as motivated to Magic’s cause as she was on day one.
Pushing Boundaries
While Magic’s website features ‘glamorous’ hero-stories of farmers, sportsmen and ex-military veterans going off-road in their respective fields, powered by 4WD mobility vehicles, it is the more subtle stories that reflect Magic’s products’ true value to both the marketplace and to Jill personally.
“Our purpose is to empower people to push boundaries so that they can experience a world that is not flat. And that has the most meaning when one’s personal boundary is defined by not being able to go to the toilet independently or not being able to put yourself to bed. We’ve designed products to give our friends the functionality and features to be able to do all this by themselves. It means they can go out in their chair everyday knowing its not going to fail, that it’s going to get them where they need to go. They can walk their children to school now. They don’t need a carer – they can be independent. These are the stories that get you.” And it gets her staff too.
As one walks the factory floor, customers can often be found getting their new chair fitted or consulting about a feature. Team Magic hear these stories, often first hand. They too are connected with their product, see the tangible value of their work in the world and take quiet pride in the brand they have toiled for and championed.
And rightly so.
While Jill’s engines used to carry millions to their dreams, with Sunrise Medical’s resources and global distribution network behind team Magic, now more than ever, so will their wheelchairs.
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