Amy Worthy, Area Sales Executive at Morse Watchmans catches up with Security Journal UK.
After two years of uncertainty, many manufacturers working across the global industry are beginning to feel a sense of normality again. Getting back on the road to attend sales meetings, conducting site inspections and meeting face-to-face at exhibitions and conferences, there is a real sense of togetherness amongst the security community once again.
Though virtual events and meetings have carried us through these daunting times, nothing quite beats shaking hands with like-minded professionals and bouncing ideas off of one another. One business that is relishing every opportunity to connect with the industry in-person is Morse Watchmans, a company that, in spite of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, has moved from strength to strength.
In this exclusive interview with Security Journal UK, Amy Worthy, Area Sales Executive shed light on how markets have changed and undergone a resurgence, how the company’s team is engaging with clients on a bespoke basis and the ways in which Morse Watchmans is undergoing further growth after joining the TouchPoint family.
Remaining resolute
Though every industry has felt the full force of the pandemic in one way or another, businesses working in and around security have had the chance to support critical sectors with innovative solutions. Operationally, Morse Watchmans has been determined to continue its work with partners and clients throughout these turbulent times, adapting to the world of daily virtual meetings in style and running regular webinars to keep the industry informed.
Worthy explained: “We have kept on manufacturing our range of products in the US and our global sales teams have continued to perform. However, we have had to respond to the major impact COVID-19 has had on many of the industries that we serve such as hospitality, healthcare and law enforcement – the latter of these were predominately significant because of our work with emergency service departments.
“Although we ran into some challenges on the UK side of things as a result of COVID-19-related illness and national restrictions, we just kept going and remained resolute, refusing to be defeated. One of the major changes across the board however was that we weren’t able to do site visits; whilst this did create a host of initial problems, particularly for the more technical site visits, we adapted and worked remotely.
“Since UK restrictions have lifted, there has been a great resurgence within the multiple markets we serve. Whilst this is beginning to occur for many other sectors globally, for us specifically, it is enabling us to listen in more detail to the products and solutions clients want and show them what we can offer.”
Seeing the benefits
From an operational perspective, whilst the safety and wellbeing of staff has remained a necessity throughout the pandemic, an increased desire to mitigate losses and guarantee a steady return on investment has seen the gap between business services and security narrow more than ever before.
Ever since keys have been used in busy operational environments, one of the major pain points for end users looking to secure premises and assets has been keeping track of who has one. Moreover, knowing what an individual is using these keys for and at what time is an impossibility without integrating suitable, smart technology.
“We have successfully completed the Gen3 CPU upgrade on the KeyWatcher Touch to increase operation, performance and sync speeds and this is now working via Windows 10 because the older Windows versions are no longer supported,” continued Worthy. “Across the rest of the portfolio, whilst I can’t delve too much into the full details – as all will be revealed in good time – we’ve got a lot that’s progressing in the background and there is much discussion underway about how we can develop our products.
“The most striking thing for me with the resurgence of the market is the fact that we are now able to once again physically visit clients to give them a full product demonstration. Not only does this mean that they can truly see the value in the solutions we offer, they can see the return of investment almost immediately. As a result, the client can paint a picture of the cost that is currently going through the organisation – as a result of losing and misplacing keys – versus the cost of an installation of our KeyWatcher. It’s a no-brainer!
“The best thing about meeting with clients face-to-face is the level of engagement. It’s very easy to get distracted by lights and pictures during a virtual event and, as the host, you know that a phone may ring and distract someone at any minute. I joined the business when this type of interaction was the norm so I went straight into doing webinar after webinar. Having now physically conducted site visits, I am starting to see the benefits from both a personal and business perspective.”
An exciting year ahead
Whilst the vertical sectors Morse Watchmans is targeting in 2022 are predominantly healthcare, law enforcement and hospitality – the list does not stop there. The company is keen to increase its presence in the custodial sector and provide solutions for conference centres, control rooms and educational facilities.
Since being acquired by TouchPoint in December 2021 – a privately-held global growth company with a strong focus on developing inventory management solutions – Morse Watchmans has been nothing but propelled. “We have more support around us to combat supply chain issues, something that many major businesses have been experiencing,” continued Worthy.
“We’ve got more tunnels between the businesses and both companies complement one another. There’s a lot of synergy between us as well as the other businesses within the corporate umbrella. We work with a number of partners and this allows our clients to integrate a fleet of security systems. Certified integration partners are listed on our website and so are our case studies and the full list of products and solutions we can offer.”
As the company continues to nurture long term relationships and establish its presence in a wide range of vertical sectors, it is certainly going to be another exciting year for both Worthy and the whole Morse Watchmans family.
You can find out more by visiting the company’s website: https://www.morsewatchmans.com/