In order to be able to manage these service topics even better, we have outsourced the service area from sales and set up our own department for this purpose.
Our service manager, Sebastian Scholz, in an interview:
Mr. Scholz, why was the service department outsourced from the sales department and what has happened since then?
We have set ourselves the goal of further improving services in this area by founding our own service department. The service was initially divided into the Sales, Design and Project Management departments. As part of the restructuring process, we were able to bundle competencies in order to achieve the best possible goals with the available resources and thus to further increase customer satisfaction. Another big advantage of the restructuring is that our customers now have a fixed contact person. Already at the pre-acceptance of the systems in our house, we try to hold the first discussions with our customers in order to be able to react to individual requirements. We also try to sensitize our customers to the issue of missing spare parts and possible consequences and provide plant and customer-related recommendations.
We see ourselves as a partner over the entire system lifetime and want to offer our customers a "all-round carefree package", all from one source! In order to be able to manage this optimally, we have set up our own service department. It is crucial for us to constantly develop our portfolio in order to be able to provide our customers with the best possible service.
What are the strengths or advantages of the service department at AKE technologies?
I see the strength of AKE in our well-trained team. We invest a lot in our employees, which is reflected in in-depth know-how. In addition to know-how, experience is also a crucial component. With 40 years of expertise in mechanical engineering, AKE is well positioned. We do our best to keep employee turnover as low as possible in order to retain the knowledge we have accumulated. All this benefits our customers.
In addition, AKE cooperates with renowned partner companies, many of them world market leaders in their field – for example “SM Klebetechnik”, “ABB” or “KUKA”. However, we always look for the best individual technology that offers the optimum result for our customers.
What else can be improved?
In a nutshell: the service area should be "seen". This means that our customers should be aware that they will have a competent partner at their side, even after the procurement of the system, who will accompany them throughout the entire system lifecycle. In doing so, we want to pass on our wealth of experience to our customers. The long-term goal is lively communication and a regular exchange in order to deepen the know-how on both sides in order to be well prepared for the future.
Where do you see AKE in a year?
In concrete terms, we can say that we want to further improve delivery reliability and shorten our reaction times. For this purpose, we have already introduced a new merchandise management system to optimize the procurement process.
Another goal is very clear: we want to act preventively, means regular maintenance to avoid potential problems with equipment.
In addition, we want to have well integrated our new service base in the USA in one year. Gradually, we want to acquire more service partners spread all over the world.