SERVICE AND MAINTENANCE
Giovanni Carli, lean specialist at Carel Industries SPA explains what the lean approach to after sales and service means.
I
n the collective imagination, very often lean management is seen as something that only applies to production and operations. The reason for this is probably that when we talk about lean, the first thing that comes to mind are kanbans, visual management or 5S in factories. In reality, lean management is much, much broader; it represents the scientific thought that is rooted in the entire organisation and along the entire value chain, guiding it in the direction of the customer and towards everything that gives the customer value. The starting point is indeed the principle of value, the cornerstone of lean thinking: it’s very easy to get lost in the mistaken conception that once a product has been designed, assembled and delivered to the customer, the flow of value ends and therefore the relationship between the two actors (manufacturer/customer) has come to a close.
This assumption could not be more misleading: a company that supplies its products to a customer is in
24 May 2021
fact responsible for caring for that customer even after the transaction has been completed. In other words, the flow of value continues. This consequently motivates the need to build and
manage processes to ensure this value flows to the customer: these after-sales processes are thus not only a way to improve a company’s image, customer satisfaction and loyalty, but also a way to grow its business. A case in point in this regard is certainly spare parts distribution, an area that is often underestimated and neglected by companies, as the physical object of the transaction (a spare part) usually has a low economic value. In reality, a spare part not only represents an important source of revenue, but is also a way to increase perceived value. Indeed, behind the request for a spare part, in more serious cases lies a customer with a faulty product and having to bear the cost of downtime. The key to success in this context is, from a supplier’s
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