Kalmar

Kalmar sees the current trend in outsourcing administration and maintenance as a golden opportunity to enhance its own service business. “We’re growing rapidly,” says Kalmar’s Jyrki Mäkinen, Project Manager/Contract Maintenance. “We’re seeing that customer requirements are much wider now than they used to be. That’s a challenge we have to meet.”

Supporting field technicians on the move

One of the challenges facing both Kalmar Services and IFS is that the majority of users are service technicians working independently in the field, constantly on the move from one job to the next. In fact, when the new service management solution went ‘live’ in October 2005, most of the users were mobile (110 out of 170). “The system hasn’t been operational for very long,” says Jyrki Mäkinen, “so it’s still a work in progress. The service technicians want to spend as much time as possible with the machines and as little as possible in front of a computer screen. We’re working with IFS to streamline their process within the system. It’s challenging, but we’re getting there. The transparency is excellent. The daily work orders are now accessible to the appropriate personnel throughout the organization.”

Servicing machines in the field: how the system is designed to work

A few years ago Kalmar won a contract to service terminal tractors at a site in the US. To give you an idea of how the system is designed to work, imagine for a moment that two machines need to be serviced. The following is a likely scenario: a technician arrives, boots up his laptop and receives, via the new IFS management system, the scheduled service orders for the tractors. His service van maintains an inventory of spare parts. In addition, the  technician receives components for the planned service from a central warehouse —automatic demand for the parts was triggered by a so-called preventive maintenance action. 

Work orders, information on the contracted tractor park, service history —all of it is readily accessed via the technician’s laptop. When the service is completed, the technician reports the work done, time spent and parts used. He then prints a service specification and receives authorization from the customer. Once the service order has been finalized, invoices are printed and sent to the customer the same day.

Why IFS?

“It was a question of people,” says Jyrki Mäkinen. “IFS are approachable and service-minded. We’ve found we can discuss problems openly with them. IFS respond quickly. They’re also equally frank with us. If we’re doing something wrong, they point it out.” 

For Kalmar Services, being backed up by the best global network in the business is the only way to ensure successful expansion in the service market. In this respect, IFS’s long-term commitment to the industry, expertise and glowing references were key in sealing the deal.

Finland, Belgium and the world

Finland has recently adopted the solution; next in line is Belgium. “We’re gradually rolling the system out across Europe. This will ultimately be a global service management system. In fact, because the scope of the solution has widened over time, you could say this has now become a full ERP system for our sales companies,” Jyrki Mäkinen concludes.

About Kalmar

With more than 3,000 employees and operations in 140 countries, Kalmar Industries is poised to become the leading global supplier of material handling equipment and services in the container, trailer and heavy industry sectors. The company is currently aiming to move beyond its role as machine supplier by expanding its range of value-added services. To support this strategy, Kalmar Industries is rolling out a new service management system from IFS.