ELB Equipment is taking a hands-on approach to solve rapidly evolving needs of customers in the mining and construction industries where access to finance and longer lifespans of equipment are among the many issues being faced by operators of equipment in post-pandemic times.
Companies in these industries face equal measures of opportunity and hardship calling for unique and rapid solutions to a growing range of emerging requirements. This has sparked the country’s most diverse supplier of equipment in these industries to restructure its offerings in line with new expectations.
The 102-year-old company has moved nimbly to introduce rafts of new solutions that include new products and services, as well as moving a host of specialists to the public stage to ensure customers get the results they need. In all instances the improvements and additions to the range have been driven by customer feedback and in-depth surveys, as well as information gathered on sites.
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Wanting more
ELB Equipment divisional director, Danie Gerber, says customers are expecting more from their equipment suppliers and expect more from OEM representatives than just servicing and suppling equipment. In these times they expect suppliers to ringfence products for their purposes, provide insightful technical assistance with improved access to finance and tailor-made terms to suit individual clients. Additional resources are also being directed towards aftersales support where tough times are leading customers to seek extra efficiency and longevity of equipment.
“Considering we have the largest branch network out of any equipment supplier in southern Africa, it is comparatively easy to drive change through all regions quickly and effectively. In addition, we have optimised our properties as well and where necessary have moved our branch and service centre locations in certain areas to better suit our customers.
“In keeping with this quest to provide customers with total management solutions we have introduced a world-leading, locally developed telematics system which will be a standard feature across our entire range of products from now on. The telematics systems will use the global Mix Telematics platform and provide managers with information on each machine’s location, fuel consumption, hours of operation, service schedules and preventative maintenance alerts to allow more effective management of equipment fleets” says Danie.
Developing skills
He continues that these key initiatives are supported by ongoing training of staff in job-related skills development, as well as team effectiveness and accountability training. The company’s management and sales teams are also undergoing regular leadership and sales development training respectively to harness change and find new ways of reaching-out to the market. An all-new ERP management system and logistics system overhaul will ensure streamlined business processes and better integration with business requirements.
“We know the standards of the products we offer are among the best and our sales and service staff are among the most experienced. It therefore remains important for us to keep moving forward and finding better and faster ways of delivering the types of services our customers want and need. For us it is all about trust and trusting the equipment, advise and service our customers receive.
“Trust is the cornerstone of the relationships we have nurtured with the industry and is the foundation on which the company was built upon more than 100 years ago. It is good to have honest unbiased feedback and every bit of information taken from our recent customer experience assessments is valuable and helps shape the company for the future.
“This initiative has been long in the making and provides the management team with a means of evaluating what the requirements of customers are from a staffing and equipment point-of-view. We believe that the survey has provided us with the information and a benchmark to work from as we strive to perform at the highest levels in future,” concludes Danie.
