Stuart Anderson: It’s now more than three years since your appointment to manage Crane Care, what changes have you implemented?
Bob Hund: We’ve continued to expand and strengthen our team and services. Globally today, the Crane Care team counts over 1,500 members supporting our customers as well as over 3,000 personnel dedicated to Manitowoc crane product support employed by our global distributor network.
Manitowoc Crane Care accomplished a lot in 2012 that I’m proud to report.
We made the first major deployment of SAP to manage our processes and our new global technical publications development system.
The deployments were primarily for our tower crane business although it impacted almost all our Crane Care satellite offices around the world.
When our deployments are finished we’ll have global consistency in the way we manage parts availability and distribution, service, technical publications, warranty and training around the world.
Until now we have been working via former Potain, Grove and some smaller regional systems with a Crane Care shell or portal but now we’ll be working from one common core system.
SA: What developments have you made in your replacement parts operations specifically?
BH: Obviously the most far-reaching change we made was in September 2009, when we formed a business relationship with Cat Logistics Services to use its 141,000 sq ft (13,100 sq mt) facility in Jeffersonville, IN to take over the parts operations of Manitowoc, Shady Grove and Rockford, IL. Key is its proximity to the UPS hub at the Louisville International Airport. This allows us a wider window of airfreight shipping times to as late as 10.00pm at night. Our GPX on-line parts system is now well established.
Two years ago we celebrated hitting 90% parts availability for the entire Manitowoc crane group and since then our performance has continued to improve. Our aim is for consistency of performance worldwide across all product lines.
We also implemented a world class parts forecasting system with algorithms which predict usage through analysis of trends and optimizing all worldwide warehouses by keeping only fast-moving parts in local warehouses and slow-moving parts at regional warehouses. For example, just recently we increased our Australian parts inventory by 25%.
SA: The opening of the new Product Verification Center at Shady Grove last June seems to have been very well received by customers and distributors. Does Crane Care participate in the quality assurance process?
BH: Yes we do. Manitowoc has made significant strides in quality improvement over the past two years and Crane Care has helped with that effort and has its own Quality Team with seven experienced reliability engineers on staff, above and beyond the various QA teams.
The staff of approximately 50 technicians at the new 18,000 sq. ft (1,940 sq.mt.) Verification Center are proving their value in examining and assuring the quality of components that we purchase for use in our cranes.
In addition, Crane Care also now have a customer satisfaction index survey specifically for parts and service, to identify areas around the world, and within specific product lines where we can improve.
SA: What developments have been made in your service and parts training programs?
BH: Finding, developing and retaining top quality parts and service technicians has never been more vital – especially as the crane market continues to become ever more globally diverse.
Our suite of on-line E-Training programmes has proven very popular but the benefits of face-to-face contact and hand-on experience are irreplaceable.
In 2012 we conducted Crane Care training for well over 4,000 product support specialists at our facilities all around the world.
SA: It must be quite a challenge pulling together the efforts of your global team with those of your mainly independent global distributor network.
BH: Well it’s now more than ten-years since the consolidation of Manitowoc, Potain, Grove and National Crane.
Recently we implemented a new procedure manual worldwide for our channel partners worldwide to improve consistency and bring all partners to the highest standard.
SA: In the crane business, Manitowoc pioneered the ‘Call Centre" concept. How satisfied are you with this programme?
BH: In a truly global business it’s an essential element. In the last twelve months we’ve opened additional contact centres in Pune, India and Sydney, Australia.
The clock never stops for our customers. Cranes move from project to project – sometimes continent to continent. We have customers that are operating simultaneously in parts of the world. Downtime has never been more costly. Projects can demand cranes working 24/7 and we have to be there 24/7 and in all major languages.
SA: Thanks very much.
