A beverage brand chooses a packaging partner for a combination of reasons, but there’s usually only one reason why they keep coming back. Robust after-sales service is crucial for keeping customers happy, but it’s not talked about nearly as much as design, cost, or sustainability.
The list of requirements that global beverage brands have in their tender documents makes it clear that adhering to the latest regulations is crucial, alongside meeting CSR targets and offering the right combination of volume and cost. But this must work hand in hand with after-sales so that the reliable delivery of preforms and closures is met with a guaranteed performance level, day after day, month after month.
To achieve this, the packaging industry's behind-the-scenes faces are perhaps the most well-known. Whilst the sales people or the marketing team may be front and centre when it comes to contract negotiation or trade fair promotion activities, it is the after-sales service support people who are on hand to quickly fix an issue or, ideally, know how to prevent issues from happening in the first place.
Step forward
who heads up the 11-strong Service Engineers team for multinational plastic packaging provider RETAL, including the famously smiley Karl Everett. Responsible for delivering after-sales to a wide range of food and beverage producers across Europe and the US, with customers of different sizes, capacities, production lines, and locations, Vladislav and his team are driven by the knowledge that every second counts.
Spending much of his time on-site with customers, Vladislav believes there are three main types of after-sales visits, each with its own demands and secrets of success. He says, “Generally, our visits are either for technical support for an existing customer that requests our assistance, testing a specific design on customer production lines, or verifying an issue. It can all vary with many different products, production lines, locations, teams, and behaviours, so it is up to my team and me to preempt as much as possible and always bring solutions.”
The ‘bringing solutions’ approach is part of RETAL’s ethos, which is reflected in its ‘Creating Solutions’ strapline. Vladislav continues, “Customers want solutions; that’s what we’re here for, so we are continually focused on making sure we make life easier. I joined RETAL in 2003, and Karl's engineering career started in the 1990s; we know what to do! It’s a combination of direct contact, our experience, being easy to work with, easy to contact, staying calm.”
Preempting problems
After-sales traditionally relies on the customer contacting their after-sales partner when there is a problem, but this is no longer fit for purpose, particularly for companies that have production lines running 24/7. Preempting issues is key to after-sales service, as downtime is frustrating and costly for producers. Rather than wait for an issue, expert service engineers are able to analyse real-time data to check up on production lines and specifics that can potentially have a negative impact. Vladislav explains, “Collating all the data, relevant trials, staying in line with the specifics of the brand owner, understanding the exact equipment and status of the site...these are all elements that we ensure are kept fully up to date so we can quickly jump in as necessary. During Covid, we, and many of our global food and beverage brand customers, were considered essential workers, so we really stepped up our remote working and remote diagnostics, which, thankfully, were already pretty sophisticated as we have excellent equipment. There were a lot of video calls to support our customers!”
Staying in regular contact with customers is part of how Vladislav sees after-sales bringing value. By keeping aware of the current performance of customers’ lines and being attuned to any slight changes, he and his team can schedule maintenance that will reduce the need for urgent calls. Issues can be complex, such as challenges with implementing tethered closures or transferring production from one neck finish to another.
Understanding the whole process of a customer’s production line means that service engineers can deliver after-sales service either on-site or remotely and give accurate advice. Vladislav says this must include knowledge of the seemingly unconnected elements, such as the transport channels used or the number of turns performed, or if the capper can give the correct angle for tethered closures. His involvement in Plastics News/Sustainable Plastics ‘Caps + Closures’ online event last year as an expert speaker marks his increasing participation in industry events that help promote the importance of reliable after-sales service for global brands.
Ultimately, a service engineer's technical capabilities must be combined with their accessibility, reliability, and friendliness. As their role is often most visible to a customer at a stressful time, being able to solve issues quickly and effectively is much appreciated.