The needs of customers in the mining and construction industries have evolved substantially post pandemic. Access to finance and longer lifespans of equipment are among the many issues being faced by operators of equipment. ELB Equipment has answered this call with a restructure of its offerings in line with the new industry expectations.
The company’s new solutions, including new products and services, specialist attention, and improvements and additions to the range, amongst others, have been driven by customer feedback and in-depth surveys, as well as information gathered on sites.
ELB Equipment divisional director, Danie Gerber, says customers are expecting more from their equipment suppliers and from OEM representatives than just servicing and suppling of equipment.
In these times they expect suppliers to ringfence products for their purposes, and provide insightful technical assistance with improved access to finance and tailor-made terms to suit individual client. 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.
ELB Equipment teams with some of the best-known equipment brands in the country. Image credit: ELB Equipment
Locally developed telematics system
“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.
The company’s key initiatives are supported by ongoing training of staff, an all-new ERP management system and logistics system overhaul to ensure streamlined business processes and better integration with business requirements.
“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,” adds Danie.
He concludes, “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.”
ELB’s new solutions, including new products and services, specialist attention, and improvements and additions to the range, amongst others, have been driven by customer feedback. Image credit: ELB Equipment