After-Sales Service is the USTER advantage

It
starts with a handshake, or a signature on a sales contract. That’s when the
USTER After-Sales Service team springs into action to support the customer. Its
expert staff will make sure every piece of equipment is installed perfectly and
running smoothly. But that’s only the beginning of a relationship that lasts
the full lifespan of the new equipment, guaranteeing rapid technical backup
whenever and wherever it’s needed – even in the remotest of market regions.

Today’s
customers rightly demand the highest standards when they invest in quality
equipment, and After-Sales Service is an essential element in that, as feedback
from customers in emerging markets confirms. Their expectations can be summarised
under two categories: hard facts and soft skills…

The hard facts – technical support

Customers
from Bangladesh, Vietnam and Uzbekistan always acknowledge that the reputation
of USTER technical support has had some degree of influence on their purchasing
decisions. And that makes them even more demanding. “Our customers expect yarn
deliveries in the required quality – every time, all packages, no exceptions.
Therefore, we must assure reliably running processes in every aspect, as well
as efficiency in our production. That’s where After-Sales Service must come
in,” says Phan Duc Le Hoang, Director at Tri Viet Spinning in Vietnam.

Md.
Majibur Rahman, Senior General Manager at Envoy Textiles Limited in Bangladesh,
agrees: “We understand that we need excellent machinery, knowledgeable staff
and a trusted partner who combines expert consultant and troubleshooter in one
person. After-Sales Services help us for continuous and sustainable
improvement.”

Fast-response,
accurate service, suggestions for problem-solving and improvements… the list of
customer requirements is almost endless. It all needs to be delivered urgently
and to a high-quality standard.

Customer
surveys praise the technical qualification of USTER service engineers and the
effective solutions they propose. “The suggestions are beneficial and add value
to our process in maintaining final yarn quality,” says Suresh Chander Pal,
Head of Quality Assurance at FE Indorama Kokand Textile JSC in Uzbekistan.

Another
respondent, Ulugbek Kadirov, Chief Mechanic at Global Textile Solutions in
Uzbekistan, puts loyalty to customers at the top of his requirement list. “We
absolutely trust the loyalty of the USTER team,” he says. Comparisons of USTER
service teams with those of other suppliers also produce a positive result,
rating them “very good” for their prompt and professional work. “We judge based
on results and we are satisfied,” says Kadirov.

Soft skills – the relationships

Customers
are naturally committed to maximizing the value of their investments, and their

comments
show that many recognize the value of good relationships with service teams in
this respect. “Staff appreciate equipment from USTER and its timely upgrades
with innovative ideas,” says Md. Shamimul Haque, Chief Production Officer at
Matin Spinning Mills Ltd., Bangladesh.

When
describing the contacts of USTER After-Sales Service, each customer response
included `friendly´ – seen as a pathway to reliable and open knowledge sharing.
Knowledge transfer is said to be another USTER benefit much appreciated by
customers.

“USTER
provides know-how enriched by important technical experiments and data, which
is of course valuable to us,” says Rahman. Sharing quality information is also
viewed as extremely beneficial by Tri Viet’s Le Hoang: “Knowledge transfer is
very helpful. USTER service engineers take time to transfer knowledge. We would
definitely like more time invested in this,” he says.

Customers
clearly place great importance on many aspects of the After-Sales Service – but
would they go as far as recommending USTER as a partner? Yes, was the verdict
from those questioned, based on various reasons: reliability and global
acceptance of test results (by FE Indorama Kokand Textile JSC, Uzbekistan),
quality assurance guidance (by Envoy Textiles Limited, Bangladesh; by Matin
Spinning Mills Ltd., Bangladesh; and by Global Textile Solutions, Uzbekistan)
and proven excellent reputation (by Tri Viet Spinning, Vietnam).

Raising the bar

The
positive responses from USTER customers proves they are satisfied with their
service packages – but also still demanding. “Service packages may incorporate
options like automatic software upgrades, as well as customized parts
exchanging,” says Haque, of Matin Spinning.

After-Sales
Service is as important to USTER as to its customers. The four regional and 29
local service centers are manned by some 225 qualified engineers and
technologists, many of whom have been with the company for ten years or more.
This underlines the quality of USTER’s After- Sales Service and is acknowledged
by customers recognized. “Based on this stability, we develop strong bonds
which help both parties,” says Indorama Kokand’s Pal.

Suresh
Kris, the Uster Technologies Vice-President for Global After Sales &
Service, affirms that dialogue with spinning mills worldwide is vital in
helping to raise the bar continually towards even higher levels of service
provision and customer satisfaction: “We value practical suggestions from customers.
It helps to elevate the level of our services and to define them according to
needs,” he says. “Strong bonds such as these create a win-win situation. What
more could we want?”