Services“Our work keeps our customers´machines running”

Mr Steiner, how do the people at EPDC ensure customer satis­fac­tion?

It’s quite simple really. We know that our spare parts avail­ability, combined with the service exper­tise of our sales part­ners, is the key to customer satis­fac­tion. This is partic­u­larly notice­able during harvest time, when time is of the essence because a storm may be on the horizon. Our team is aware that our customers (farmers and contrac­tors) cannot work prop­erly without a fast and reli­able supply of spare parts. That’s why we work here 363 days a year to ensure that all spare parts can be deliv­ered as quickly as possible.

How do you ensure the avail­ability of spare parts is fast and reli­able?

During harvest, for example, machine break­down orders play a special role. We can order the required parts and prepare them for dispatch within 45 minutes. A sophis­ti­cated data flow that links auto­mated ware­housing and trans­porta­tion systems with human jobs makes this possible. In this context, I often speak of a harmony between people and tech­nology.

Not every order has to be deliv­ered imme­di­ately. Never­the­less, we are contin­u­ously working on improving our internal processes, from receiving parts to storage and delivery. Data analysis help us to find the optimum storage loca­tion for each part. In addi­tion, the tried-and-tested inter­ac­tion between people and tech­nology is being contin­u­ously improved in order to move the parts through the ware­house more effi­ciently.

We can handle parts that are to be sent by air freight in a sepa­rate area. This saves valu­able delivery time for the customer. The fact that we keep spare parts in stock for at least 15 years after a series is discon­tinued makes owners of older machines feel even more secure.

Around 350,000 different parts are stored in the EPDC. How do you plan how many parts of a certain type need to be in stock?

We use tech­nology and data analysis here too – for example, through the intel­li­gent use of telemetry data from our networked machines. The knowl­edge of the machine popu­la­tion, on top of statis­tical eval­u­a­tions, enables us to make even more accu­rate demand fore­casts. This allows us to ensure that the right parts are stored at the EPDC – and this also applies in prin­ciple to our sales part­ners’ stocks. This proac­tive approach is a unique selling point in our industry and should ensure that a required spare part is avail­able from the sales partner and can be picked up directly by the customer from there.

What current chal­lenges in the logis­tics sector do you encounter in the EPDC and how do you deal with them?

We are strug­gling with the shortage of skilled workers. We are working on offering even more appealing work­places, for example by improving ergonomics for employees and offering more part-time posi­tions. In partic­ular, we want to encourage more women to work at the EPDC. We are also trying to counter the rise in logis­tics costs – from customs and diesel prices to pack­aging prices. Thanks to good plan­ning, we are now able to consol­i­date 96% of our retailers’ orders so that we only need one delivery instead of three, for example. This saves costs and CO2, so it also contributes to sustain­ability.

In the high-frequency zone, employees put together many small parts for ship­ping.

Parts that are shipped by air freight are handled in a sepa­rate area.

That’s a key word, sustain­ability: What is the EPDC doing here to contribute?

We are one of the first John Deere sites to have a large photo­voltaic system on the roof here at Bruchsal and have had it for 10 years now. This covers 12% of our onsite energy consump­tion. In addi­tion, we generate a further 18% of elec­tricity and all the heat for our produc­tion processes and heating systems from renew­able sources at the site.

We are reducing the amount of plastic pack­aging in the filling mate­rial for our ship­ments and instead use paper, which is processed in special machines as trans­port protec­tion. We have also intro­duced pack­aging with 30% grass content for smaller deliv­eries. They use less water and energy in produc­tion, which means they have a signif­i­cantly better carbon foot­print.

In addi­tion to the activ­i­ties at the site, we can also posi­tively influ­ence the supply chain through good plan­ning. This allows us to reduce short-term deliv­eries through better fore­casting. This means fewer deliv­eries by air and there­fore lower emis­sions for each delivery.

You have been managing the EPDC since autumn 2023. What were your first impres­sions?

In my last John Deere role as customer service manager, I had already come into contact with the EPDC. In this respect, I was already quite familiar with some of the topics here and knew how well we were posi­tioned.

What impressed me were the complexity of the processes, the high degree of automa­tion we have and how the many small cogs inter­lock. I also imme­di­ately noticed the good atmos­phere in the work­force of over 650 employees. The co-oper­a­tion is marked by a pronounced focus on the customer, very respectful inter­ac­tions with one another and a high level of profes­sion­alism and expe­ri­ence in completing the tasks. In this context, the Works Council always speaks of the Bruchsal spirit. It describes the family atmos­phere at the loca­tion very well.