Case Lely

Customer challenge

With the introduction of a new generation of milking robots by Lely, the global market leader in robotics and farm management for dairy farming, she is strengthening its global competitive position.

The Lely family business has been growing rapidly for several years. A growth that has partly been shaped by constant attention to innovation. This growth is accompanied by a continuous motivation to improve its services and adapt them to customer requirements. Where this growth was accompanied by the introduction of a new milking robot, the absence of experienced employees and a peak in operations, acute occupancy problems arose at the Customer Service Desk.

UC Group was approached to find a solution.

Approach

Bring stabilization to the team in the short term; the order process and service to customers must be brought to a Lely-worthy level. In the medium term, set up a department that is sustainably stable and can move along with new product introductions and the continued growth of the organization.

Results

The new product launch has been completed. In addition to the busy activities for this purpose, a customer focus training has started to bring the department to a higher level. Procedures and processes have been analysed to make further improvements in the future.

A project has also started to optimize master data and to improve processes in the already available ICT systems. The experience in customer service within supply chain environments was an example for the team and contributed to the image of the entire organization.

Our solution

The initial focus was to stabilize the department in order to develop an integrated approach to sustainable improvement, looking at the organization, processes and systems.

The Customer Service Desk was initially reinforced with an interim customer service manager who took on the role of team lead front office for the duration of the project. A deliberate choice was made for a heavier approach, in order to leave space to build a sustainable solution.

Stabilization was hampered in the short term because the introduction of the new milking robots required additional coordination between the chain partners. This caused, among other things, additional workload at the Customer Service Desk. In order not to jeopardize a sustainable solution, it was then decided to also deploy a senior customer service employee from UC Group, in close cooperation with the interim customer service manager. The rapid availability, experience and specialized knowledge of this UC team proved to be successful key ingredients.

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