Many changes in day-to-day business operations
I join SEW-EURODRIVE since February 1, 1993. I started work at the first assembly plant in Brunn am Gebirge.
Even back then, I had the impression that I was joining an up-and-coming company that was undergoing global expansion, but customer proximity has always played an important role.
I spent the first six years as an in-house technician and also assisted Drive Electronics. At that time, we were still selling MOVITRAC® 1000/3000/4000, MOVITRON® / MOVIRET® and Baldor servo controllers.
I took charge of my own sales area in 1999 and have looked after it without any major changes ever since. That means I’ve developed long-standing, trusting partnerships with many of my customers. I also support our agency in Slovenia and a number of Slovenian customers.
SEW’s IT landscape has probably changed the most
In my early days as an in-house technician, we still produced a whole selection of paper catalogs with accompanying price lists (converting from German marks to Austrian schillings). Next came EKAT, which ultimately led to the convenient CRM/SCE system. As a result, I can now deal with far more inquiries than before. Customers also expect faster response times from SEW than 15 years ago.
There have been a great many changes in day-to-day business operations over the years. It didn’t use to be possible to reach people on their cell phones or smartphones (even those out in the field!). Back then, we received virtually all orders and inquiries by fax or even by post.
Opening the assembly plant in Vienna in 2000 was a key milestone for SEW-EURODIVE Austria. Every single one of my customers to have visited the plant to date has been impressed.
Personal milestones
My personal milestones were taking over my own sales area, expanding the relevant customer base and thus increasing sales. I enjoy recalling successful sales talks. By extending the product portfolio, especially in the area of electronics and industrial gear units, but for standard gear units, too (above all SPIROPLAN® gear units), we also introduced a great many new customer applications.
Always a spare set of clothes in the car
Given my widely spread customer base, sales trips have to planned with the utmost precision. For instance, it’s inadvisable to visit an OEM after a trip to rendering facilities (since I made that mistake, I always have a spare set of clothes in the car and always try to schedule such visits at the end of the day...).
Over many years, I’ve generally found that the only way to ensure customer loyalty is through quality, personal commitment, close cooperation and a fast response across all areas of the company.