
GREIF- TANGIBLE SOLUTIONS!
Our Sales Engineer Henrik Johns offers real insider tips that you should keep in mind when buying a machine - regardless of what you buy and where you buy it.
DEAR READERS AND PERHAPS EVEN POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS,
lt is time, a machine purchase is just around the corner. This may not be your first purchase but. unless you have already ordered and installed the same system numerous times, it is always an important job, which I would like to make easier and more valuable for you using my 25 years of experience.
YOUR BRIEFING FOR POTENTIAL PARTNERS
Before purchasing a machine, it is worth roughly planning "the journey" - a metaphor we like to use here at Greif-VELOX. When planning, use the following three phases:
Now you have a rough but inspiring briefing that you can use to inspire engineers and system builders. You should select them in the next phase so that you can work together with them to create a realistic budget.
PARTNER SELECTION
lf you have already had a very good experience with existing partners and are satisfied with the value for money, you already have a clear favoritel Of course, there are always cheaper options in today's globalized economy, but this could also result in much worse results and production losses due to non-confined delivery times. Machine defects usually cost far more money than initial savings and in any case are a considerable source of stress and take up your precious time. lf you involve other providers, although your standard supplier is still a clear favorite, be fair and open. Share all the information and allow new impulses, visions and potential. lf you leave your standard supplier or need a new partner, such differentiation investments are not determined by prices - as long as they are somewhat comparable - but rather by your gut feeling, reinforced by corresponding references, customer recommendations and provider cases. lt is also important that you are confident that your partner has honest intentions. Consider the following:
Team charts in presentations already provide you with a first important impression. How your contact persons react to your briefing components from your "cloud phase" is especially important. lf your contact persons or essential team members are thinking in problems and not in solutions, then bewarel Even the best engineers cannot solve every challenge, but they can be inspired to find alternatives. Partners work with you on how to make the impossible possible through creative ideas. Non-partners will only inform you in detail why things are not working. Such people are inflexible later on in the project and likely to miss important market trends. However, priorities must be set to develop a realistic budget. And even if everything is technically possible, budgeting leaves little room for creativity and passion. In budgeting, a realistic figure for all involved is literally "worth its weight in gold". As a further tip, I can share with you that. for major projects, it helps to stage workshops with potential partners to deal with challenging requirements. This could also be a fee-based workshop, if there has not yet been an assignment and several important persons must attend. This will still pay off. Here, you will not only get to know the team but also learn how the team works:
And above all:
Such workshops are performanceoriented "chemistry meetings", which should always result in specific ideas leading to realistic budget frameworks.
THE PURCHASE
After the budget has been released internally, the shopping part follows. In this part. prices and technical details will be negotiated and clarified. Think of all contingencies, especially the requirements for further cooperation after delivery. Many system deliveries are preceded by a partnership that can extend over a period of 15-20 years. This is why you personally assist in the purchasing negotiations, as bargains cost a lot of time and money and cause a great deal of stress - as we already learned during partner selection. lf the prices are in your budget and in a similar range, a reliable, efficient partner with sustainable solutions justifies a reasonable but higher price. You are not only purchasing a machine but also acquiring a long-term partnership with many hours of intensive contact and collaborative work.
lf you would like to gain further insight. for example into what you should be awaÂre of regarding services and how order processing works, you will find further insider reports from my colleagues on our websites Blog section, "GREIF tangible solutions!". lf you have any questions about this report. my colleagues and I look forward to hearing from you and assisting you with any challenges and upcoming projects.
Kind regards,
HENRIK JOHNS, SALES ENGINEER
IN THE KNOWHOW SERIES ON DUR WEBSITE, EXPERTS OFFER YOU FURTHER VALUABLE ADVICE ON HOW TO MAKE SURE YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE 15 MORE EFFICIENT AND INNOVATIVE. GREIF-VELOX.COM