Retrofit for Launch Support
The entire industry is looking at launches of new car models. This makes it all the more relevant for the OEM to get the vehicles to the eagerly waiting customers flawless and in time. In addition to the time factor, other quality criteria also play an important role in retrofit actions, which you should take into account when selecting a quality service provider.
Purchasing departments like to make decisions based on the lowest hourly rate. However, this is often not expedient in the end, as there are numerous criteria to consider in addition to the pure hourly rate:
Experience is one of the key factors
How qualified are the employees of the service provider? Reliable, competent personnel can no longer be taken for granted in times of a shortage of skilled workers, and the price-performance ratio often does not match anymore. This makes it all the more important for the quality service provider to have well-trained specialists who are not only proficient in mechanical rework, but also in difficult tasks such as electronic troubleshooting. In addition, specialists for projects on electric and hybrid vehicles should have high-voltage training with corresponding experience.
Not every specialist has to be able to do everything, but the quality service provider should be able to provide the appropriate personnel in the shortest possible time. In practice, this cannot be achieved by hiring new staff at short notice, but rather by maintaining and qualifying a flexible pool of employees who are willing to travel. These qualified specialists can then start troubleshooting and problem solving as quickly as possible and, depending on the duration of the project, integrate additional employees.
Process-oriented managers
As a rule, the work processes in the project are already specified by the OEM’s quality department. Nevertheless, good project management at the quality service provider with experienced contact persons pays off: due to the large number of measures carried out, they develop a specific approach, which shortens the times for coordination and project start. And even during the project, workflows can often still be optimized. In the end, this specialization and experience saves you, the customer, valuable hours.
Independence from location
On site at the plants, small companies have often made a good name for themselves. However, it is sometimes getting difficult when it comes to cross-location, cross-country or even cross-continent action management. Global sales markets often require simultaneous actions at several locations. A good service partner can carry out international projects simultaneously with standardized processes and documentation, saving you a lot of effort in coordination.
Digital documentation
Key word reporting. Even if rework is implemented manually, you as a customer should demand digitized reporting. Paper lists that are converted into digital reports by colleagues on a daily basis are definitely obsolete. Using the appropriate scanner tools or touch screens, parts- or vehicle-related reports can nowadays be created directly during the retrofit action and made available to you digitally as documentation.
Cost transparency
As soon as you have shortlisted several service providers, demand cost transparency. Hidden costs are a no-go. Cost transparency is very important for EuroQ, there are no hidden costs with us. We show you in advance exactly the costs that will really incur (if foreseeable).
In the end, the success of your retrofit action is not evaluated by the initially important hourly rate, but by the overall result in performance, time and costs.
