Steve Divic joined Manitowoc as ANZ Parts Manager six months ago. His challenge was to ensure spare parts are readily available across the country for growing populations of Grove mobile cranes and Potain tower cranes and the future requirements of the business.
Prior to joining Manitowoc, Steve worked in the elevator industry for 15 years as a national inventory manager before moving into a head of procurement role, where a big part of that role was the spare parts business for a multinational German brand.
During his time in the elevator game, he experienced a similar model to that of Manitowoc, one which is heavily service oriented with healthy inventory levels and many parts movements, relying on an efficient supply chain to succeed.
“After 15 years, I was ready to get back into a more operational position and this opportunity came up. I’m enjoying the operational role and managing a great team responsible for the spare parts, supply chain and service outcomes within business,” said Steve.
One of his early challenges was communicating to national Grove and Potain customers, as well as distributors and service agents, how he and his team intend to provide a more responsive and seamless service offering in terms of parts availability and support.
“The key to success in this business is relationships and credibility. This includes relationships directly with our customers, distributors and our service network. Our aim is to build the parts and service elements of the business as we recognise that this is a key requirement, together with support levels. We must provide for the growing fleet of Groves and Potain equipment in the industry.
“Our shift is a more proactive approach to our spare parts and service offering. We are further validating our quotations and checking-in regarding future requirements, enabling us to get closer to our customers’ business.
“We need to align our pillars of customer service to that of customer expectations be it concise, prompt communication, team-based problem solving and adaptability”
Steve goes on to discuss how his team handles the relationship with the service department, ensures the mobile technicians have the right parts available when they head out for a service or a breakdown and how the right parts are available to the workshop for larger projects such as major inspections.
“In my short time in the crane industry, I’ve quickly learnt how vital our fast reaction time to part enquiries is, particularly for critical situations. We are key business partners in a high-growth, and safety-conscious sector that serves as the backbone of the nation’s construction, mining, and infrastructure development.
“A great way to stay in-touch with the crane environment is to use the industry experts available at our fingertips. With our broad customer base, dealership and internal network, it’s a great insight to make best decisions. It has enabled me to understand the challenges they face in relation to spare parts or service expectations.”
Steve explains how his team manages the stock and how parts are automatically replenished.
“We rely on the SAP system Materials Management, which is in direct correlation with our factories in France, Germany, the United States, and China. As we place the order, they pick it up on their system. Stock is automatically replenished through the Materials Management program.”
Steve discusses the experience with the spare parts team and the ‘can do’ culture with the team members.
“Culture is very important to me, and it is something we have been building from week one. Having a positive atmosphere within the team, translates to a positive, customer- centric, ‘can do’ environment. We want our customers and partners to have a positive experience when they interact with the team, and foster a genuine opportunity to build on our service offering,” he said.
“Yes, we offer crane parts, but expanding our inventory, we are now offering a range of associated crane accessories. For instance, accessories such as tyres, outrigger pads, service kits, wire rope lubricating systems and the like. We are also supplying battery systems for Potain electric tower cranes.
“Stocking more specialised equipment to further enhance our offering to the customer is a significant investment, but one that will pay dividends in the future,” he said.
“Together with our core values, operating with integrity and honesty to create credibility and trust is key. Ultimately, our customers’ success, is our success.”
