With the restrictions we are currently experiencing John Deere took the opportunity to share how they are keeping machines running. Opened by Matthias Steiner, Director, Customer and Product Support for Europe he explained that by using three elements machine production is ongoing and dealers are using remote access and connected support more than ever.
Matthias explained that technology is not solving the problem directly but enabling a solution for the customer. “We have been working on these for 2-3 years with our dealers who deliver the solutions to our customers” he said. “You have to combine distinctive product quality and reliability with innovative digital technology such as Expert Alerts.”
The Connected Support consists of three elements; proactive response, remote support and parts and service availability. These three factors are delivered through the network of John Deere dealers such as Thomas Sherriff in the UK and SV-Pro in France and Busch-Poggensee in Germany. The three dealers on the live stream meeting walked through the elements of ensuring connected support works seamlessly and benefits their customers.
Proactive response means identifying any potential issues with a part or machine before they become a problem for the customer. Group Service Manager Neil Hardie and William Hutchinson, Integrated Solutions Manager explained how their business offers connected support to more than 350 machines. “With the customers consent we use Expert Alerts to proactively identify a potential problem, find a solution and then using the Machine Dashboard we manage connected support and act before a customer knows there might be a problem” said Neil. “Machine Dashboard is used as a kind of health check by our service managers as a first port of call every day to check each connected machine, John Deere and sometimes competitive brands which we are seeing more and more these days”.
Tools such as Remote Display Access and Service Advisor Remote take care of the remote support element. Speaking to SV-Pro in France they explained it’s used to check for diagnostic codes and can perform checks on a machine remotely while still working. One example from the workshop manager Nicolas Bourgoin was around remote combine support: “We had a technician servicing a combine ready for the pre-season and he was finished so he called the service manager. The manager remotely connected to the machine and identified an issue with a sensor. He notified the technician and in this case he could repair the problem and avoid a breakdown when harvest starts.” In addition to this the Remote Display Access function allows dealers access to view the machine display remotely. By guiding the customer through machine settings performance can be improved and service efficiency increased – faster problem resolution for the customer and reduced travel for the dealer.
The final element of parts and service availability was covered by the German dealer Busch-Poggensee in North West Germany. Steffen Krippahl, group manager for parts and service explained that through the connected portals he has access to a global network of parts. “Using the Dealer Parts Management system we are closely connected with John Deere so we can be sure we have stocks of critical parts before an issue arises” said Steffen. Parts and logistics are critical to keep machines running and have parts availability is a key enabler here. A recent hydraulic pump failure on a Friday night alerted Steffen that this needed action immediately. By having the part in stock the pump was replaced overnight and the customer operating again by the next morning. Even if a part is not in stock John Deere dealers have access to raise a critical alert and request a part directly from the factory.
Some smart tools from John Deere that mean the customer can continue operating or be alerted for maintenance proactively. “This technology is being used more recently but we see this becoming critically important to support customers in the future remotely for things like screen training when delivering a new tractor” explain Will from Thomas Sherriff in the UK.
