When he started Jan Janse found a professional organisation, which is well organized. Obviously, there are always some things which can be done better. “Being part of an international group offers excellent opportunities to learn from each other”, he says. “I am a great advocate of benchmarking. What is the story behind the figures? A different approach, market, working method? We regularly are in contact with other Sonepar countries, and every time again it is an enriching experience for both parties. For example, recently the new Sonepar China joint-venture came to visit us. They are still in the middle of the development phase and wanted to know how we do business. Some questions referred to aspects that we take for granted for many years. This means that you have to ask yourself: how obvious are our ways of working actually? Do we still pay sufficient attention to further improve these aspects? Recent visits to Sonepar Germany and France gave me also valuable insights. Overall we are doing things in the same way, however during such a visit you always pick up interesting ideas.”
Customer satisfaction surveys
In recent years business economist Janse worked at a large, international food company. He was surprised about the structural attention Technische Unie paid to customers feedback: “Surely you would expect customer panels at consumer-oriented organisations, but also Technische Unie has a long history in customer satisfaction surveys. This way, we always know how our customers appreciate for example our logistic performance, and what improvements are expected, so that we can set the right priorities”.
”Hassle manager”
Technische Unie is rightly proud of its logistic organisation, Jan Janse thinks, but that is no reason to lean back. “Especially our distribution centre in Alphen aan den Rijn is at the top of its capacity. This year we have taken many measures to guarantee a constant customer service level, especially during the traditional autumn peak. In addition, we are working on structural solutions to facilitate the growing order flow and changing client wishes. Our clients increasingly require differentiated logistics, such as extra logistic support at the building site. We want to be the best “hassle manager” for our customers, taking care of their hassle as much as possible, so that they can focus on their core business.”
