The Future is getting closer
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How close is close?
In the modern digital era, keeping close to customers is more and more likely to entail self-learning algorithms that divine clients' needs even before they arise. But customer proximity can also be interpreted more literally as geographical closeness which, in extreme cases, can involver setting up shop on the customer's premises.
“We want to be available where our customers need us,” says Tony Ahlqvist, whose company opened its latest truck and trailer repair shop in Laitila in July. Ahlqvist Services, which was already operating branches in Rusko near Turku and in Raisio, is acknowledged by hauliers and truckers as the number-one repair specialist in the whole of southwest Finland. The family enterprise, which is headed by Tony Ahlqvist’s father Mika Ahlqvist, is now extending its reach to embrace the major traffic flows that hug the country’s coastline. Ahlqvist Service is well known for its strong customer focus; in case of an emergency, truckers can rely on its assistance at any time of day or night. The same applies to the availability of replacement parts – given that Trailcon Oy, which is the Finnish subsidiary of the BPW Aftermarket Group, also takes customer proximity literally. It has established a rather unusual spare parts outlet in the yard of Ahlqvist’s repair shop, from where it makes a stock of around 2,000 parts available 24/7.
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DISCOVER THE INTELLIGENT SPARE PARTS WAREHOUSE FOR GARAGE PREMISES
SHOP IN SHOP, OR SHOP IN REPAIR SHOP?
The spare parts outlet is a fully digitised and air-conditioned 40-foot container. Mechanics have the simple task of stepping inside and taking the required parts off the shelf – that’s all there is to it. The doors open as soon as the container recognises the mechanic by way of his ID card. A radar scanner identifies the removed parts – likewise without any physical contact. The mechanic then confirms the items he has collected on a touchscreen and assigns the parts to the relevant customer and order. Billing and restocking take place fully automatically; the inventory is replenished the very next day. If a mechanic needs advice, he can talk to a friendly Trailcon employee face-to-face on the display. It’s not a robot, but a real person, who can see the mechanic and the inside of the container thanks to a camera.
Although it all sounds like science fiction, 18 repair shops throughout Finland have been home to such containers since as long ago as 2012. This arrangement was one of the factors that prompted Ahlqvist Services to establish the new branch in Laitila, as Tony Ahlqvist explains, “The container doesn’t call for any pre-financing, spare parts inventory or stock control, and therefore saves time, administration and headaches. In consequence, instead of grappling with parts management, our mechanics can work more closely with the customers.”
Some of the Ahlqvist team were initially sceptical as regards the container’s ability to make the required quantities of the relevant parts available. Before stocking the store for the first time, however, Trailcon had digitally analysed the company’s order history and made certain of an appropriate inventory from the outset. The parts assortment is automatically and continuously adjusted according to demand. Tony Ahlqvist is convinced that the intelligent spare parts container will be adopted by other countries as well. It would not be the first time that a digital idea originating in Finland captures the world’s imagination.
“The container enables us to bridge the physical gap between spare parts dealers and the repair shop, and reduces the dependence on dealers’ opening hours.”
Inside the box: Tony Ahlqvist demonstrates how the radar technology automatically registers and re-orders the spare parts that are removed. He confirms the purchase on the touchscreen and assigns the parts to the relevant customer – all in a matter of seconds.
