As conventional the material handling industry might be, we as an industry as a whole have witnessed significant changes over the past few years. Most of these changes are driven by automation and digitalisation. This applies to Lisman Forklifts too.
As an organisation, build on family-values, we are evolving. We’ve invested in the automation of our processes and expanded our online offering with one goal in mind: how we can offer our clients the best possible customer experience. And to do so without comprising our core-values that have been the foundation of everything we stand for since 1967. How digitalisation becomes personal – automation without losing your company identity.
Traditionally, our sector isn’t among the early adopters. ‘Let’s wait and see’ or ‘We’re too busy right now to implement new systems’ is what you often hear. We normally take a ‘wait and see-approach’. Until, well, now. I think everyone in our industry can see that digitalisation is vital for organisations to be able to serve customers efficiently and most of all fully customised. And this is where digitalisation becomes personal.
Personal relevance is leading
Digitalisation means the growth and expansion of platforms. Not just marketplaces, but platforms between dealers, manufacturers and wholesalers too. What we are seeing right now is a major shift in the material handling industry. What used to be a heavily product-focused industry, now is a sector which is interaction-oriented. An industry that’s better able to connect personal relevance and impartiality to supply and demand.
How? By building better websites, utilising better tools, using smarter data in a smarter way. All made possible with information we already have. By making information and data leading in our offering, online presence and customer service, we’re able to improve engagement. Solely by being more relevant for our customers. By taking a data-driven approach we can align our business activities on customer behaviour, customer interest and customer needs. Eventually creating the perfect, ongoing customer journey.
Put people on the main stage
Better pictures, more information, or even an all-round 3D experience created with Artificial Intelligence. What it all comes down to when looking for used forklifts and second hand warehousing equipment is getting the complete picture – as quickly as possible. Time is money, right? With all technologies and ever-evolving expertise, platforms and websites are becoming increasingly important. In particular knowing what your customer is looking for, how he’s acting within your platform. Because it’s not longer the product or machine that’s on the mainstage, it’s people.
Most platforms offer a large selection of machines, all with their own specifications. With AI you’ll be able to build an intelligent search engine, within your own platform. A search tool based on specific queries that helps customer find what they are looking for better, easier and faster. What is all comes down to is making your customer’s life as easy as possible. Scary? No. Digitalisation means improving your customer experience and customer service. It’s time.
Get ahead of questions
Timing is everything. You have to be there when a customer needs you. And even better: get ahead of a question. Live tracking of transport and shipping, automatic payment updates; buying a used forklift will soon be as if you’re buying a new pair of shoes from your favourite web shop. It’s not just what customers want, it’s what they’re expecting.
At Lisman Forklifts we’re always looking for ways to grow and move forward. Always from the same perspective: be a reliable, trustworthy and honest partner to our clients. For over 55 years this has been at the heart of our family business. The key-factor within our organisation and in our way of doing business is transparency. That’s what we want to offer and what our partners expect. And moving forward into a new era within our industry, that’s exactly what our partners can expect.
Adding more value every day
We’ve embraced digitalisation as an organisation and are making huge steps in optimising our business activities. Not just externally, but even more internally. Process optimisation, improving back-end services, we are focused on how the digital revolution supports our teams in adding more value to the customer experience. The world is accelerating – our industry is too. We are bringing out the best in people by finding digital or automated solutions for routine jobs. So that people can do what they do best: inspire, help and support others.
Yes, changes can be scary. Yes, changes take time. Especially in our industry. And it’s important not to force change upon all activities – or people. Instead, look for the tools and solutions that are helpful, add value and take ownership
