KNAPP’s worldwide service network welcomes their 1,500th employee

Rising demand for automated warehouse solutions and logistics software also means a rising demand for customer service. The number of employees working in Customer Service at KNAPP has increased twentyfold in the last 15 years. The worldwide service network currently numbers 1,500 employees and continues to grow.

This is a reflection of the high demand for automated solutions. Recently, Kasim Hanif joined the company as the 1,500th Customer Service employee and works at the retailer Marks & Spencer in the UK as a Resident Engineer. Manfred Fuchs, Vice President, International Customer Service, is very proud of this milestone: “Over the years, we have grown from being a classic customer service provider to being a strategic partner for our customers for the entire value chain. The service experts in our worldwide network are always close to our customers and offer them the best possible support, whether in their day-to-day challenges or in making changes to their business model.” The KNAPP group’s service portfolio ranges from seamless support for warehouse operation to proactive and professional warehouse monitoring, including data analysis. This ensures that systems run optimally at all times, prevents and manages standstills, and delivers maximum warehouse efficiency and performance.

Resident Engineers: your on-site service team

The Resident Engineers, a team of KNAPP service technicians stationed at customers’ sites, are the right people for the job. “Our Resident Engineers do much more than just make sure that the mechanical and electrical components are functioning at their best. They also monitor the systems, find out where there is room for improvement in the systems, and allow our customers to get the best out of the system right from the very start,” explains Erik Gutmann, Vice President, International Customer Service at KNAPP.

In 2018, online fashion retailer ASOS was in the startup phase for their new distribution center in Berlin. They converted what was originally a manual warehouse into a highly automated logistics center with a solution featuring an OSR Shuttle™ Evo combined with a pocket sorter system. Since 2019, a team of Resident Engineers has been supporting ASOS on site. Dirk Theuser, site manager, heads up the team of 27.His administrative responsibilities range from writing reports and conducting meetings to resource management and hiring. Oliver Kraftsik, Vice President of International Logistics for ASOS, sums up the advantages of having the Resident Engineers: “What we really like about our Resident Engineers is that the team is right there to handle the issues immediately. What’s more, they handle preventative issues such as maintenance, servicing and spare parts management and lend a hand in overall maintenance management. This service represents risk outsourcing in many areas.”

Decisions based on data analysis

KNAPP’s software tools, KiSoft CMMS and KiSoft Analytics, provide customers with extremely valuable data as a basis for making decisions. “Our Resident Engineers take care of all the electronic and mechanical issues in the system. We also have logistics operations engineers who focus exclusively on the system software. Along with coordinating release updates to the productive system and managing software incidents, these engineers also support the technicians in the daily operations of the control room. All the system technicians use our KiSoft tools, which makes sure all the areas are perfectly synced,” explains Alessandro Freidl, Director of Onsite Services at KNAPP, about how the on-site services work.

Automation requires trust

Automation is a matter of trust. That’s why KNAPP focuses on building partnerships with their customers. This ongoing collaboration forms a solid foundation for success for both partners. More importantly, it ensures that our customers’ business models remain profitable and that, ultimately, people are supplied reliably with medicine, food and clothing over the long term.