CUSTOMER SERVICE TO FACE THE PANDEMIC

The pandemic has changed the timing and methods of Customer Care. In the case of the Marchesini Group business – based on a trusting relationship with customers and constant feedback before, during and after the purchase of the machine or packaging line – the priority has been to assist customers at every stage without any physical travel to and from the Italian headquarters in Pianoro.

In order to continue to offer full assistance in the current international context, Marchesini Group has consolidated its remote after-sales support services. To manage these services, a unit called X-CARE was set up in 2020 with the task of coordinating all the remote testing procedures required during these exceptional times. The end result was a complete kit of services that can also be used individually and will remain in operation even after the health situation has returned to normal.

Since 2020, in particular, three digital services have been gradually introduced:
 

• the Teleservice service, software that allows the operator panel to be remotely set up via a secure connection, allowing Marchesini Group technicians to work on the line directly from their own office, cutting costs and speeding up procedures;
• the Live Assistance service, which allows an experienced operator to see what is happening inside the machine and to provide solutions in real time, improving troubleshooting effectiveness through a dedicated app or, optionally, through smartglasses;
• the MIMO service: a system of video cameras installed on the machine which – thanks to a recording rate of 100 frames per second and a proprietary digital trigger framework – permits recording of errors throughout the production process at the exact moment they occur. MIMO is supplied inside a case with the installation hardware and is supported by an app that guides the customer through the correct installation of the video cameras on the machine: this makes it possible to have a complete and precise overview of accidental errors and to allow problems to be solved remotely, without the need to send technicians to the site.

During 2021, MIMO provided considerable support for the X-SAT procedures, the final Line Acceptance carried out at the customer’s premises, accompanied by the X-FATs – tests carried out at Marchesini Group’s premises, most of which were remote to overcome customer travel issues. To date, 30 X-SATs and 120 X-FATs have been produced, often with concurrent use of all Customer Care digital services, grouped together under the X-SERVICE umbrella. These services can also be used as a single solution, supported by detailed guidelines defining the necessary activities and risk analysis, involving all the staff necessary for a successful project.

During Open House Beauty, MIMO – the industrialisation of which was entrusted to Proteo Engineering, an industrial automation accelerator company controlled by Marchesini Group – will be installed in a control room visible to customers, which will control the service on a RSF model ampoule filling and sealing machine.

In total, since the start of the pandemic, the Marchesini Group has provided customers with a total of 420 hours of remote assistance.