We’re a company within the company, I think it’s fair to define us as a sort of first aid, available to the dealers who contact us
The cafeteria building also hides a part of Sampierana-branded offices, perhaps those that are usually glanced at less or that are sometimes easier to forget. Right behind one of those doors, however, there are other faces, other stories, and other hands at work, those of Sampierana-branded Spare Parts.
Today we give space to them and to a particular name, that of Piernicolò, who has been working at Sampierana since 2019.
From Sicily to San Piero. How did your adventure at Sampierana begin?
My adventure at Sampierana began on May 22, 2019. I started as a worker unexpectedly, thanks to a meeting at my school with the founders of Sampierana who were visiting to select new personnel. After the in-person interviews, which were fortunately positive, I was contacted. Initially, I was hesitant because I had chosen the Faculty of Literature at University and was doing very well, but when the call came, I decided to go.
Once I entered the company world, I became passionate about Sampierana, its products, and also the people, day after day. I have been working in the spare parts team since September 26, 2022.
Tell us some more details about the spare parts team. During the purchase process or a simple request from the customer, when does your team come into play?
Over the years, a spare parts portal was developed on the initiative of the insiders because managing order entries by phone or email had become obsolete (once the orders were taken by phone, all phases were organized: purchase, management, packing, shipping) both at a “practical” and documentary/management level.
The development of the spare parts portal took place after a great deal of coordinated work with some colleagues from the technical office and the IT office. To date, the spare parts portal is a tried and tested reality and is constantly being innovated.
The team, composed precisely of both white-collar and blue-collar workers, follows all phases as if it were a micro-company: Purchasing, warehouse management, order/stock management, shipping, and invoicing in almost complete autonomy.
When the customer places an order, it is first supervised and authorized by us, after which our warehouse worker can already see it on the handheld device and manage it following the locations and stock levels up to packaging.
The team manages an average of over 15,000 shipments per year between sales and warranties. This translates into an indispensable service for over 300 Eurocomach dealers worldwide who can normally be served within 24/48 hours of order confirmation.
Also for the entire CNH market, closely linked to our warehouse for the supply of their stocking warehouses in Modena and not infrequently shipments to the USA.
Have you had a drop in requests in recent months?
When there is a drop in machine sales, spare parts become even more indispensable than they already are. We are a sort of first aid in our world.
How many people work in your team?
In total, there are five of us. There is Alessandro, who, in addition to being the department coordinator, manages all orders coming from the web; Nicola, who manages purchases; and myself, who handles everything related to customer support, therefore strictly sales. Letizia, who provides support to Alessandro and follows the complex CNH dynamics.
Then there are our warehouse workers: Matteo, Arianna, Edgar, Antonio, Francesca, and Luca (who shuttles between us and Attachments).
Do you have KPIs as a team, how is your work measured?
It’s all based on the here and now, we move based on daily requests.
Do you also provide consulting to the customer when they request a spare part?
Normally, the customer can place the order independently, but my role also includes this.
How does contact occur between you and the customer who needs a spare part? If, for example, there is a problem on the portal, who provides support?
For any sales-related need, I remain the point of contact for our dealers worldwide. At the moment, there is no direct contact of mine on the portal, but you know that now that I think about it, it’s not a bad idea? To date, they call the switchboard or send an email to infosampierana@cnh.com, and then they pass on my contact or it is forwarded to me immediately.
So, you also collaborate a lot with the After Sales team?
Absolutely! We manage all their shipments; the collaboration is one of absolute synergy. As Henry Ford said, “The first car is sold by the sales department, the others are ‘sold’ by after-sales service.” I don’t want to diminish the work of our sales team, but simply to emphasize ours, just to be clear!
You told us that you had enrolled in the Faculty of Letters, but once you entered the Sampierana world, you were able to train and find your way. What are the skills for those who want to approach the spare parts sector?
Ideally, it would be good to already know the machines, or at least have a general idea, strictly speaking about my job. Regarding our team, however, we have shown that the necessary skills are many and each of us can contribute even without prior experience; the important thing is to be flexible, dynamic, and predisposed to teamwork.
We say goodbye to Piernicolò with the promise to come back more often to knock on the door of the spare parts team, sometimes a few more steps are enough to shorten the “physical” distances from one office to another.
