GEJE Truck Hydraulics keeps on growing and growing. For the technical wholesale business, 2020 was all about their move to a new location in Joure, Friesland. Additionally, behind the screens, developments in the field of digitalization are increasing rapidly. Order processing at GEJE is almost fully automated now. Which means it is time to carry out the next step in GEJE’s digital business operations; employing Elfsquad Product Configurator for a fully automated order intake. GEJE Truck Hydraulics uses the configurator very efficiently, and showcases these innovations through various online- and offline channels. A good moment to have a chat with Casper Jans (Sales Engineer at GEJE Truck Hydraulics), to extensively clarify GEJE’s vision, our cooperation, and their (hyper)modern automated order intake & processing.
“The base of our operations lie in supplying parts for the hydraulic drive of loading and unloading systems for trucks.”, Casper Jans explains. “However, we also supply complete hydraulic kits for all truck brands and applications. That is our specialty.” The hydraulic kit is fully customized for truck brand, type of vehicle, the various available axis configurations, chassis space, and many more extra options. Naturally, this is all done in tune with the truck’s loading- and unloading system. Additionally, a building instruction is supplied. Resulting in customers not being left with any extra parts and not having to worry about assembly.
GEJE Truck Hydraulics dominates the market in hydraulic components on trucks. This is not without reason. Jans: “For truck dealers and bodywork manufacturers, GEJE is a fast and trustworthy wholesaler in this niche market. GEJE distinguishes itself by delivering a large amount of customization and in-depth knowledge about hydraulics application.”
Market developments require more and more of bodywork- and trailer manufacturers, and truck suppliers. Much demand for customization is present, and runtimes are required to be shorter and shorter. On top of that: demands for specific products change more often, and faster.
Businesses who ignore these market developments are unable to remain competitive. GEJE is a clear example of a business that does not shy away from digitalization. They see great opportunities to employ configuration software to adjust to said developments, and to supply customers with more knowledge.
The in-depth knowledge, trustworthiness, and focus on process optimization shows its benefits in a strong growth over the past couple of years. Over 5 years this has led to GEJE winning the FD Gazellen Award. An award that is granted to businesses growing with at least 20% over three years.
For further optimization, GEJE set a goal for itself to also connect the customer to the logistical process. For faster and errorless delivery, without suboptimal telephonic contact or errors as a result of flawed data input in back-office systems.
“We observed a necessity to digitize this step in our order-intake process. For a truck dealer or bodywork manufacturer it can be quite complicated to advise a potential buyer. In other words; our knowledge had to become available for our customers. As such, configuration software came into the picture.”, Jans adds. The configurator enables a connection between the customer and the internal logistic process.
Through the automated quotation- and order pick process, GEJE’s customization is actually partially standardized. Runtimes are decreased because simple questions no longer require contact by phone between GEJE and its customers. This frees up space to help customers with more complicated situations. The big variance in products and product knowledge is accommodated in one online tool, available for customers and completely managed by GEJE.
The necessity of a product configurator has been clear to GEJE for a long time. Elfsquad turned out to be a well-known configurator in the automotive industry. Jans clarifies: “After a thorough market research Elfsquad simply turned out to be the best package. Where we eventually were able to rapidly advance our vision for digital order-intake.”
How has GEJE handled the next steps? “My job during the design of Elfsquad was to accommodate our technical knowledge into rules. Is a moving floor trailer selected, on a Scania truck with a specific axis configuration, gearbox, quick coupling and a number of extra options? Then one hydraulic kit should be rolled out, accurate to the very final bolt. Our catalog contains the most frequently used truck brands, types, and hydraulic applications.”
Jans further explains why they chose Elfsquad’s configurator: “All of its functionalities combined make for a very user-friendly experience. The graphical interface spoke for itself. But creating configuration models truly is one of the product configurator’s strongest points. Your product structures are easily built using the drag-and-drop functionality. No programming work and -knowledge is required. The simplicity lies in building these configuration models. This saved us a lot of time during the design of our configurator.”
After designing the configurator it can be rolled out quickly. “We easily add customers willing to use our configurator as users in Elfsquad. Do they receive a request for a certain hydraulic system? They open the configurator, and based on the application they fill in all choices their customer makes. Then, an errorless quotation is rolled out for the entire set.”. When this quotation is accepted, an order is sent to the back-office system (ERP) Logic4, after which the internal process initiates. As such GEJE has digitized the sales process without intervention by their own employees.
After processing the order, a digital pick receipt is prepared in GEJE’s automatic order pick system. This machine then ensures that the to-be-picked items are offered to the warehouse worker. Jans: “From the moment the quotation is created up until the moment of supplying, no human intervention or paperwork is involved. Enormously reducing the chances at errors.”
Next to the connection between GEJE’s vision and Elfsquad’s software, the two teams turned out to simply really get along with one another: “A homey ambiance is present over at Elfsquad. It’s an accessible team. For questions, I can simply walk in.”, Jans explains. Both parties’ Frisian straightforwardness laid a good foundation for the successful cooperation between the two teams.
Elfsquad removes all worries from your pre-production process. With Elfsquad as backbone, we realize the digital factory that smart industries have been trying to find for so long. We do this through a product configurator, with integrated solutions for marketing, sales, and operations.
