In many industrial organisations, service departments operate in the background, where they are vital but too often overlooked. But as Jan-Bernd Krämer from Lindemann pointed out during his talk on service transformation, invisibility is no longer sustainable.
Author Nick Saraev
Photo: Freepik
If service is to deliver on its full potential in revenue, customer satisfaction, and operational insight, it must be visible. It also needs intentional structure and a central place in the business.
From Afterthought to Frontline
Lindemann, known for building large-scale shredders and balers for the scrap metal and steel industries, has over 2,000 machines in the field. Krämer leads a team of 55 people, overseeing digitalisation, technical service, field service, spare parts, and the company’s repair centre. But two and a half years ago, things looked very different.
Service was reactive. Quoting for a simple spare part could take up to eight weeks. The process lacked urgency, visibility, and focus. A colleague told me, “Our competitor needs two days for a quote; we need one month,” Krämer recalled. Customers noticed, and so did internal stakeholders.
The message was clear: if service was going to succeed, it needed a seat at the table. That meant transforming not just systems, but mindsets.
Becoming the First Call, Not the Backup Plan
One of Krämer’s core goals is to make Lindemann the performance partner, the first choice when customers think of support. This doesn’t happen by chance. It requires consistent visibility, proactive communication, and a clear strategy.
In many cases, Lindemann’s customers didn’t even realise the company still existed after changes in its corporate ownership. “You need to visit them. You need to talk with them. You should be there,” Krämer said. Waiting for the phone to ring simply doesn’t work. If you’re not present, customers will find alternatives, and in high-pressure industries like steel and automotive, those alternatives are often just a click away.
Fixing the Basics First
One of the first challenges Krämer tackled was operational efficiency. He reduced quoting times from eight weeks to five days by streamlining internal processes and removing roadblocks. Speed mattered, but credibility mattered more. A slow quote process signals a disorganised service operation. And that makes customers nervous.
At the core of this transformation was a simple mindset: in service, there’s always a solution. Saying you have no solution isn’t acceptable. The goal is to find an answer quickly.
Finding the Right People (and Keeping Them)
Transformation is impossible without the right team. Krämer is unapologetic about his hiring standards. “You like service or you hate it,” he told the audience. There’s nothing between.” He asks candidates what they “burn for” and what gets them out of bed in the morning.
This emotional connection to the work is essential. Service is unpredictable. One day might bring five breakdowns across different countries. The next could involve walking a customer through an urgent rebuild or rebalancing conflicting demands from small scrapyards and large manufacturers.
In this chaos, only people with the right mindset, who are solution-oriented, collaborative, and calm under pressure, will thrive. And once they’re on board, it’s about showing appreciation. Birthday messages, Christmas greetings, team events, and field technician meet-ups all matter. As Krämer noted, “It’s only small things.”
Clarifying the Message and the Mission
Service teams need clarity. What is the mission, and who owns it? At Lindemann, the message is simple: become the performance partner. That’s not just a tagline, it’s a way of operating.
Being “first in mind, first in choice” means making sure that when something goes wrong, customers call Lindemann first, not a third-party contractor or a cheaper alternative. That can only happen if customers know who to call, trust that help will come quickly, and believe they’re working with a team that understands their equipment inside out.
Customer-Centric by Design
True transformation puts the customer at the centre. Krämer and his team visit five to six customers every month, not to sell, but to listen. What are their pain points? What can be improved? What role does the equipment play in their broader operation?
The feedback informs service offerings, contract structures, and even product development. In many cases, operators know more about daily machine behaviour than the manufacturer’s own technicians. That’s valuable knowledge, and only accessible if you go to the source.
Lindemann has built a model that starts with on-site human inspections, followed by data analysis, performance recommendations, and ultimately long-term service contracts. It’s a path that leads from visibility to value.
Understanding Regional Realities
Service models can’t be copied and pasted globally. During a visit to Brazil, Krämer discovered that local labour regulations meant service competitors could offer support at half the price of Lindemann’s European model. He concluded the European concept wouldn’t work in Brazil under those rules.
Success in service depends on local adaptation, understanding not just equipment and customer needs, but also the economic and cultural context. A one-size-fits-all approach will fail fast.
Embracing Data and AI Without Losing the Human Touch
For Lindemann, digitalisation plays a crucial role. With machine data feeding into analytics and AI tools, the company can track performance, spot anomalies, and take preventive action. This supports higher uptime, a critical selling point in high-stakes industries where unplanned downtime can cost millions.
But data alone isn’t enough. It must be combined with human expertise and insight. “We can talk a lot about improvements,” Krämer said, “but you need to know where we are standing, and [both] how and what we need to do, so that we come to the next level.”
Building the Business Case
If service is to grow, it requires investment as well as passion. And for that, leadership buy-in is essential. Krämer acknowledged how fortunate he is to work in a company where service has a seat at the table, thanks in part to its private-equity ownership. In that model, every euro of service revenue is worth far more to shareholders than a euro of equipment sales.
That financial logic helps to secure support, but it’s the results that sustain it. Service generates recurring revenue, deeper customer relationships, and insight into how products perform in the real world. Service is both commercially and strategically valuable.
The People Behind the Process
Field service remains a tough career with long hours, demanding travel, and unpredictable schedules. And as Krämer highlighted in the Q&A, attracting and retaining talent is a growing challenge.
He’s working to bring more women into service roles and supports requests for paternity leave. He also ensures that potential recruits understand the company’s values from the first conversation: respect, appreciation, and open communication.
Interviews are more like informal chats. New hires are encouraged to speak to existing technicians and get a real feel for the team culture. That openness is part of what makes Lindemann an attractive place to work, even in a field many find too demanding.
Final Thoughts
Service is the engine of long-term success, but for it to count, it must first be seen.
Make service visible in the places that matter: on-site, in response times, and in how teams support customers. Krämer’s approach shows that consistency beats slogans. Show up, solve problems, and earn trust.
