Digital transformation is omnipresent. Consciously and often unconsciously, we benefit from the advantages of this technologically driven development in our everyday lives. While there is a lot of talk in the media and at specialist events about “Disruption”, “Digital Revolution” and the “Internet of Things”, many medium-sized companies are still waiting hesitantly.
LUTZ Elevators is already two steps ahead here. As a traditional company with over 90 years of experience and an eye for the signs of the times, we have deliberately opted for digital transformation.
Together with PiSA sales GmbH, the provider of the CRM software system of the same name and specialist for the effective digitalization of business processes since 1989, the areas of marketing, sales and customer service, as well as other departments, have been equipped with a fully integrated information management system based on a classic CRM project.
Companies too often talk about what is not possible. That is why we would like to show you how the challenges of digitalization have been specifically tackled and which solutions have already been implemented.
Explore the digital revolution at LUTZ Elevators step-by-step. We hope you will gain maximum knowledge.
LUTZ Elevators has stood for high-quality elevator solutions since 1927.
We can be found in many countries today – and not only on solid ground. For years, we have also been one of the world’s leading companies in the construction of ship elevators. Our portfolio covers the planning, production, assembly, modernisation, repair and sale of elevator systems and manufacturer-independent services.
Our recipe for success is that we don’t believe in recipes for success. Every project – ranging from modern modular systems and individual glass elevators to the restoration of a historical elevator – is viewed completely objectively. Because this is the only way to find optimum solutions. And it doesn’t matter whether this is within standard norms or goes far beyond the horizon.
This prudence is the reason why LUTZ Elevators has deliberately decided to remain a medium-sized company. The management team is currently active in the third generation of the owner family. Long-term orientation, independent thinking and personal responsibility for our day-to-day business are our prerequisites for developing elevator systems that go far beyond the norm in terms of quality and technology.
The strategic digitalization project at LUTZ Elevators is aimed at nothing less than the ongoing, company-wide digital transformation and permanent improvement of our corporate processes. Changes in customer requirements and the conviction that only a sustainably efficient and customer-oriented company will continue to be successful in the future keep driving us forward. While LUTZ Elevators is already positioning itself on the market as a modern performance leader and creating the basis for success for the coming decades with its consistent digital transformation, other companies are still hanging back when it comes to digitalization.
The entire sales process line is mapped and supported in PisaSales CRM. From quotation configuration to order tracking, all employees of the Sales department work with the software. Our goal: to impress our clients and potential customers with quality and speed.
The Service back office department controls all service activities and schedules our service technician teams. System-supported resource planning not only safeguards the necessary transparency, but also brings us bonus points in terms of efficiency.
Using an app on their tablets, Field Service technicians have mobile access to their task appointments and all information relevant for carrying them out. The services they perform and the materials they use are reported back to the head office without any annoying paperwork and invoiced promptly.
The Marketing department at LUTZ Elevators provides all advertising materials, conducts ongoing promotions and training sessions, and also deals with the internal distribution of technical information. With PisaSales CRM, the department can keep an eye on all processes, budgets, deadlines and milestones.
Controlling monitors large amounts of key data and provides valuable analyses that enable the process of relentless continuous improvement. This is child’s play with the evaluation options available in PisaSales CRM.
The HR, Contracts, ZÜS (Accredited Inspection Bodies) Planning, Materials Management and Accounting departments are also linked to the fully integrated system and thus work together on a work platform coordinated with the ERP system. Departmental silos are thus a thing of the past.
We want to offer our customers noticeably better service. We can achieve this through high availability of elevators and satisfied customers. Good communication is an important element. The majority of our customers trust our employees to do a good job, e.g. in the maintenance of an elevator system. They are very precise in judging how we communicate with them. And this is exactly where we see a decisive competitive edge. Noticeably good communication and digitalization belong together. When providing premium service, our employees need maximum information and transparency. This cannot be achieved without consistent digitalization.
Our customers, our organization, including our employees, and our elevators make up the three corners of the triangle. Information flows back and forth between these three in a very dynamic process. Aggravating the situation, all three parties are decentralised and in distinct. There is not just the one customer, but also the property manager, the owner of the real estate, the architect, the elevator user, etc. It is like this in our organization. There are the staff in our offices, the foremen and the service technicians out in the field or on the construction sites. Geographically, our elevators are widely distributed. And they all supply and need information at an increasing speed. This can only be achieved through consistent digitalization in conjunction with good processes. Coupled to our ERP system, the PiSA system is the heart of this huge “data washing machine”.
One of the next big challenges is the transformation from a service based on time intervals to a demand-oriented service. For this purpose, all elevators must be networked. The analysis of the data enables conclusions to be made for preventive services and, as a result, higher elevator availability. Huge amounts of data are created that we have to manage.
Our customers have the feeling that every employee at Lutz knows the customer and can provide fast support. As all information is linked in one system at several levels (company level, company employees, projects, inquiries, etc.), we are able to serve our customers quickly and efficiently.
We had three challenges to overcome: in addition to the completely revised process landscape, we had to manage the change process and redesign the way we work together.
Add to that, new tools such as tablets and smartphones are joining the new processes. At the same time, things that used to be important (three years ago) for Sales no longer exist today. In the meantime, data is recorded in an existing building, passed on to the Construction department and, from there, an offer is created completely digitally. This shortens the lead time, reduces friction losses and the customer is served faster.
We will see if we have found the right answer. In any case, we are very well positioned and have managed to inspire our employees for the new approach.
Due to my private work with the new digital alternatives, I can identify what customers will be expecting in the next few years. My opinion is that there will be a reduction in personal consultancy. As has already been the case in some sectors, evaluation portals will also become established in our company. These will have an increasing impact on the success of our sales. As an example, let’s take booking a hotel room: as far as possible, the selection is made using evaluation portals. The on-site implementation is then ensured by the employees and the products (rooms, catering, etc.). This means that the employees on site, in our case on the construction site or at the service object, must deliver a top-rate service. This also means that 24/7 availability must be guaranteed at the highest level. For me, availability does not only refer to the phone, but to all other communication channels, such as e-mail, WhatsApp and others, too.
Every employee is able to give the customer clear information about a process, including those of other colleagues. For example, if a customer wants to know which work has been carried out on its elevator, all it takes is a glance into the system. Time-consuming “enquiries” and telephone calls, e.g. with the service technician, are no longer necessary. Everything is transparently stored in PisaSales. The customer thus quickly receives qualified initial information. Not only our customers benefit from this new transparency. It’s also a relief for the colleagues.
The biggest challenge was to get all of the employees to accept this new way of working. At LUTZ Elevators, we employ both young as well as experienced colleagues, some of whom have different approaches to working with software. Not everyone has found it easy to give up the tried-and-tested way of working that we had been using for years. We reacted to this sensitively and, for example, offered individual training sessions and used an e-learning tool.
As a company, the new digital technologies enable us to respond progressively faster and more precisely to our customers’ wishes and needs. This enables a customer service that is radically different from that of the last decades. Increasingly, our customers expect more speed, higher quality and transparency. You know this from your everyday life, for example from online shopping. We see ourselves well equipped to meet these and other future challenges with the company’s initiated digital transformation. We are well aware that this is an endless path and that we must constantly adapt to changing conditions.
But we are already taking full advantage of the benefits of an integrated software solution: we have been able to achieve significantly more transparency, both internally and externally. The 360° view of the customer and elevator begins as soon as a fault is accepted and extends across all process lines throughout the service. At any point during the processes, we can trace histories, technical attributes, documents, contracts, owners, administrators or the service technicians responsible. Due to the new possibilities of measuring process quality, the increased process efficiency is yet another further advantage.
"Above all, our customers benefit from the newly gained transparency, process speed and quality" Oliver Nedden, Service Manager
Tomorrow better than today...
The use of the LUTZ Monitoring remote diagnosis system, which provides remote access to the respective elevator system via M2M coupling, is an important component in the digital service strategy for LUTZ Elevators. Sensors on the elevator measure the system’s vital signs and reports any anomalies and malfunctions to the LUTZ communications center online.
The remote diagnosis system constantly requests a series of technical data, such as the control of the cabin light, the elevator cabin’s stopping accuracy or meter readings and running times. This enables preventative service and maintenance in line with requirements. To a large extent, this means that emergencies and downtimes are ideally avoided and on-site service calls are reduced to a necessary minimum.
The collected data is analysed and processed in the PisaSales service system. This means that the elevator automatically reports a defect and uploads it to the service management system for evaluation and scheduling. Best of all: the remote diagnosis system can even send repair suggestions and provide information on which spare parts should be brought along by the service technician.
This gives employees in the communications center a comprehensive picture of all elevators’ condition and enables them to precisely plan the necessary measures. The customer is automatically informed of a planned service assignment and all necessary information for the assignment is sent to the service technician responsible on his mobile device. This always ensures that all involved parties – the customer, the communications center and the service technician – are always informed on the assignment’s current status.
Ready and prepared...
The use of a fully integrated IT system landscape offers managers at LUTZ Elevators the opportunity of making data-based decisions. Process digitalization makes this transparent and flexible at the same time. Evaluations, that seemed impossible just a few years ago, are possible now. Based on the systematically obtained key data, the quality of processes can be assessed and any weaknesses can be revealed. The possibility of re-implementing improved workflows and continuously controlling them, i.e. comprehensive, data-driven and continuous improvement, is also a significant added value from which the company and its customers benefit.
LUTZ Elevators is your expert in all matters relating to elevators. Our range of services, which has evolved over three generations, includes the planning, manufacture and installation of systems in new and existing buildings, as well as manufacturer-neutral repair, service, modernisation and restoration of existing elevator systems. We place great importance on flexibility and proximity to customers.
LUTZ Aufzüge
Gutenbergstraße 19
D-21465 Reinbek / Hamburg
Phone +49 (0)40-72769-0
Fax +49 (0)40-72769-110
This site is a joint project of Hans Lutz Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG, Hans Lutz Kundendienst GmbH & Co. KG and PiSA sales GmbH.