Interview with Vanessa Knaus - Teamleader Spare Parts

How long have you been working at Hassia? In which area did you start your professional career there?

I have been working at Hassia for almost 13 years. I completed my training as an industrial clerk here.

After working for a few years, you studied at the same time. What kind of studies did you do? Wasn’t it very exhausting to work and study at the same time?

During my business studies, I first worked as a temporary staff member at Hassia to see how things would go. When I realised that I was getting along quite well with the double burden, I increased my hours.

How did you get into spare parts sales and how long have you been working as a team leader in this field?

Before my studies, I worked in the back office of the new machine sales department. Unfortunately, this position was not ideal for a temporary employee, as the projects often extend over several months and regular attendance is an advantage. Due to a longer absence of a colleague in the spare parts department, I had the occasion to work there most of the time. during my studies. I enjoyed the job from the beginning, and it was a stroke of luck for me that a position was available at the end of my studies. In April 2018, I started in the spare parts sales department and since May 2019 I have been working as the team leader of the department.

What exactly are your tasks as team leader in spare parts sales and what is special about your work?

Our main tasks include preparing quotations and order confirmations after receiving the respective enquiry / order as well as handling returns / complaints and repairs. Furthermore, we are the voice to the customer and advise the customer on all spare parts questions by phone or e-mail. This includes the internal clarification of all questions and topics that the customer brings to us.

The special thing about our work is that no day is like the other and it never gets boring. We are confronted with a wide variety of issues and together with the customer we find solutions in the shortest possible time. It is also particularly exciting to work with a wide variety of cultures.

What challenges do you face in your daily work and how do you solve them?

For the moment, one of our biggest challenges is the current market situation. Due to the extremely long procurement times, we always have to work on solutions together with our purchasing department and our in-house production team in order to be able to help our customers at short notice.

Hassia and Hamba machines are installed around the globe. Do customers order spare parts directly from you?

We have direct contact with many of our customers, but in some countries, we are in contact with our own sales and service subsidiaries (e.g. USA, Russia, Asia, UK…) or our agent network. The linguistic and geographical proximity of the sales and service subsidiaries and agents strengthens the customer relationship in terms of advice and support. In addition, our subsidiaries’ own warehouses shorten transport routes and times should a customer urgently need a spare part.

How many people are in your team and how are the areas of activity divided up?

There are currently 5 people working with me in spare parts sales and we are divided by country.

What do you appreciate most about your team?

We fit easily together, both personally and professionally, it’s just fun and you enjoy coming to work. Everyone helps everyone and we have already achieved so much together since 2019. We are constantly working on getting better so that we can serve our customers faster. In summary, I couldn’t ask for a better team.