▲ From left: Mr. Honda, Vice President; Ms. Okubo, Parts Procurement; Ms. Yamami, Sales Assistant; Mr. Kawazumi, Service Engineer
Takamaz Machine Europe sells and provides services for TAKAMAZ brand precision lathes for the European market. At the end of September 2024, new Japanese staff members joined the back-office team. In this interview, we spoke with Ms. Yamami, who is responsible for handling a wide range of customer support operations, including accounting and machine inventory management.
Back office supporting Takamaz Machinery users in Europe. Supporting transportation operations by utilizing her experience at a forwarder
As a Sales Assistant, Ms. Yamami is in charge of back-office operations such as post-order machine delivery support as well as tasks such as accounting and general affairs. Although she has no experience in the industry, she applies her experience and knowledge from her previous position at a forwarding company to contribute to the customer support efforts at Takamaz Machinery Europe.
As a Sales Assistant, she concurrently manages tasks such as the following:
・Management and correspondence of order forms (accounting tasks)
・Machine delivery requests and document management
・Business coordination with agents (dealers)
・Communication support between customers and the head office in Japan
・Parts procurement operation support (import/export management)
・General affairs related tasks
“I mainly handle accounting and machinery delivery-related work at a 50-50 ratio; however, I also assist with parts procurement task. During my previous job at the forwarding company, I was involved in aviation-related export/import tasks. So, I feel that I can respond quickly to any troubles during transportation, thanks to the knowledge I gained from that experience." (Ms. Yamami)
Since transportation problems can have a significant impact on delivery schedules, the key to early resolution is determining to which department and what information to provide when an issue occurs. In order to prevent problems from occurring, we always strive to respond promptly in our communication with suppliers and other internal and external parties.
Aiming to improve customer satisfaction in the European market
In addition to Germany, where the company has its base, it also serves as a point of contact for machinery delivery and related matters with multinational dealers in Italy, France, England, Portugal, Poland, Switzerland, and other countries.
“I believe that the polite and quick communication that is unique to the Japanese is a strength that other European machine manufacturers do not have. Machine tools, which are often used for a long time after purchase, are products where the quality of after-sales support is particularly important. We will continue to strive for speedy responses and aim to build a strong relationship of trust with our customers by expanding our expertise. We will endeavor to make the presence of our back office one of the reasons why customers choose Takamaz Machinery.'' (Ms. Yamami)
