A Strategic Partner for an Ever More Efficient Service

Choosing Fineco as Parker’s certified sole service centre is proof of absolute belief in the provider. Such a decision is part of a multinational strategy leading to the empowerment of the distributor.

di Silvia Crespi

The choice to increasingly rely on distribution is a central pillar of Parker sales strategy and represents a new direction for the company. Sales channels together with purchasing policy has led to strong growth over recent years not only in Italy but across Europe. Today, distribution makes a significant impact on turnover with the goal of further increasing this contribution. To reach such a target, a solid distribution network is required, companies with strong history, guaranteeing future continuity. This is exactly what Fineco offer. Now a certified Service Center as well as sole maintenance centre for all Parker clients and distributors.
The Gianola family has proudly sat at the helm of Fineco since its founding. We met up with Giorgio Gianola, company owner and founder, his son Alessandro and Roberto Macrì, inverter repairs lab manager at Parker and SSD Drives at company HQ in Milan. At the meeting, Donatella D’Adamo and Marco Cattaneo, respectively Retail Account Manager and Marcom Leader at Parker were present.

A solid and reliable structure that guarantees continuity
“Fineco was born in 1972 – begins Alessandro Gianola – as a distributor for the Atlas Copco pneumatic product range. The business has greatly evolved since then. 1994 was a crucial year with the acquisition of Atlas Copco by Parker, now we were part of a highly dynamic and active player in the market. This redefined our way of working, both in terms of how we were working and the sectors in which we were present (today, Fineco is distributor for Parker products in the pneumatic power and electro-mechanic fields in the provinces of Milan and Varese). But, above all, the change led to a real step forward in quality, focusing on new technology, and, as a consequence, the acquisition of new skill sets”.
“To become a distributor, it is not enough to have a good product and know how to sell it – says Donatella D’Adamo -; you also need the ability to bring a company forward in its scope of action. Efficient service can be more important than launching a new product in terms of creating customer loyalty. We strive to set up solid partnerships with companies who we then positively encourage to become as independent as possible, especially in the technological sense”.

Ensuring clients Service and quality
Service was the next step. Fineco was already Service provider for Origa products, a company acquired by Parker. Today, it is the certified and sole Service Centre for the entire Parker inverter range.
The goal? To guarantee Parker clients the level of service they have become used to.
“For Fineco, this was a crucial step – continues Alessandro Gianola -. We launched a series of operations, including outsourcing, for large scale clients, meaning specialist skills needed to be learnt”.
The arrival of Roberto Macrì in the business was necessary to make the improvements in Service quality that Fineco now required. His position, in fact, is one of liaison between Parker specialists and distribution meaning the client gets the best possible solution. Macrì confirms: “The Service project is the result of collaboration with Parker in terms of its strategy to empower the distribution network further. Parker has carefully selected a “solid” partner for client support as well as distributors covering all of Italy: This operation must be managed well in order not to create conflict among certified distributors and with the same level of clarity and technical competence as was previously enjoyed”.

The Inverter maintenance lab: at the heart of Service
The laboratory is at the heart of Service, carrying out inverter maintenance for clients and Parker distributors, managing guarantees at the same time. This is also the case for all brands acquired by Parker. This is not simply a question of integrating the laboratory into the Fineco plant, transferring the instrumentation from Parker. Procedure alignment and in house training were required inside a complex integration plan. “Another advantage with Service – adds Macri – is the slimming down of operations. Weighty structure can easily slow Service procedure, whereas, a flexible system like ours can solve problems in the blink of an eye, an approach bringing excellent results. To further assist the client, we have cut waiting time for assistance and machinery down time, we have set up an electronic motherboard warehouse whose use can be expanded according to statistics”.
“We required a professional figure with a strictly technical background, widely experienced in inverters meaning an ability to speak the same language as Parker specialists – adds Alessandro Gianola – for this reason, the training programmes followed by Parker have been fundamental”.
“Parker “measured” the work carried out by Fineco in the electro-mechanic field, including its solidity and experience, combined with a desire to gain new skill sets – concludes Donatella D’Adamo-: “Our choice of strategy is the sum of these plus points. Only one year has passed since its introduction, but the project is already bearing fruit and we are more than satisfied with the progress being made”.

E-commerce: fundamental in sales strategy
Marco Cattaneo wraps up focusing on e-commerce: “In the Parker vision, focusing, as it does, on the growing role of distributors, e-commerce will play a fundamental role in reaching company goals. All requests coming through the online system will be automatically referred to the distributors. The website has been set up specifically for this reason, the German branch is already live and ours will be shortly”.