May 2025- Q: The past five years have seen global challenges that have affected customer service at many companies. Has TRUMPF’s approach to service changed?
A: Our dedication to the success of our customers remains our guiding star. But the world is continuously changing, and many companies have adapted their approach to customer service. The same is true at TRUMPF, where our core focus is on our customers and our service practices have evolved to meet changing needs. Customer success depends on professional, fast and reliable after-sales service. We have grown our team of service technicians, increased our inventory of stocked spare parts in the United States, and stepped up service activities in many other areas, including tools, retrofitting, software updates, consulting, production support and customer training. Our goal is to be a reliable partner, always there when the customer needs us.
Q: Why is service so important to business?
A: When a customer buys a machine, they carefully analyze their investment and weigh exactly what they’ll receive for their money. They want a machine that will be productive and run reliably for many years. Machines will always need planned and unplanned downtime, and current customer expectations about service go far beyond simple repairs. At TRUMPF, our approach is to take care of our customers’ problems reactively and proactively. We know how difficult it is for manufacturers to find and retain the qualified operators needed to keep production flowing while maintaining their machinery in good condition. We try to find the right approach for every customer. Some want to be as selfsufficient as possible and want higher-level training for their maintenance teams, others depend on us for services from maintenance to all repairs and application support. So, we offer a wide variety of service options, regardless of the problems customers face or level of support they need to solve them.
Q: How has TRUMPF incorporated innovation into its service options
A: Our primary goal is to support our customers in meeting the diverse challenges they face, and our innovative service options are a crucial part of that mission. We’ve developed a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to customer support that leverages our expertise and advanced technology to provide fast, efficient and effective solutions.
Our service technicians have deep technical knowledge, they understand their customers, and they know how to fix problems. This information and expertise is baked into other innovative ways in which we support customers. A good example of this: our Technical Guides, which provide easy step-by-step instructions for our customers to solve common issues themselves. This empowers customers to troubleshoot issues independently and resolve matters rapidly. In fact, our remote support capabilities enable more than 80 percent of issues to be handled remotely by our in-house team, offering customers fast and reliable solutions without having to wait for on-site visits.
Digital platforms also enhance our service delivery. Our TRUMPF Service App and MyTRUMPF online portal are the first point of contact for more than half of all technical support cases, allowing for even faster assignment and processing of incidents.
Q: What does the future of service look like?
A: Generally speaking, I think more manufacturers will shift from a reactive to proactive approach to service and support in the years ahead. This proactive and predictive approach is a game changer in minimizing unexpected downtime. We have already seen a dramatic increase in customers taking advantage of our wide range of service agreements to make maintenance expenses more predictable. And recently, more customers have used our Condition Monitoring system to analyze machine performance and predict and prevent problems before they occur. Last year, we also introduced Remote Operation Support, a new service for automated laser cutting machine customers in the United States, which helps customers combat skilled worker shortages and continuously produce reliably at night. Our Remote Operations Support team can quickly address any errors the machine might encounter during an unattended night shift and resolve most unplanned machine stoppages. By offering a full range of innovative service offerings, from remote support to predictive maintenance, we aim to make our customers more successful, profitable, agile and competitive in the future.
HEIDI-MELANIE MAIER is vice president, technical services at TRUMPF Inc. trumpf.com
