Yamato’s restructuring strategy places emphasis on customer experience

We spoke to Yamato UK’s Andrea Spencer to find out more.

Yamato UK’s renewed focus on customer service means every day is different for Andrea Spencer, the company’s Commercial Operations Manager.

Andrea joined Yamato in 1998 as a member of the sales team selling spare parts. Her energy and enthusiasm were soon spotted.

Andrea said: “I was asked if I wanted to learn how checkweighers work, so I could spec them for the checkweigher sales team. My job was to decide which checkweigher would be best suited to each inquiry.”

It was not long before she was overseeing multihead sales, a role that would grow to encompass marketing and spare parts management. She also looks after quotations and orders to ensure that all the documentation is correct, to enable a smooth sales process and deliver exemplary customer service.

Andrea said: “I learned about the intricacies of the machines, from the inside out, and this has stood me in good stead as I’ve moved through various roles. I love the work because I am doing something different every day.”

Reflecting over her 23-year career at Yamato UK, Andrea notes how the company has evolved to meet its customers’ changing needs.

She said: “We now have a dedicated projects team, and we’ve grown so that we’re able to offer complete automatic weighing and product inspection systems. So, rather than simply supply the multihead or checkweigher machine, we offer gantries and feed systems meaning customers have the equipment to handle everything from the raw produce through to out-the-door for delivery.

“Our projects team are experts in working with other manufacturers to procure compatible, efficient machinery at the right price. This helps our clients achieve maximum productivity.

“We found that many manufacturers don’t have those project management skills in-house anymore. They’ve realised that it is easier and cheaper to ask one supplier to take care of the entire production line.”

One of the biggest challenges, Andrea says, is for the food processing industry to reduce waste and become more environmentally friendly.

Yamato is playing its part in heralding the much-needed changes.

Andrea said: “As we develop increasingly accurate machines, our customers reduce waste which means they can improve their green credentials. Having an accurate multihead and checkweigher minimises the need to rework product back into the line, and this generates an energy-saving as well.”

The launch of ‘Yamato Stats’, the company’s specialist data monitoring system has also been revolutionary for the food manufacturing industry.

Andrea said: “Customers with Yamato Stats can analyse data by line, product, shift and site – and this data can be accessed remotely. It enables clients to check compliance and OEE, improve performance and drive down the cost of waste.

“Our stats option gives factories a very comprehensive view of what’s happening to products and how machines are operating, and their efficiency levels.”

As Commercial Operations Manager, Andrea’s focus is on ensuring everything runs as smoothly as possible for existing and new customers, from inquiry to ordering, installation and customer service.

She said: “We are structuring the business so that customer service is at the forefront of everything we do. We are becoming more customer-facing to ensure customers get what they want when they want it. We provide a quick positive response to every inquiry.”

She added: “Our R&D department in Japan is constantly trying to improve what we have. There is a global push for improved food safety and this spurred us to develop new product inspection equipment and x-ray machines. We are always looking at what we can do better for our customers.”

In a further move to improve productivity, Yamato launched a new semi-automatic checkweigher. The highly versatile TSDN3 can be used for a vast range of applications and is especially well suited for the processing of wet items such as meat, poultry and fish, delicate products such as fruit and vegetables, as well as ready meals including noodles and pasta.

After more than two decades at one company some people may become slightly jaded. Not Andrea. She is as energetic and enthusiastic as ever as she dashes off from the interview to jump on the next job.