How German manufacturing giant Krones uses mobility to empower 1,500+ technicians globally

At the heart of the bustling beverage industry lies Krones, a discreet manufacturing giant and world market leader in supplying equipment and systems for bottling and packaging lines.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter Becher, the Process Area Owner at Krones, to delve into the remarkable journey of Krones with Resco.

Peter Becher, a key figure at Krones, shared insights into his role as the global responsible for the service system and process environment. Reflecting on his pivotal position, Peter states, “In the Resco and Salesforce environment, my role as a Process Area Owner is crucial in ensuring the seamless integration and efficiency of our service systems.”

The quest for a comprehensive field service management solution

As Krones embarked on a transition in their IT system environment, they found themselves in search of a robust solution for their field service management.

Krones explored various options. However, due to the specific need for advanced offline capabilities on certain operating systems, they opted to delve into the Resco and Salesforce combination.

Peter describes the turning point, stating, “The story of how we got to Resco was a bit strange, or mad, or surprising – that’s probably even better. Salesforce recommended us to talk to Resco about their offline capabilities on Windows devices.”

The mobility empowering over 1,500 technicians around the world

The journey, as Peter describes it, was “nothing short of spectacular”.

Within a span of four to five months, Krones delivered the pilot of subsidiary Salesforce Field Service in combination with Resco, setting the stage for a global rollout.

Commenting on the speed of implementation, he notes, “We changed a lot of things in the project approach, moving to a more agile environment.”

Currently, live on all continents, including North America, Krones boasts more than 1,500 service technicians using Resco Mobile CRM as their sole front end.

The success story of the rollout resonates not only in numbers but in the positive feedback received, emphasizing the solution’s usability for sales and service technicians alike.

“It’s really a big success story for our company,” Peter remarks.

Expanding horizons with Resco Inspections+

Reflecting on the implementation journey, Peter highlights the flexibility and usability of the Resco solution. With an impressive 25 internal releases, the platform seamlessly integrated with Krones’ environment, proving to be a powerful tool for their service technicians.

The platform’s capability to minimize clicks and touches on smartphones aligns with the technicians’ preference for simplicity.

Recently, Krones expanded its Resco footprint by going live with Resco Inspections+. Peter describes this expansion as a strategic move to replace paper-based and report-based processes, “Resco, in the beginning, was a kind of solution for a challenge that we had – the offline capability for Windows devices. But the other possibility is moving more to that customer 360° view. That’s where we see a lot of possibilities around the Inspections.”

The inspections functionality, with its focus on condition assessment, guided procedures, and integrated processes aligns with Krones’ vision. Peter envisions leveraging checklists, assessments with scoring, automated workflows, and even generating leads or opportunities directly from Resco checklists, further improving their operational efficiency.

Looking to the future

As our conversation drew to a close, Peter expressed enthusiasm for the future collaboration between Krones and Resco. “The journey from our side has been amazing. We’re really looking forward to what we can do together,” he concludes.

The journey, marked by Resco’s continuous evolution from a solution for offline capability to a versatile development platform, exemplifies the tool’s adaptability to diverse business needs.

And Krones, a true hidden champion in the beverage industry, stands as a testament to the transformative power of mobile solutions for the frontline workers.