Problem solvers

For the fourth year running, Max T Solutions has been nominated as a finalist for Best Supplier of Tyre Services. FOCUS visits the Isando offices and finds the company’s success hardly surprising.

When asked why the FOCUS on Excellence awards, sponsored by WesBank, are so important to companies in the industry, Peter Klein, sales director – TBR at Max T Solutions, says, “The nominations are done independently by our peers and customers; these are people in the industry, who understand the industry. For them to say Max T Solutions is the best is the highest endorsement we can get.”

So why is Max T Solutions amongst the best in the business? According to Klein, it’s all about the people. “To achieve the amount of success we have, we need committed people who are focused on the customer’s needs,” explains Klein. “The team here is Max T Solutions’ biggest investment in our ongoing success.” The team is trained to the highest standards and employees who go beyond expectation (“Gold Bars” as Klein describes them), are retained and grown within the company’s career development plan.

Aside from having the best people working for you, it is also necessary to have the best products, which Max T has in its new tyres, Bridgestone and Firestone, and its Max T retreads. Klein explains that these are the best products in class because of their value in delivering the lowest cost per kilometre to the company’s users. These factors result in Max T Solutions’ client loyalty. “Every year we gain many customers due to our commitment to give our customers what they want. There is an overall ‘happiness’ in our partnerships and very few customers are lost,” says Klein.

Max T Solutions’ team and products are backed up by its “Total Solutions Package”, which involves every element relevant to tyre performance and is aimed at reducing cost in every aspect. “The overall objective here is to really professionalise our relationship with the client. We strive to make sure that everything we do in our business, we do better than anyone else,” explains Klein. One such element of this package is Max T Solutions’ national breakdown service, which has a footprint across South Africa and aims to achieve a maximum breakdown turnaround time of two hours. Along with this, Max T Solutions offers a mobile alignment service that enables the company to correct tracking defects at any location resulting in maximum truck tyre life.

As part of the company’s service package, Max T Solutions also offers managed maintenance and on-site service contracts, with the former taking a more advisory role and the latter involving Max T Solutions staff actually working on site. This complements well with its Bridgestone-trained field engineering support programme. The company’s technical team conducts surveys and tests against competitor products, and then reports back on corrective action procedures. In the case of the managed maintenance option, advice will be given on how to improve current procedures and, in the case of on-site service contracts, staff members will actually be there to implement the improved procedures. Max T Solutions also offers training not only to its staff, but to its clients, showing the company’s commitment to its relationships with its clients.

As Klein points out, although there has been a limited step up in the market recently, it is still in a difficult state. “There has been some revival but the economic turnaround has not materialised as rapidly as one might have hoped,” he cautions. “So we are likely to see some belt-tightening in the short term, and Max T Solutions is geared to support its customers as much as possible during these times.” One way it does this is through its CPK solution. “Cost per kilometre means that costs can be accurately predicted rather than up and down, thus easier to manage cash flows,” he advises.

Klein concludes: “The key is to listen to customers, understand their needs and deliver beyond their expectations.”