Just as when you reboot the operating system of a computer to install important updates, in the same way Kramer – a name that certainly needs no introduction – has reset itself and is starting again with new ideas and a new project. Country manager for Italy Emiliano Faccioli, who has just returned to the company, tells us about it
Kramer Italia is restarting with Emiliano Faccioli, a country manager with clear ideas who has returned to the company precisely to launch a profound change in strategy and mentality, which concerns not only Kramer’s present but also its immediate future. We had the chance to speak with Emiliano and a brilliant and insightful conversation ensued.
C – Good morning Emiliano! So, how was your return to Kramer? What role do you currently play?
EF – The role I hold in Kramer is that of Country Manager, and I decided to accept this new challenge because we are in a very particular moment in the life of the company. Kramer has taken a particular path, it is structuring itself differently than in the past. If you consider that we came from a very local management, with many totally independent clusters, I would almost say many ‘little companies’ united under the Kramer brand, now the idea is to ensure that there is no longer a local Kramer marketing. We want to internationalise and become a bigger, more organised entity with a more structured infrastructure. In short, if until just before covid we could talk about Kramer as a ‘small multinational’, today we are moving towards a larger, process-oriented reality. In all this, my role is geared towards sales management and the coordination of the various figures. Kramer’s objective is to maintain local figures but be a global reality that thinks globally but acts locally.
C – How will you relate to the market? Will you have sales agents?
EF – No, we will not have agents. For distribution we have a non-exclusive agreement with Exertis which covers most of the Italian market. But the idea is rather that of a channel programme, with a series of system integrators who will be our direct interface on the market. They will obviously not have a sales role, except within their projects, but they will allow us to become more vertical on the projects themselves.
C – So you will offer yourselves to IT managers as suppliers of turnkey solutions?
EF – We are working on building a platform, and we want to become a global player. The market has changed a lot, it has expanded, but by massifying, the average level has dropped a lot. In my opinion, it is strategic for Kramer to focus mainly on A/V. We want to work on the infrastructure, to be a somewhat niche but very vertical company. IT managers will undoubtedly be the primary interlocutors, but it is not entirely true that customers tend to use only those who offer a full range of A/V products. Often, system integrators prefer to build systems by choosing individual products; it is an essential part of their professionalism.
C – How do you manage after-sales and service?
EF – We have different levels of assistance, and we are organised with a ticketing system. First of all, we guarantee answers in Italian: only at the second level do senior technicians take over, even from abroad, but we always act as an interface between them and the user. Operations include repair and, if necessary, replacement of the product. We are also internationalising this area of the company. One thing I am very keen on is the disjunction between sales and after-sales.
C – Can you elaborate on that?
EF – What I mean is that after-sales must be independent, and not influenced by sales. Each case must be assessed by the technician, not by sales, and even the small customer must be served first if his problem is more serious. The department must be autonomous and those working in sales must not be able to influence it.
C – How do you see the immediate future, perhaps looking forward a few years?
EF – Well, in a couple of years Kramer will be a more hybrid company, dealing with products but also services (software, warranty extensions, etc.). We want to become a 360° partner in video and control. We will not be a simple box mover, but a true partner with a strong focus on the end user, whom we will not supply directly, because we will always go through system integrators, but whom we want to inform. We need awareness in the market.
C – You touched on a very interesting point: training. Do you have a precise policy in this regard?
EF – Of course. We have a person in the company dedicated to webinars, which we have greatly intensified. Our intention is to bring training into the presence as well. Consider that 90 per cent of the time, technicians in the field call vendors and manufacturers to have the characteristics of the products explained to them and the installation carried out. The industry needs to evolve, especially in Europe. It takes market maturity to invest in training, but it is very important to do so. And training must be real, not symbolic. I will close with a somewhat broader consideration: among the side effects of the pandemic is that AV has become very important, it is a requirement that has become entrenched.
. Customers will no longer accept half-baked solutions, and we want to offer them precise know-how. We will have a direct channel of system integrators and opinion leaders with high product know-how and a project-based approach to the market.
C – One last question: is IT taking over AV? With what consequences?
EF – Yes, it is undeniable, this is the direction in which things are going. AV, however, if you’ll pardon the metaphor, is only partially soluble. Some of our expertise will end up in IT, but a solid sphere of AV will remain: meeting rooms, board rooms, etc. will always need higher level products and expertise. AV expertise will always be needed, to structure quality environments.
https://www.kramerav.com/
