Beyond technical support: the strategic evolution of customer service operations

In recent years, after-sales service has taken on a more central role in industrial strategies, reflecting a broader shift in manufacturing, where support activities are increasingly integrated into the overall value delivered to customers.

As Carmine Sangiovanni, Customer Service Operations Director at System Ceramics, explains, the evolution is clear: “companies are no longer just selling machines, but are offering services aimed at ensuring high levels of performance and operational continuity.”  

This shift reflects how Customer Service Operations is becoming a key component in supporting production continuity and mantaining stable and efficient processes in industrial environments.

Why service matters more than ever

Customer Service Operations is undergoing a transformation: beyond machine supply, companies are placing growing emphasis on services that support long-term performance and guarantee continuous and responsive customer support.

In today’s production environments, even short disruptions can have a direct impact on output and efficiency. Therefore, since production slowdowns can generate significant economic losses, Customer Service Operations is essential in:

• Reducing machine and production downtime
• Delivering fast and effective interventions
• Providing continuous customer support

The scale of these activities highlights their strategic importance: System Ceramics performed over 16,000 service interventions worldwide, including approximately 13,000 on-site, and 1,800 remote interventions, alongside installation, training and graphic support activities.

Altogether, these services accounted for approximately 413,000 hours of activity, clearly reflecting their importance in supporting customers’ operational needs.

Trends driving service today  

The main trends driving industrial service today are focused on improving responsiveness, reliability and operational efficiency. Key elements include: speed and reliability, real-time remote diagnosis, and preventive interventions to maintain plant efficiency.

As Sangiovanni states: “In 2025, more than 1,200 scheduled maintenance activities were carried out on decoration and end-of-line machines installed worldwide”.

At the same time, service availability is expanding to match the needs of production-critical equipment. Today, 65% of digital machines are covered by 24-hour service contracts, while 80% of presses benefit from 16-hour support available seven days a week.

Service is also increasingly delivered through localized assistance, supported by headquarters through ticketing systems and a global network of 20 branches.

A further key area is spare parts management, focused on:

• immediate availability of critical components
• simplification and acceleration of procurement processes through dedicated tools

Managing complexity on a global scale

Alongside the breadth of services provided, Customer Service Operations must address a set of structural and operational complexities that come with managing a global organization.

One of the main challenges concerns workforce management. As technologies continuously evolve, keeping technicians’ skills aligned requires ongoing training and coordination across a large and distributed team. Today, the organization relies on around 240 technicians worldwide, making alignment and knowledge consistency a critical priority.

Continuous training is necessary, also because the rapid evolution of technologies quickly makes existing skills obsolete. Field experience is equally fundamental, as it accelerates diagnosis times, reduces errors and helps build long-term trust with customers.

Another complexity is global service management. Supporting 24/7 operations across an installed base of over 17,000 machines requires structured coordination.

Additional challenges stem from linguistic and cultural differences, varying local regulations, non-uniform service levels, the coordination of branches and partners and the need to preserve and transfer know-how across the organization.

As Sangiovanni explains, “Ensuring service reliability and continuity today means being able to coordinate a complex system, not just manage technical interventions.”

Digital tools and human expertise

Digital tools are now fundamental in supporting Customer Service Operations and guiding decisions. Their role is increasingly important because they enable faster, more informed and predictive decision-making, improving both service efficiency and quality.

At the same time, digitalization supports the transition from a reactive model to a more proactive approach, allowing service teams to anticipate issues and optimize interventions before production is impacted.  

Alongside digital transformation, the human factor remains central in delivering effective service. As highlighted in the interview by Sangiovanni, “Especially in the ceramic sector, the human factor remains the key differentiating element for the customer.”  

This reflects the importance of combining technology with strong field expertise and customer proximity.

In this context, several competencies are essential to ensure high-quality service delivery:

• technical skills
• process knowledge
• digital skills
• soft skills

System Ceramics positions itself as a reliable partner in this context, supporting customers through advanced services designed to maintain continuity, reduce downtime and ensure consistent performance.

Find out more about System Ceramics on our website or contact us directly.