KOOLKES SENDIRIAN BERHAD: How Cool Can The Fridge

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Koolkes Sdn Bhd: How Cool Can the Fridge Be?PRODUCTS AND SERVICES“Sales for equipments made up about 60% of the turnoverwhilst the other 40% comprised of installations, after-salesservices and consultations for store planning and systemdesign,” explained Mr. P. K. Gong. “We sell various typesof showcase equipments as well as evaporators, compressorsand spare parts. We have different brand names from severalcountries, too.”ProductsAccording to Mr. P. K. Gong, refrigerated display showcase equipments hadimproved over the years into newer, better designs with attractive and more costeffectivefeatures, namely their energy-saving system. Manufacturers continuouslyupgrade their products through research and development to produce high qualityequipments at competitive prices. A wide range of designs at various sizes wasmade available to satisfy the different needs of customers. The most importantcharacteristics which customers looked for in the equipments are low energyconsumption and minimal maintenance requirements. Environmentally friendlyrefrigeration such as the R22 freezer system are preferred and used extensivelyby food retail outlets. Showcases may be used for about 10 years if they wereproperly maintained. (The product details are in Appendix 1.)Showcases mainly had two distinctive designs; European and Japanese /American designs. In Mr. P. K. Gong’s opinion, European-designed showcaseswere very modern in appearance, used a lot of glass, with low front endings andlarge display areas. They were particularly suitable for hypermarkets as theyhave the space for displaying voluminous sales. The Europeans, in particular theFrench, started the first hypermarket in 1968 in Paris through Carrefour. Europeanmanufacturers of refrigerated showcases started designing their equipments forthis purpose as the idea for hypermarkets originated there.As for the Japanese/American designs, they were very traditional in designand they catered only for the supermarkets. The reason for the similarity indesign for the Japanese and the American showcases dated back to the 1950’s.The American showcases such as Hussman’s and Tyler’s were made in Japanunder contract manufacturing as the production cost was much lower than theU.S. Moreover the showcases can be shipped easily to the Far East, Australiaand the U.S. Food retail businesses in the U.S. were mainly conducted throughsupermarkets, contrary to Europe. Meanwhile, different trends in food retailbusinesses in Asia is increasing rapidly.147
ServicesAsian Journal of Case Research (AJCR)Mr. Han, the Technical Director, said that a wide range of support and serviceswere available for customers for the installation of equipments and for developingtheir maintenance’s self–sufficiency. The support and services according to Mr.Han included:a. Sales support – The sales team of KoolKes worked closely with thecustomers in the project. This served to better coordination and utilizationof resources of the two parties and provided a two-way feed back. Suchsales support activities included equipment appreciation, coordinatedtraining and customer’s maintenance services.b. Training support – Following installation, KoolKes would provide “AUser Training Program’’ to assist customers to quickly familiarize withthe equipment and become self – sufficient.c. Maintenance support – KoolKes would provide the customers with thenecessary spare parts and labor (without extra cost) and would attend toany breakdown of equipment for a period of 12 months from the date oftesting and commissioning. No income was generated from the aboveactivities.When the warranty period expired, the customers could opt for KoolKes’smaintenance and repairs services as described below:a.b.Twelve monthly preventive maintenance services to check on installedequipment (annual maintenance contract).Availability for 24 hours breakdown services.KoolKes offered a 2 month guarantee for each repair job, againstmanufacturing defect, on spare parts replaced and workmanship,excluding excessive wear and tear, negligence, damages resulting fromlightning, flood etc.The maintenance services were paid as follows:a.b.Annual maintenance charges payable in advance upon signing ofcontract.Breakdown services charges at special predetermined prices on laborand spare parts.Refrigerated display showcase equipment just like any other equipmentrequired good after-sales services and maintenance services to prolong the serviceslife of the equipment. Repairs during breakdowns were costly not to mention thelosses incurred due to food spoilage, opportunity costs, disrupted operation andcustomers dissatisfaction.148
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KOOLKES SENDIRIAN BERHAD: How Cool Can The Fridge

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