How did we service our fish customers during COVID-19?

Every second counts when a fish processing line or machine breaks down and service assistance is needed. Our extensive global network of field service engineers are in our customers’ communities, speaking the native language and equipped with the knowledge to promptly provide quality service. But when COVID-19 began to spread, we knew we needed to do our part and take significant action to ensure that the world’s fish and seafood supply chain didn’t come to a halt and people stayed safe.

Proactive and unified service

As a global and unified service operation of 1,500 employees, we support our fish processing customers in maintaining optimal production flow, uptime, and output. So we began by proactively calling our customers to discuss their needs and how we could help them navigate the pandemic. We heard our customers concerns and shared our actions to increase customer support, including:

• A 24/7 helpdesk 
• Remote technical support
• “Helping helmet” assisted service
• Secure supply of spare parts in stock

Augmented reality to the rescue

Despite global travel restrictions, we continued engaging with and supporting our customers in fish processing. We embraced new technology, using augmented reality “helping helmet” headsets for real-time remote assistance during service visits and installations. Augmented reality incorporates live video streaming and drawing overlays through hands-free remote support.

This technology enabled our local resources to perform the actual task onsite while being supported in real-time by Marel specialists abroad. With virtual and remote global support from fish industry experts mainly replacing fly-in-fly-out service, our service’s carbon footprint was significantly reduced.

Innovation within digital technology was a strategic objective in service even before the pandemic hit and will continue to be moving forward. We continuously examine how we can use the latest technology to innovate our service offerings. As a result, we’re currently deploying new digital services in the areas of predictive maintenance, remote support, and performance management for fish processing and other industries.

Digital components include widespread connectivity of machines and systems to measure performance and help our customers drive improvement projects. They also provide the Marel Service teams with a platform to develop new service offerings for our customers. These digital solutions will allow us to evolve and grow with more proactive and predictive services.

Secured supply of spare parts

We remained committed to ensuring that Marel fish processing equipment worked at full capacity at all times and that our customers continued to trust us as a partner by securing their operational uptime. Spare parts were essential in achieving this objective and a necessary element of Marel’s service offering.

From early on, we knew that it was vital to ensure the availability of spare parts. As soon as it became apparent that COVID-19 was turning into a pandemic, we secured a safety stock of spare parts for our fish processing solutions in strategic locations to ensure continuous delivery to our customers during difficult circumstances. 

We are further strengthening our spare parts operating model and establishing the foundation to improve our spare parts flow in general and across strategic locations, ensuring the right spare part at the right time and the right quality.

Health and safety first

The health and safety of our field service engineers and other staff was a top priority throughout the pandemic. We regularly monitored local restrictions, possible risks, and their health and safety to respond quickly and effectively for our traveling field service engineers.

We implemented safety protocols for traveling and working at customers’ sites, providing personal protective equipment to everyone involved, as well as travel and legal support to ensure a safe working environment at any location.

Pride in our team

Despite COVID-19, we managed to provide a reliable flow of services and solutions to our fish processing customers, helping maintain one of the world’s most vital value chains. We are proud that our team consistently delivered proactive service throughout a challenging year that included preventive maintenance, spare parts, and long-term service contracts.

Our innovative service offerings, industry-leading technologies, and strong partnerships give food processors a competitive edge. Whether customers need advice, a spare part, or a full-line installation, our global sales and service team is always close by and ready to assist—even throughout a global pandemic.