The Dealer Network Brings Tamtron Close to Customers

Ritala says that dealers are of particular value to Tamtron in countries where the company does not have units of its own. Both inorganic and organic growth play an important role in Tamtron’s growth strategy, with the dealer network playing an essential role in the latter.

“At Tamtron Oy, we have achieved a growth of around 30% in the on-board solutions segment in just a couple of years, and the dealer network has played an important role in it. In the export business, it is essential to understand the local market’s needs and listen very carefully to what the dealers have to say. They know the local culture, policies, and customers. Even within Europe, there can be big differences. You don’t know everything from a Finnish office.”

“We have long-standing partners with whom we have worked for decades – some for up to 30 years – and have become very close. In fact, we often like to refer to our dealers as partners.”

Ritala says that sometimes, over time, a smooth collaboration leads to the dealers becoming part of Tamtron.

“The safest way to enter a new market is to start with a dealer so that you get to know the market. However, our strategy is to make 1-2 acquisitions a year, often involving an existing partner.”

Ritala says that the dealers’ size is important in making Tamtron interesting for them. Usually, the company’s dealers consist of a few people, or at most a few dozen, interested in selling Tamtron’s products. However, they cannot only be sales agents but also need technical expertise and aftersales skills. Verification and calibration place their demands on commercial weighing.

“Dealers are often either weighing companies already involved in industrial weighing, or they serve a specific segment, such as the forest industry or earth moving. For example, they often sell accessories such as fire extinguishing or lubrication systems, in which case weighing solutions can be a good addition. The advantage is that they get more choice, especially for their existing customers.”

Ritala says that potential dealers can find Tamtron via social media, professional publications, Google, the company’s website or at an event, for example. However, Tamtron works actively, systematically and persistently to find suitable dealers. Whatever the starting point of a potential partnership may be, the challenges do not end there.

“During initial excitement, it is important to get the first deal and the first reference as soon as possible so the dealer can see that it makes sense. Sometimes it has happened that even though nothing is wrong with the people, the business hasn’t taken off.”

Ritala stresses that the most critical thing to do with a new player after the start-up is to be proactive and supportive. This has to be done well to make the dealers’ jobs as easy as possible and to make them want to continue selling the solutions. Tamtron trains and supports its dealers both commercially and technically. Today, digitalization is a key area of focus.

“We have an extranet for dealers, Knowledge Hub, where up-to-date information is always available. Remote Service, on the other hand, also supports our dealers and their end customers, allowing, for example, automatic software updates of scales to be carried out remotely from Finland. Digitalization has come a long way, and nowadays, you don’t necessarily have to hop on a plane with a USB stick,” Ritala laughs.