A recent addition to Kerfab’s team is determined to grow the company’s presence in Western Australia
Ben Smith’s goal is simple: be somebody that Western Australian dealers and customers can pick up the phone and talk to, while also providing a physical presence across the state.
Ben joined attachments manufacturer Kerfab earlier this year as a business development manager and is on a mission to improve both brand awareness and the stock ordering process for both agricultural and construction customers.
While Kerfab’s main factory and head office is located in the Victorian town of Kerang, the company has also had a warehouse and office in the Perth suburb of Canning Vale for several years.
Ben, who has spent 25 years working in the civil construction industry prior to joining Kerfab, admits he did not know about the company’s Western Australian presence before taking on the role and wants to ensure nobody else is in the same position.
While Kerfab has had office and warehouse staff in Perth to help fulfil orders, the business development role has been filled by Ben as a means of providing greater support to customers in the state.
“They haven’t had a body on the ground, so to speak, for the last two years but now I’m somebody that you can pick up the phone and talk to based here in WA,” Ben says.
“If there’s an issue or you want something to be looked at prior to purchasing, you’ve got me here to lean on.
“I want to be able to jump in a car, drive to Kalgoorlie, see everybody along the way and stop in to say g’day to everybody to let people know that we’re here.
“Having a presence and boots on the ground here in WA is going to be a big boost for brand awareness and Kerfab are investing in putting on some new staff here in Canning Vale to help get the ball rolling quicker and smoother.”
Quick stock
One of Kerfab’s main drawcards for customers has been its Attach + Go promise, which applies to several of its most popular attachments.
This involves having a fast turnaround on official quotes on applicable products, along with dispatching them within seven working days of order confirmation.
Kerfab’s Attach + Go range applies to many of its popular agricultural attachments, including bale forks, pallet forks and four-in-one buckets designed for both tractors and telehandlers.
While this already puts Kerfab customers at a significant advantage over those needing to wait for overseas production and delivery, part of Ben’s goal is to give Western Australian farmers access to the most popular attachments even quicker by keeping them in stock in Canning Vale.
He has been reaching out to Kerfab’s dealer network for feedback about how many of each item should be kept on hand, with an end goal of smooth product turnaround and a steady supply of what farmers need.
“We want to have a minimum-maximum setup so when somebody buys something, it gets replaced straight away from Kerang, back on the shelf here in Canning Vale ready to go,” he says.
“Once we’ve found something is a common product, we’ll have it here as a product on the floor ready to go.
“That’s where I want to be – fast moving stock, replacing it quickly and having it available for the next buyer at any given time.
“In saying that, whatever we don’t have here, or if we don’t have the right size here to suit, it’s still the same promise with Attach + Go that it’s going to be built and ready to be over here from Kerang in seven days from when you put your order in.”
All bases
Engaging with Kerfab’s dealer network across the state will provide valuable feedback for Ben about which stock types and quantities to keep on hand to best serve customers.
“That’s where we rely on a lot of the dealers, because they will tell us what is going to be most common and what we should keep on hand, so getting that feedback is going to help us in the long run,” he says.
Ben is also the business development manager for Northern Territory and he recently returned from a week visiting OEMs and “letting them know that I’m here and that I’m here to help”.
Particularly for the Western Australian market, he knows the importance of being a local who can provide support to dealers and customers when it is needed.
“Kerfab has always been known for its quality and we want to be a fast turnaround business and have everything here ready to rock and roll,” he says.
“It’s pretty clear cut what we want to do – get our name out there, let people know where we are and what we’re doing and hopefully get some runs on the board.”
Kerfab’s Perth warehouse is located at 60 Tulloch Way, Canning Vale and the full product range can be viewed online at www.kerfab.com.au