Building the Aftersales Strategy Backbone for Sustainable Growth at Palfinger AG

Client Challenge

Palfinger AG, a global technology leader in lifting and handling solutions, set out to scale its after sales business as a core pillar of its growth strategy. The opportunity is clear, the market potential a given, Palfinger’s performance highly competitive – with today’s after sales profitability already showcasing its critical contribution to Palfinger’s overall profitability.

Now is the time to orchestrate the organizational set up, align the after sales processes and leverage service offerings across the regions to further grow. The ambition is clear - to shift from fragmented service operations to a customer-centric, scalable, and profitable after sales business worldwide.

H&Z Approach

Together with our colleagues at rpc, The Retail Performance Company we led a holistic strategy review of Palfinger’s existing after sales operations. Using our Strategy House framework, we then structured the work around four critical clusters for a successful after sales business: governance, network, people, and digital integration.

Key steps included:

• Conducting expert interviews and describing best practice scenarios
• Identifying maturity gaps and proposing “design to fit” concepts
• Designing the After Sales Strategy House integrating already existing customer endeavors
• Structuring an implementation roadmap built around organizational enablement, retail performance and digital integration. 

Rather than deliver isolated recommendations, we laid the strategic outline for a comprehensive operating model embedding customer-centricity, profitability, and overall dealer/retail performance. 

Results

Palfinger AG now has a clear strategic blueprint for transforming its after sales business into a global growth engine with:

• A data based rationale why after sales is an attractive business case
• A best practice based strategy house what elements are mission critical
• An experience based roadmap proposal how to move on

About Palfinger AG

Palfinger AG is a global technology leader in innovative lifting and handling solutions. Headquartered in Austria, the company operates in over 130 countries with 30 production sites and more than 12,000 employees. Its portfolio includes cranes, hook lifts, platforms, and digital service solutions - serving industries from construction to marine. In 2024, Palfinger generated a record revenue of €2.36 billion.