With a new contract serving Bpost, Viaposte offers its expertise in intralogistics maintenance now beyond country borders !
With its logistics and industrial expertise, Viaposte has been working hard since 2018 to offer its partners a comprehensive, efficient intralogistics maintenance service. The know-how and expertise of almost 350 technicians trained in specialist technologies make all the difference in managing the maintenance of over 50 separate sites.
In winning a new contract with Bpost, a Belgian market leader in e-commerce mail and logistics, Viaposte has started a new chapter of exporting its expertise beyond the borders of France.
Discover the testimony of Pascal Cesari, Viaposte Industrial Director and Managing Director of our Viaposte Maintenance business unit, who takes us behind the scenes of the creation of the new Benelux maintenance division.
Maintenance : much more than a skill, an expertise
In addition to its logistics and transport activities, Viaposte stands out in the market by offering its customers intralogistics maintenance built on three foundations:
- Reliability : we guarantee our partners continuity in the availability and performance of industrial equipment;
- Proven expertise : our technicians are fully trained in maintaining the operational continuity of specialist intralogistics equipment and technologies;
- Uncompromising commitment : reactivity and problem-solving are among our guiding principles.
“Our positioning is clear: we do not want our customers to feel locked-in, as is often the case with maintenance provided by equipment manufacturers. Maintenance is our core business and not an accessory activity for us. We want to be a veritable partner for our customers, helping them ensure the reliability of their equipment, and being proactive,” underlines Pascal Cesari.
This contract is a sign of confidence that has contributed to raising Viaposte to the rank of major player in intralogistics maintenance in France.
But the strength of Viaposte also lies in its management of internal teams, especially in terms of developing opportunities. “Above all, we want to be an employer of choice that reassures and at the same time challenges technicians according to their capabilities and ambitions. We offer the stability of a well-established group, yet the innovation of a modern business,” adds Pascal Cesari.
Bpost and Viaposte: behind the scenes of the creation of the new Benelux division
The 1st of May saw the launch date of the new subsidiary, together with the start of the Bpost contract.
The beginnings of this partnership with this Belgian market leader, which sees the launch of Viaposte maintenance activities outside of France, go back a few years now.
“We responded to a public tender, which ultimately involved a long process of preparing the work and highlighting our expertise, although we were already seen by the majority of European postal services as a natural provider,” specifies Pascal Cesari.
"Bpost was looking, in particular, for parcel and mail experts, and never doubted our ability to do the job, or our references. We share the same equipment and were therefore quickly identified as a reliable and relevant partner,” he continues.
Jean-Michel Legros, Bpost Head of Maintenance & Reliability, adds:
“The postal world is undergoing a profound transformation. Letter volumes are constantly decreasing, and the world of parcel distribution is extremely competitive.
In this context, equipment management objectives and maintenance have to be adapted. The focus has to be placed on parcel equipment, which is rarer, more in-demand and therefore highly strategic.
The partnership with Viaposte seemed an obvious choice during negotiations for the new maintenance contract, for the following reasons:
- Expertise and maintenance teams actively working with the majority of parcel sorting machine brands, and including the three used at Bpost
- A strong, methodical team
- Organizational flexibility
- Strong enthusiasm and commitment
- A clear desire to work in partnership and to strengthen mutual knowledge”
Concretely, the maintenance activities deployed through this contract will be of the same type as those already widely deployed by Viaposte: preventive maintenance, remedial maintenance, and scheduled and urgent interventions. The novelty lies in the integration of a procurement unit and a more important role for Viaposte in the management of spare parts.
The contract will allow maintenance teams to intervene on real, combined mail/parcel sites, “where the environments are separated in France, with a real problem of decreasing letter mail and increasing parcel mail volumes,” specifies Pascal Cesari.
Our new resources, Pieter D’Hamers and Michel de Bremaeker, have joined the dedicated teams, in order to consolidate the foundations and the deployment of this brand new entity.
A last word from Pascal Cesari? “This internationalization of our maintenance activity is not merely anecdotal. This is a strategic direction for us. So, we’re endeavouring to be worthy of the trust placed in us by Bpost, and that of our future customers in the Benelux!
Want to become a maintenance technician and join our Viaposte teams ? Check out our job offers without further ado!
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