LIEBHERR

With major OEM brands embracing Krank’s online marketplace platform to remarket equipment themselves, the task of keeping ahead of the tech curve is no easy matter.When building a business, starting small is usually the way to go. But, as befits a market entrant that likes to rewrite the rules of how things get done, events are taking a rather different turn at Krank. In fact, it didn’t take long for industry giants like Liebherr, Sunstate Equipment and Maxim Crane to recognize the benefits of Krank’s innovative online marketplace, which allows companies to dispose of used equipment fleets using their own branded online marketplaces. So, Krank is starting Big – and intends to stay that way. “Most SaaS [software as a service] platforms initially target smaller firms and build up from there – but we’re doing it the other way round,” says Krank’s Chief Technology Officer, Khurram Mumtaz. “We’ve scaled the platform from the start to meet the needs of major players, which in turn reassures smaller companies to adopt it too. So, there is a ‘gravitational pull’ effect that is helping us penetrate the wider market, now and in the coming years.” Taking control of the sale processKrank has developed an innovative solution for building networks and connections among industry peers, via which new and used equipment can be remarketed. Through smart auctions and data reporting it enables customers to prime their sales funnels via hot lead generation information. As with early adopters like Liebherr, Krank offers a customizable high-tech platform that allows users to take control of the sales process and independently trade equipment under their own brands digitally. This has a number of economic and sustainability advantages beyond the usual routes, which include traditional third-party auctions.Staying on top of the techMumtaz, with more than 20 years’ experience delivering innovation and digital transformation projects for the likes of brands such as Toshiba and L’Oréal, now oversees a team of 15 engineers. His CTO duties are constantly evolving in order to respond to new technical challenges and the needs of the Krank solution. “We’ve been extremely proud to work with the likes of Liebherr and their experience in the industry has been brilliant in terms of informing how we approach our overall product development. But we are aware of the challenges that lie ahead if we are to optimize it for all our clients,” says Mumtaz. “However, we are prepared to meet those challenges – and as a customer focused platform, myself and everyone on the development team at Krank are constantly looking for ways to stay ahead of the game, while remaining focused on security, scalability and stability. Whether that means working on the latest architecture practices, such as micro services and containerization – or predictive analytics, so clients can identify their next sales opportunity.”Tech stack stacks upThis forward planning is set to pay off in terms of harnessing the platform’s potential for adoption by other industries. As Mumtaz points out, marketplaces are essentially similar the world over – people gather to buy and sell – and Krank’s platform can facilitate those interactions and trades. “For example, take the assets’ price tag out of the equation, and the heavy equipment and automotive industries are very similar; sharing the same sort of dealer and customer structure.“But right now, We’re focusing on the heavy equipment industry – there’s so much to scale up here. Where else can you find an industry where the legacy technology has so far to catch up with other sectors? This offers us the opportunity to be pioneers in this space. That said, as advanced as our tech is, there is plenty of scope for us to improve too – embracing AI for instance. We know where we are going and have a fat arrow pathway to the future. We’ve made a strong start, but there is a lot of work to do, and it’s my job to make sure the tech stack stacks up.” 

The specific product segments such as mining, construction and material handling of technology company Liebherr is set to sell used machines, attachments and spare parts to customers via an all-new digital marketplace. The global trading platform is being developed in partnership with software-as-a-service provider Krank. Replacing an existing digital marketplace, the new solution will centralise the sale of Liebherr used mining, construction and material handling technology worldwide. Due to launch during the first quarter of 2023, the platform underlying the marketplace is being developed in close collaboration with UK software-as-a-service (SaaS) experts Krank.The new marketplace will be a Krank-developed platform that allows Liebherr sales partners worldwide to quickly and conveniently manage their used equipment sales processes – and market them online. It will cover the sale of used mining, earthmoving and material handling machines, mobile and crawler cranes, tower cranes, maritime cranes, concrete technology and corresponding used attachments and spare parts.Krank the ‘stand-out’ construction marketplace developerCommenting on the choice of Krank as its development partner, Daniel Hecker, Business Development Sales at Liebherr-EMtec GmbH said: “We were looking for an expert in creating marketplaces for used construction equipment – and Krank is the stand-out partner. With the relaunch of the marketplace, we will have a central platform for our global used equipment business. Customers will be able to independently search our virtual marketplace for the used equipment they need, while our sales partners will register and manage their used equipment via the platform and its associated apps.”“The marketplace will bring together on a single platform the entire supply and demand sides of our used equipment business,” Hecker continues. “It will have the ability to combine Liebherr’s strengths of personal advice and customer relationships with the much greater visibility a global digital marketplace offers.”Krank helps users keep control of process and dataKrank is a SaaS platform that provides a new way to remarket used equipment. Subscriber-branded (Liebherr in this case), it helps customers sell faster and improve revenues. UK headquartered, Krank enables customers to manage the sale process and keep direct control of their business network and data.Figure 1 Krank Founder Mark Turner (left) with Liebherr's Alexander Sattler, Head of Business Development Sales & ServiceKrank Enterprise leverages the network effect, so customers reach more high-intent buyers, convert faster, reduce conversion costs and improve sales revenues. With full end-to-end control over sales data – plus Krank’s built-in analysis, customer analytics and forecasting – customers can generate actionable insights and influence buyer behaviour.About the Liebherr GroupThe Liebherr Group is a family-run technology company with a highly diversified product portfolio. The company is one of the largest construction equipment manufacturers in the world. It also provides high-quality and user-oriented products and services in a wide range of other areas. The Liebherr Group includes over 140 companies across all continents. In 2020, it employed around 48,000 staff and achieved combined revenues of over 10.3 billion euros. Liebherr was founded in Kirchdorf an der Iller in Southern Germany in 1949. Since then, the employees have been pursuing the goal of achieving continuous technological innovation, and bringing industry-leading solutions to its customers.