Inspection experts interview: Patrick Wupper

Modernizations à la carte

In our interview series "Inspection around the world" we take a look behind the scenes of inspection at Syntegon. Behind each machine stands a team of experts – and Patrick Wupper, Product and Project Manager of the Expert Service Center team and the Global Service Agreement Initiative, is one of them. He manages quotation orders and provides technical consultations and targeted troubleshooting for customers from all over the world. In this interview, he shares insights into his day-to-day work – and explains what a modernization portfolio for inspection machines has to do with a restaurant menu.

Patrick, your background is actually in business administration and management. Your current job as Product and Project Manager of the Expert Service Center team has little to do with this and instead combines service with technical expertise. How come?

Patrick: I have to thank my first boss for this particular combination. I spent a semester abroad here in Japan during university, fell in love with the country, the people and the culture – and decided to stay. In 2019, I started an internship in After Sales Service at Syntegon – then still Bosch Packaging Technology. My boss at the time managed both the After Sales Service and Project Management departments and was able to make a real difference. This immediately captured my interest and I started to dive deeper into the technical aspects of our portfolio. My engineering mentor helped me along the way and allowed me to develop a real passion for this part of my job. Today, I fill a gap with my understanding of both areas: I am, in a way, the bridge between our Japanese engineering team and the international customers. This gives me valuable insights that help me to better understand the needs and challenges of my customers. My daily contact with them has, for example, inspired me and my team to rethink our approach. Instead of reactive customer service, we are now offering our customers a proactive modernization portfolio here in Japan – à la carte, so to speak, like in a restaurant.

What does a restaurant menu have to do with a modernization portfolio?

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Patrick: Instead of waiting for customer inquiries as we used to, we try to better serve our customers’ needs by anticipating them. Our modernization portfolios include all possible modernization options for a specific machine – so, software updates or retrofit kits, for example. With these in hand, we approach our customers and advise them on how they can simplify the operation of their machines or increase output and performance. Our customers then select the right solution for them quickly and easily, just like choosing from a menu in a restaurant, and are able to significantly increase the efficiency of their equipment. For example, we recently approached one of our European customers with an older inspection machine. We knew from the modernization portfolio for their machine that the latest software updates would not only increase their output, but also make the equipment easier to operate. The company accepted our offer and was delighted with the increase in efficiency they could achieve without investing in a new system – and surprised that we were able to retrofit paperless documentation on their machine in the same process.

These are fantastic results, indeed. You have obviously settled into your role well. What about your adopted country – do you feel at home in Japan and among your colleagues here?

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Patrick: My Japanese colleagues have always made me feel fully integrated despite the initial language barrier. I'm an open and honest person by nature, so it's easy for me to engage with new people and cultures. That's probably why I enjoy wandering through new parts of Tokyo in my free time, soaking up the culture, and discovering new Izakayas (typical Japanese bars), for example. The only thing I miss is my family – and of course bratwurst and doner kebabs!