Aftermarket Training Must Strengthen: Three Strategies for Construction Machiner
August 25,2026
The struggles in the pre-market have become a shared pain for those in the construction machinery industry, with more and more companies viewing parts, maintenance, remanufacturing, leasing, and equipment operations as new sources of profit. However, the after-market does not naturally become a second growth curve just because it is highly anticipated.
By Yan Honghui, Columnist for "Construction Machinery Today"
Many companies have been talking about "transforming to the after-market" for years, yet their revenue structure has not changed significantly; service teams are busy putting out fires daily without forming a stable profit model; companies keep increasing sales targets for parts, out-of-warranty repairs, and receivables, but do not simultaneously supplement marketing methods, collaborative mechanisms, and incentive policies.
The result is often: the strategy is hot, but the organization is cold; there are many goals, but the capabilities are insufficient; management wants growth, but front-line personnel do not know how to implement it.
One important reason is that companies still equate after-market training with traditional repair training. Technical training is certainly important, but today's after-market is no longer just about "fixing the equipment"; it is about forming a comprehensive capability around the entire lifecycle of the equipment, including technical services, value marketing, organizational collaboration, and business management.
I started to shift the focus of training to the construction machinery after-market in 2016. After nearly a decade of training, review, and front-line practice, I gradually formed a clear judgment: after-market training is not a welfare, nor is it a simple remedial class, but an operational infrastructure that supports the transformation of enterprises.
Around this judgment, I summarize after-market training as "three concurrent efforts".
"Hardware Technology" and "Software Technology" Concurrently: Redefining Service Engineers
The traditional essence of after-market service is "driven by repair technology". No matter how machinery evolves, as long as it is mechanical, it has the attribute of being repairable. Therefore, technical upgrades and innovations are naturally the first essential courses; capabilities such as mechanical failure diagnosis, parts replacement, hydraulic and electrical system repairs, equipment maintenance, and remanufacturing do not lose value with product upgrades.
However, as construction machinery evolves towards electrification, digitalization, and intelligence, traditional repair technology can no longer cover all customer needs.
1. Hardware Technology Extends to "Three Electricity" Repair
Electric loaders, electric mining trucks, and electric excavators are accelerating into the market. The detection and repair of power batteries, drive motors, and electronic control systems are becoming new essential courses for service teams.
Currently, some dealers have begun to build "three electricity" repair capabilities and promote service engineers to be certified for their positions. This is not only an expansion of the repair scope but may also become a new source of profit after new energy equipment enters the out-of-warranty period.
Conversely, if dealers are only responsible for selling new energy equipment without simultaneously building detection, repair, and safety assurance capabilities, the more they sell, the higher the service risks that may accumulate in the future.
Corporate executives need to seriously consider: when new energy products enter the sales plan, has the new energy after-market also entered the talent, equipment, and investment plan?
If not, the so-called electrification transformation is incomplete.
2. Software Service Becomes a New Capability Threshold
The competition of modern construction machinery products is no longer just about hardware. Data-driven, platform-based capabilities are already standard for leading products. Fleet management, remote diagnostics, intelligent driving, fault warning, working condition recognition, and energy consumption analysis are becoming standard configurations for more and more equipment.
These systems may not break or wear like mechanical parts, but customers will evaluate whether the data is accurate, the diagnosis is fast, the system is user-friendly, and whether it can truly reduce downtime and energy consumption. Therefore, system upgrades, parameter tuning, remote diagnostics, and data analysis will also become important aspects of service positions.
When I communicated with some service teams, I found that some traditional repair engineers are anxious about the transition from "oil to electricity", fearing that the reduction of mechanical repair projects will make their experience gradually lose value. But when we expand the future job list, they find that new energy equipment does not mean no service is needed, but the service content is migrating: from passive repair to status monitoring, from mechanical disassembly and assembly to the coordination of hardware and software, from handling single failures to ensuring equipment operation.
Source : www.51cm.org
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