Focus on the customers and their industry
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag presents new sales structures with a special focus on application-oriented consultancy and industry-specific solutions as well as a new globalised customer service concept with a stronger market presence of the company’s sales and service department.
Focus on the industry
As customers strive to boost their production output rates and to maintain their innovative edge, machinery manufacturers are increasingly required to monitor the industry-specific demand and to deliver application-related expertise.
Solutions with a special focus on the customers and their industry have increasingly moved into the centre of any injection moulding machinery manufacturer’s business activities. Launching the Business Development Team Automotive, spearheaded by Tim Hassler, and the Packaging Team surrounding Arnaud Nomblot, Sumitomo (SHI) Demag has now tapped into its specialists’ industry-specific expertise in order to offer customer solutions with an industry-related focus. Like the existing Business Development All-Electric Team headed by Naoto Ikeda, both new teams will be responsible for the strategic alignment and advancement of the different business units. The main focus will be on understanding customer requirements and identifying future trends. Hand in hand with technical experts, this intelligence will then be used to develop industry-specific solutions. Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s launch of a new Application Engineering Center, headed by Thomas Brettnich, has enhanced the company’s application-specific consultancy services, which can now be provided at the tender proposal stage: specific requirements are discussed with the customer and analysed strategically so as to develop tailor-made solutions. Moreover, the company has planned investments into pre- and after-sales customer care. The new concept includes special training programmes as well as optimisation services for the customer’s entire line.
In international business, industry-specific solutions have become the main focus of communication between customers and machinery manufacturers. “Understanding the customer does not only mean understanding their language but also their specific requirements”, Gerd Liebig, CSO Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, explains.
Expanding the corporate sales structures
Expanding the corporate sales structures and activities in strategic markets is another step towards international customer care and serves to boost the global market presence of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag. As Head of International Sales Development, Paolo Zirondoli will accept this new challenge. Zirondoli has twenty-five years of experience in the plastics industry, eleven years of which he gathered working for the Italian subsidiary of Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, when it was still operating under the name of Demag Plastics Group. Prior to his present appointment, Zirondoli was Head of Sales for southern Europe and South America with a German injection moulding machinery manufacturer.
Gerd Liebig, CSO Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, will also step up the international market presence of the corporation’s subsidiaries and sales offices: “In future, we will show more presence in local markets and we will support our sales partners with local, joint activities.“
Customer service with new structures
On 1 October 2015, Andreas Holzer was appointed Head of Customer Service. He explains the new strategy: “National and international support as well as customer satisfaction are at the top of our agenda. This is the objective of our new Central Technical Customer Service”. Merging the former teams means that Sumitomo (SHI) Demag is now pooling its expertise in order to provide better availability for customers. The central approach also optimises the company’s spare parts management – customer requests can now be serviced even faster and with more flexibility.
Photo Sumitomo (SHI) Demag:
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag installs new teams to tackle future market requirements.
(f.l.t.r.: Tim Hassler, Head of Business Development Automotive, Arnaud Nomblot, Head of Business Development Packaging, Paolo Zirondoli, Head of International Sales Development, Naoto Ikeda, Head of Business Development All-Electric)
