Running process manufacturing operations safely, efficiently and reliably require a combination of automation technology and expertise to manage the process through its lifecycle.
In a CEO magazine article, Consider it Solved, Emerson’s Roel Van Doren, president of Emerson Process Management Europe, describes how the organization is growing its problem-solving reputation. He describes this journey:
We don’t want our customers to just see us as a great company that provides transmitters and control valves and processing systems; we want them to see us as a great company that solves their energy efficiency issues, their safety issues, their reliability issues, and their productivity issues—a company which brings the whole package.
Becoming a trusted advisor and problem solver is built on three pillars. The first:
…is to be very close to the customer—we call it ‘customer proximity’—because if you’re not close to the customer then you don’t understand what their values are and what their critical priorities are. So we’ve invested heavily in our service organisation, opening a number of new service centres— about four per year. At those service centres we can provide repairs, quick shipping of inventory, training, calibration, and those types of things.
The second pillar:
…is with regard to the training and development within our organisation—I call this industry fluency. It’s about being able to talk the same language as our customers and move away from just selling the technology. Instead, we want to move towards providing a solution to solve a customer’s problem.
The third pillar:
…is what we call ‘ease of doing business with’. Every time we do something, we want the execution to be perfect. We have processes in place so that we can, for example, generate a quote within 24 hours, process an order in 24 hours, and deliver in a matter of days or weeks instead of months.
Roel highlights some of the investments being made in each area to build the organization’s capabilities. He describes Emerson’s unique strengths in measurement devices, final control including valves and control systems compared with other suppliers that may have strengths in some, but not all of these areas. He notes the importance:
Our vision and strategy is to be seen as a problem solver and a trusted adviser—a company that people go to when they want to solve their productivity, energy, efficiency, safety, or reliability issues. To be this type of company you must have the whole package available in house, together with a very strong engineering organisation.
Read the article for more on his training and skill development philosophies, strategic account management, and becoming a trusted advisor for process manufacturers and producers not only in Europe, but also across the globe.
