How do we ensure information is available wherever needed?
Based in Germany, Schuler Pressen GmbH is the world’s largest manufacturer of presses, serving suppliers and renowned manufacturers in the automotive industry. The leader in forming technology asked the Center for Industrial Marketing to improve the management of its global key accounts by establishing clear processes and responsibilities.
Watch Schuler Pressen's Success Story
The challenge
Schuler is caught between more and more competitors entering the market in the low-price segment on one side and customers in the engineering industry expecting customized solutions on the other side. The challenge for Schuler is to ensure long-term profitability and growth in this difficult environment.
The solution
Our brief was for Schuler’s key account managers to gain a better understanding of key customers and to optimize cross-functional cooperation for key accounts. We determined the main areas of action with the help of a KAM Performance Check. Together with these managers and the company’s sales staff, we established a standardized process for customer analysis and planning. We also developed a customized key account plan that centralizes relevant information on globally active key customers (e.g. the Volkswagen Group) and makes this information available to the relevant departments.
The result
The realignment of Global Account Management and the standardized planning process has helped Schuler factor in the customer perspective into its day-to-day business more effectively. Today, all staff are able to systematically identify the needs of key accounts and derive strategic guidelines for cooperation. Key account managers as well as employees from the project and service business domain now have clear guidelines to facilitate the targeted management of key accounts worldwide.
We now centrally pool the knowledge about our key accounts in the KAM Plan, which brings us closer to our key accounts and enables us to save valuable resources when coordinating all customer-focused activities.
Dipl.-Ing. Klaus Linnig
Managing Director of Schuler Pressen GmbH