CBE SPOTLIGHT – EXPLORING HYDRAULICS CUSTOMER STRATEGY

A little about our interviewees

Oliver Percival
Oliver Percival

Oliver Percival is the Vice President of Hydraulics Sales for Europe and Asia. He joined the company in November 2016 and has been leading the sales teams to growth in both regions. In addition, he has been working with the Hydraulics leadership team to develop the Hydraulics sales strategy for both OEM and distribution sales. When asked to describe his role, Oliver told us his main responsibilities are to develop profitable sales growth, to mentor and develop the sales teams, to define the sales strategy and, of course, to execute the strategic plans.

Jennifer Peters
Jennifer Peters

Jennifer Peters is the Group Business Controller for Hydraulics. She has worked with the company for 13 years. As a member of the Hydraulics leadership team, Jennifer supports and, on occasion, leads initiatives that drive growth or improve service standards and delivery. The Leadership Team are driving growth by introducing new products, increasing sales with new and existing customers and developing new markets. Jennifer works with her colleagues to ensure they deliver economic efficiencies and adopt financial best practice too. Jennifer said of her role, “I share responsibility for the organisation’s economic and financial performance, provide research, analysis and experience to develop business and financial recommendations, provide budget feedback and assist my leadership colleagues in key financial decisions.”

How do you describe sustainability?

In this series, we ask our interviewees what sustainability means to them. Oliver said, “I can give you the text book definition but instead, I prefer to think of it like this. Sustainability is about ensuring 3 things:

  1. Sustainable development – meeting the needs of the business we deliver today without compromising the scope for future development
  2. Operations improvements – finding the most efficient and effective way to deliver for our customers today and how we prepare to set up and deliver for the future, and
  3. Customer-focused communications – as a sales team, we make it our business to build strong relationships and effective communications with strategic global accounts. Oliver added, “I ensure that the regional managers have the tools and resources to provide efficient and effective customer support.”
Oliver continued, “Beyond the commercial advantages, there is a feel good aspect for employees that come from making sustainability a priority. It creates a strong sense of morale and it is developing our culture too. Indirectly, this is supporting improved productivity and has other soft benefits such as helping to build Concentric’s employer brand.“
Jennifer said, “For me, sustainability means understanding, measuring and managing our financial and economic performance to ensure long term growth. Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do in Concentric.”

Why do customers choose Concentric products?
Concentric doesn't simply offer a product; Concentric offers a complete system and service solution for customers. The Company has a strong brand heritage and long standing relationships with customers, both global and regional. Oliver commented, “We develop a high level of intimacy with our customers and allocate resource to create a long standing partnership. Concentric teams are embedded with customers and the relationships they build together help to ensure that customers think about Concentric first, before anyone else. In addition, innovative, reliable Hydraulic solutions, coupled with knowledgeable employees who possess a high technical skill set means that Concentric will be the supplier of choice for our partners. For strategic accounts, Concentric can service customers globally to the same high standards with regional support and this is also an advantage.”
Jennifer added, “Not all of our competitors can offer bespoke tailored solutions to meet customers’ needs for high, medium and low volume applications. More often than not, competitors can offer a standard product only whereas we offer a custom solution.”
Concentric invests significantly in the development of new products such as Electro Hydraulic Steering (EHS) and on-going product improvements. Each product development is environmentally more effective than the last either through greener materials or improved efficiencies. Sustainable working practices are not only good for customers; there are advantages for all stakeholders.
In talking about the future, Oliver commented, “We are seeing change amongst our customers. They are asking for more sustainable products, in our sourcing and supply chain; in production and in future product developments. We are seeing a shift to more hybrid systems – with an increasing demand for electric vehicles and our product range shifting from mechanical to electro mechanical solutions and potentially to a fully electric solution in the future.”

Why do customers like to work with Concentric?

Everyday Concentric Sales teams are working to develop strategic customers – improving customer intimacy, building stronger relationships and strengthening the company brand. Oliver explained, “The sales teams carry the Company values with them, the products we offer are reliable and we service and support our customers regionally, we deliver on time and continue to improve efficiency and offer future concepts. On a personal level, I encourage my team to support their customers with drive, passion and accountability. Customers respond to this direct and positive approach.” We also engage with suppliers in the very early stages of projects to ensure that we are contractually aligned and that any potential issues are addressed early. This partnership with suppliers helps to ensure that Concentric maintains a competitive advantage for all our customers. Jennifer concluded, “Sustainable working practices make good business sense”. Oliver agreed, “Return on investment will be the ultimate measure of our success with our customers.” he added.