Digitalization offers chemical manufacturer the opportunity to rethink customer relationships

Chemical manufacturers are one of the first companies to widely use digital technology. From the earliest digital factory controllers, they used data to improve their operations. Their R & D team has used a large number of data sets to find better molecules and processes. For at least 40 years, engineers have been using CAD systems to design their plants.

However, in recent years, the chemical industry has lagged behind the banking, retail, media and telecommunications industries that have explored innovative ways to improve business with digital technology - not only in operation, but also in attracting customers and creating new values. Now, chemical manufacturer is reinventing to catch up. With the establishment of traditional competitive advantage sources (access to raw materials, scale assets, technology and market access), new business models are emerging, which may destroy the traditional value chain.

In our collaboration with chemical industry executives, we have seen a series of ways they seek to use digital technology to create new sustainable advantages for their industry. These executives want to know what will be different in their world in five to 10 years so that they can take advantage of these changes, or at least their companies can withstand the future. At the same time, they need to identify their short-term priorities. Driven by unfiltered ideas, they need to identify and prioritize opportunities to improve operations and develop revenue opportunities, including new products and services, using digital technology.

Bain's study of the subject points out that digital technology has shown potential in three areas: customer engagement, products and services, and operations. To seize these opportunities, enterprises will need a comprehensive digital vision supported by new capabilities, platforms, data analysis and changes in business and operational models.

The mobile, social, and web interfaces make it more transparent for customers (businesses and consumers) to understand their suppliers, including specifications, product availability, performance ratings, and alternative suppliers. Digitalization provides chemical manufacturers with an opportunity to rethink customer relationships, to a more customer centric perspective and to focus on improving customer experience. Analyzing customer interaction in value chain, from shopping to purchasing and after-sales, can better understand customers and their business, predict their needs, and help them improve their way of using products and services.

The way customers use new technology is different, depending on factors such as geography and age. Bain's research found that while only half of British customers would go online before buying paint, 90 percent of Chinese buyers would. British customers look at the color and price of the paint, while Chinese customers are more interested in the design concept and supplier rating.

Of course, chemical manufacturers also need to revisit how they interact with commercial customers. Digital technology will help reconfigure the supply chain to reduce inventory and speed up transactions. The company will digitize and automate core business processes, such as orders to cash. They will provide tools for the salesforce team to simulate how their products will improve the lives of their customers. The marketing and planning team will be able to gain a richer stream of real-time information to facilitate decision-making.

Some chemical companies have been creatively using digital technology to improve the efficiency of salesforce. A lubricant manufacturer has equipped its sales team with tablets, finding that this not only improves the quality of sales demonstrations, but also enables it to collect data on how the sales team spends time with customers. The company then uses this information to fine tune its customer segments and provide better guidance to individual sales.

Article source: https://article-realm.com/article/Finance/10964-Digitalization-offers-chemical-manufacturer-the-opportunity-to-rethink-customer-relationships.html