Having the right information is key to implementing the right solution
Today, customers are more sophisticated than ever before, so we have to be in step with them like never before.
Meeting customer expectations can be like dating–a relationship that, if things go well, will endure and lead to a lasting and trusting partnership. It is vital to be familiar with customer habits, problems, and patterns so that we can surprise them with products and solutions which they might not even have known were possible until presented with them.
Developing a relationship with a customer, therefore, is one part creating a pleasant, productive, and personalized experience which makes them feel special, and an even greater part hearing what they have to say. It’s not enough to simply conduct and analyze annual surveys; we must look at the entire customer experience over time.
Three years ago, ABB Robotics began a journey which has allowed us to engage our customers in new ways and to place greater focus on Customer Service and overall Customer Satisfaction. Our Application Centers were established to address specific customer needs ranging from technology development, greater responsiveness and the creation of commercial solutions. Located in five points around the globe (Singapore, Brazil, United States, China and Poland), the Packaging Applications centers are building competencies in Packaging much like our other centers are doing in New and Base Applications, Welding & Cutting and Press Automation.
All of ABB’s Applications Centers have allowed ABB Robotics to create and continuously refine our strong product and solution roadmap. Hubs for training and R&D, the centers have also taught us that in the world of robotics the customer does not simply want a standalone robot, or what we call a naked robot. They want a robot that has its best dress on, the whole package including support and applications.
Over the past week in Dusseldorf, Germany, ABB Robotics was showcasing some of our newest commercial solutions for the packaging industry at Interpack–the largest packaging trade show on the planet. Introduced in April, for example, RacerPack is a standardized function package for flow wrap products like chocolate bars, ice cream etc. It surpasses conventional flow wrap packing solutions in up time, change over time and ease-of-use while outperforming competitive throughput rates by as much as 50%.
The packaging industry is growing at 5% annually and packaging is currently a $36 billion industry. Clearly any automation company that wants to stand out in this field should develop solutions that customers are demanding, and ABB Robotics is unique in its ability to develop application-specific solutions for packaging thanks to our close relationship with our customers.