Customer relationships

Customer expectations are decisive for the Schaeffler Group’s product development, service, and quality assurance. Accordingly, with its initiative “Customer Excellence” as part of the strategy “Agenda 4 plus One” Schaeffler is aiming to further deepen its understanding of customer needs and customer relationships. In this way, the company wants to continuously improve its services and win over customers with individual support.

Consistent customer orientation

Schaeffler uses a central Global Key Account Management system (GKAM) to shape its customer relationships worldwide according to standardized principles. The GKAM works closely with the regional and divisional sales functions of the Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer), Automotive Aftermarket, and Industrial business divisions. The necessary expertise is pooled from the relevant divisions for each key customer. Every major customer has a contact person who takes care of all of his or her concerns according to the “one face to the customer” principle. All relevant players in the strategy process, including the Executive Board and regional functional managers as well as functional managers also regularly discuss relevant market developments in collective “GKAM Strategy Alignments”.

Schaeffler uses customer relationship management software as a way to further control customer relationships. The software will be updated to the newest version in all three divisions over the course of 2019, creating a cross-divisional system architecture.

Schaeffler uses international trade and consumer fairs and organizes individual customer events, such as in-house fairs, as classic tools to communicate with customers.

Spare parts business as a third business division

As of January 1, 2018, the Schaeffler Group has split its business into the three divisions of Automotive OEM, Automotive Aftermarket, and Industry in order to be able to meet the requirements of various customer segments more specifically. The former Automotive Aftermarket business division was established as a third division and assigned to an independent management division. It is responsible for the Schaeffler Group’s spare parts business and provides innovative OEM-quality repair solutions. Its customers include almost all well-known international and national retail companies, which in turn serve additional levels of trade all the way to the workshop with products from the Schaeffler Group.

Schaeffler wants to serve its customers worldwide even faster and more reliably, thereby further increasing the level of customer satisfaction and loyalty. For this purpose, the Automotive Aftermarket division is investing heavily in the global expansion of its logistical infrastructure and is currently building a European “Aftermarket Kitting Operation” (AKO) center in Halle (Saale), Germany. The level of investment is at around EUR 180 m. The center is scheduled to be put into operation in the first half of 2020. Furthermore, the Automotive Aftermarket division relies on digital tools such as a global product and service platform and a returns portal. In addition, it is further developing its e-commerce activities and striving for a closer integration of marketing, sales, and services.

You can find more about the repair business in the magazine section under How we contribute to our customers’ success.

New survey and analysis concept for customer surveys

Schaeffler evaluates its customer relationships through periodic customer surveys. In 2018, a new survey concept was introduced that includes all Schaeffler Group divisions and regions and provides important insights into key success factors in customer business.

Winner of multiple awards

Each year, the Schaeffler Group receives numerous customer satisfaction and product quality awards from its customers. The company sees this as an indicator of its positive reputation in global markets. In the reporting year, it received 65 awards, seven more than in the previous year.

The “Best Quality Award” from the customer Honda Motor Co. Ltd. as well as the “Achievement Award” from Toyota Motor Europe and the “Trade Performance Excellence Award” from the Mazda Motor Corporation for the automotive sector prove the effectiveness of the quality management of Schaeffler’s Automotive division in Asia.

The Automotive Aftermarket division received the TEMOT Performance Award in the Global Supplier category. The award was presented in May 2018 at the Annual Spring Meeting & Executive Suppliers’ Event in Barcelona, where around 400 managers from the workshop industry got together.

The Industry division was also honored by market players in 2018. At the beginning of June, the “Schaeffler VarioSense Bearing” that the company developed, received the Best of Industry award from the industry magazine MM Maschinenmarkt in the drive technology category. The Schaeffler VarioSense Bearings provide several sensor signals for machine and process monitoring in a compact unit. In this way, they make Industry 4.0 solutions possible. In addition, Schaeffler was honored by the magazine Logistra in October 2018 for the maintenance concept Maintenance 4.0 for Intralogistics developed in cooperation with a systems partner. Logistra readers also chose Schaeffler as the winner in the Warehouse and Picking category. Also of global importance is the LG-BIQS Certificate, with which LG Electronics honored Schaeffler as a successful quality supplier.

Seamlessly networked from the supplier to the customer

Schaeffler focuses on streamlining processes along its entire value chain, systematically involving customers and suppliers. In order to make its own processes more efficient, the company set up the MOVE (more without waste) program in 2009. Among other things, it examines the linking of value chains with business partners and customers. According to the C2C (customer to customer) principle, internal value streams are linked with those of customers and suppliers for this purpose.

The plants in Nanjing and Taicang in Greater China have already established this approach. In November 2018, the Pune plant in India also started a C2C pilot project. The key figures used for the project show significant efficiency gains of over 8% in the area of delivery reliability (punctuality) and more than 24% in the area of Schaeffler’s internal processing time. The capacity of production lines was increased by 40%.