LiuGong and Dressta aim to continue to pursue their strategy which will expand their global operations whilst ensuring that they stay close to customers.
Speaking about the company’s strategy and confidence Howard Dale, Chairman of LiuGong Europe and Dressta, says, “I feel confident that we can continue to build close and meaningful relationships with our customers. I believe that genuinely listening and acting on customer feedback is differentiating our products and our services and will remain at the heart of everything we do.”
LiuGong’s strategy, launched in 2016, continues to focus on three important areas: globalization, total solutions and total intelligence, all underpinned by close co-operation and dedicated collaboration with customers. It’s an approach which has seen LiuGong become one of the world’s fastest growing construction equipment manufacturers. LiuGong’s global expansion has encompassed three levels of internationalization: overseas trading; dealers and subsidiaries; manufacturing base and mergers and acquisitions. “We want to be a significant global player,” says Dale, “but without compromising our local customer relationships. In the last 15 years, we have built one of the largest dealer networks with a cornerstone of regular customer interactions to ensure that we stay close to our customers.” LiuGong’s network now consists of more than 300 dealers in over 100 countries; all supported by 10 regional subsidiaries and nine parts depots across the globe. The company’s strong dealers, subsidiaries and its customer-centric culture are delivering real value for LiuGong and its customers. As of September 2018, sales revenues reached 13.47 Billion RMB representing a 54.69% year-on-year rise. The unit sales in this period was 38,880, a 40% increase over 2017.
Focusing on total solutions, LiuGong currently provides a full line of machines backed up by a comprehensive array of attachments, parts and service and aftersales solutions, but the company’s ambition is to go further. “Virtually every manufacturer talks about 'Total Solutions' today.” explains Dale. “When you drill down into these offerings, they are all pretty similar. By talking and listening to customers we have started to identify new and value adding services which will take our service offer beyond the conventional. At bauma, we will be actively listening and exploring these exciting concepts with customers.”
Total intelligence is the third focus area in LiuGong’s strategy, with the company investing up to 4% of its annual operating income in product and technology research and development.
With R&D centers in the UK, USA, India, Poland and China, LiuGong is committed to developing intelligent machines. LiuGong has already successfully launched its first intelligent remote-control wheel loader with an intelligent shoveling system that senses material penetration. In addition, the launch of LiuGong’s intelligent management system is helping customers manage their fleets, increase productivity and reduce operating risk and costs. According to Dale, “Total intelligence is about machines, it’s about data and it’s about connectivity, but it’s also about going beyond the equipment. It is how our customers work now, and in the future. We are really looking forward to exploring this topic with our customers at bauma.”
Dressta’s strategic aims run in parallel and are also focused on differentiating their offer through a customer centric approach. Dressta has been consistent in developing and engaging their dealer network to truly understand customer needs, and to deliver value adding solutions of machines and support services. Now present in over 60 countries Dressta are committed to global expansion. New dealer appointments include; Intraco Penta in Indonesia, the world’s fourth largest dozer market and Ferronordic machines in Russia. In addition, Dressta has opened up the emerging African market with dealer partnerships in Sierra Leone, Algeria and DRC. Howard Dale, Dressta Chairman is confident about the future, “We are consistently developing our global distribution in line with our mid-term strategy so that we can capitalize on local market potential and provide our customers with effective on-site support by way of local customer services and timely spare part availability.”
For LiuGong and Dressta, listening to customers is an important element to their growth strategy. Their combined product portfolio clearly reflects the voice of the customer and their continued focus on building ever stronger dealer networks demonstrates their commitment to supporting customers, wherever they may be. LiuGong and Dressta certainly have a strong story to tell but their principal communication aim at bauma and beyond is to listen. Face to face and online, they want to get meaningful conversations started on what customers need today and how they see tomorrow.
