The data connection is crucial for the quality of digital services
Grundfos has an ambitious digitalisation strategy - and now optimizes the data connections for their products with an agreement with Telenor Connexion.
Grundfos’ forward-looking digitalisation strategy is, among other things, about IoT (Internet of Things), where Grundfos’ products use a data connection to continuously send operational data to a central cloud solution. Here, the large amounts of data are analyzed and used for customers in the form of digital services and for Grundfos in the form of knowledge about the products’ operation and areas of application. The transport of the large amounts of data requires secure and robust (mobile) data connections, and Grundfos has therefore chosen to enter a collaboration with Telenor Connexion. kaastrup|andersen helped Grundfos with business development, implementation of processes and anchoring the ownership of the new business area in Grundfos, so that the agreement with Telenor Connexion brings optimal value and helps create the foundation for Grundfos’ continued growth and success.
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"The collaboration with kaastrup|andersen on the implementation has ensured we can realize the expected benefits of the agreement with Telenor Connexion. Processes and ownership are in place and our organization is ready to create even more value with our digital services."
Challenge
Grundfos has a forward-looking digitalisation strategy and works, among other things, to ensure that more and more of their products continuously provide operational data, which customers - and Grundfos - can utilize to optimize product performance, both in the short and long term.
The customer purchases the physical products and pays for subsequent digital services, such as e.g. surveillance of a pump system so that the customer can monitor if too much water is accumulated in a specific area. Other examples of applications can be optimization of energy consumption e.g. in hotels, efficient central control of the municipal district heating, optimization of production by monitoring with sensors.
However, the many data from the products do not move by themselves: there is a need for secure, stable and solid data connections between the individual product and the IT platform, which collects the large amounts of data and provides the opportunity to process them. Grundfos needs to ensure this data transfer on a global scale, so that all customers experience the same level of service and added value, whether the product from Grundfos is located in a major city in Asia, on a farm in Australia, in a desert in Africa or on a mountain peak in the Andes.
In addition to the concrete need for securing data transport, the second part of the challenge consisted in defining and implementing new Grundfos processes and establish the ownership of the new business, right down to practical items like: ‘Who will pay for the data transport?’ and ‘how to support the solutions?’
In essence, the grand question was: ‘How should a ‘product’ like connectivity be supported by the many different departments of the Grundfos organization?’ Some of the issues the project worked with related to the placement of ownership and responsibility for the product, budget and - not least - support of connectivity compared to a global customer base.
Solution
Grundfos has entered into a collaboration agreement with Telenor Connexion on managed connectivity. This means that Telenor Connexion’s global solutions for transporting mobile data will support Grundfos’ global IoT strategy and ensure that data from the products are collected and sent to the cloud, after which they can be processed and create value.
Once the agreement was in place, Grundfos started a project that aimed to ensure implementation in the Grundfos organization, so that the ultimate goal of commissioning could be achieved. This meant that responsibility and processes for future daily operations had to be placed. The project was thus a product development project taking care of business development and processes and the work involved a large number of stakeholders from all parts of the value chain in Grundfos - from finance to purchasing, production, sales, service and IT.
The initial communication tasks were basic, so that the involved and affected stakeholders became aware of both the goals and content of the solution. A key point was therefore the appointment of a product owner, which in future operating situation will be responsible for both operation and ongoing development.
The project also served as a link between Telenor Connexion and Grundfos in the setting-up of the collaboration and defined and implemented the processes that in the future will ensure a close and effective partnership between the two major organizations.
Result
The project has fulfilled the goals and has established an adequate organizational basis for the new business, which is fundamental for Grundfos to operate their digital services for customers. The agreement and the project mean that Grundfos can now order, sell, and operate robust mobile connections for their digital services to customers globally.
The project represents one of the cornerstones for Grundfos to reach its overall digital strategy, which helps to ensure that Grundfos maintains and consolidates its global position as an innovative market leader for water technology - and accomplishes the mission to create breakthrough solutions, which contribute to global sustainability, improving the quality of life of people and taking care of the planet.
kaastrup|andersen assisted Grundfos with business development and took care of the project management of the implementation of the agreement with Telenor Connexion.
Do your digital services work as they should - both for you and your customers? And is your company ready, organizationally, to handle new digital services so that they create value?
kaastrup|andersen has extensive experience with organizational implementation of new business processes and products, which require large parts of the company to play a part in and participate in business development. Contact us and let us together focus on how your company can continue to create growth and take advantage of the many new opportunities that are constantly emerging.
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