Taking it to the streets

SKF USA’s Solutions Street training earns 2006 Progressive Distributor Manufacturer Product Training Award

by Rich Vurva

When SKF USA held its annual distributor convention in May 2005, the company wanted to offer participants something better than a traditional product exhibit booth area. Planners reasoned that distributors were hungry for information about where and how to apply SKF products in specific applications. So they asked industry managers to create a series of presentations on specific industries the company serves such as paper, metals and mining.

They called the sessions “Solutions Street” and invited distributors to attend as many of the 30- to 40-minute meetings as their schedules allowed during the convention.

“Instead of just being product training, we spent a lot of time talking about a particular industry’s needs and how our products fit those needs,” says Jon Stevens, vice president of marketing. “We’re all about selling value. It’s more than just product features and benefits, it’s how our distributors can present real value to our customers that makes this training different.”

The idea proved popular with distributors. In fact, post-convention surveys showed that Solutions Street was the highest rated aspect of the conference.

“We’ve had a lot of inquiries from distributors to take Solutions Street on the road. We plan to launch it on a bigger scale by the end of the year because there has been such demand,” says Gus Sortino, director of marketing communications.

A tailored approach
The format allows SKF product managers to tailor regional meetings to the industries common to their part of the country. Distributors can bring branch managers to a central location for the one-day training program.

The presentations focus on industries where use of bearings and related products are historically strong, such as paper, metals and mining, but also focuses on emerging markets such as food and beverage, wind energy and medical industries. The sessions provide overviews of each industry and the SKF solutions that distributors can present to specific customers.

Stevens says the idea was to help distributors understand where they can locate new market opportunities. Most distributors are well-versed in the opportunities and problems faced by customers in paper mills, steel mills or other traditional industries, but may not be as familiar with solutions they can offer to customers that might be new to their geographic region.

“This is the first time we’ve seen a manufacturer focus their training toward emerging markets,” says Tom Kealey, president of Brown Transmission and Bearing Co., headquartered in Lancaster, Pa., who nominated SKF USA to receive the 2006 Progressive Distributor Manufacturer Product Training Award. “Their comprehensive plan confirmed to us what type of business opportunities will be sustained in North America.”

For example, a growing number of states are requiring that a minimum amount of electricity be supplied from renewable sources. As a result, the U.S. wind energy industry is on track to install a record-breaking 3,000 megawatts this year, enough electricity to power approximately 600,000 homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). SKF’s Solution Street provides distributors an overview of the bearing, sealing and lubrication systems that enable more cost-effective wind energy generation. Today’s turbines are installed in harsh, remote environments and the wind parks of the future will most likely have to face even tougher conditions.

The food and beverage industry is another non-traditional market where SKF has developed specific solutions. Few industrial environments present as many diverse and difficult operating conditions as food processing, which must cope with extreme temperatures, moist atmospheres, and regular wash-downs. The industry also must follow stringent hygienic requirements and regulations to ensure food safety. SKF’s training helps distributors understand how SKF services and solutions can help companies in the food and beverage industry increase operational efficiency and process reliability without putting food safety at risk.

Since attending the 2005 SKF convention, Kealey scheduled a series of Solutions Street meetings at his company. The first meeting focused on the aggregates industry, followed by sessions focused on the medical and the food processing markets. He says the training helped shorten the time to market for new customer segments and helped them gain an audience with customers they previously had difficulty meeting.

In the past, for example, salespeople who occasionally called on hospitals limited their discussions to physical plant problems such as the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Today, they ask questions about linear motion tables used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.

“SKF USA has devised a process all manufacturers should emulate. They’ve shown us how we can win together,” says Kealey. “They systematically matched product needs to each market and engaged the distributor in training on products and value-added services.”

Better focus
Bruce Marchetti of Florida Bearings in Miami says the Solutions Street approach helps salespeople learn where to focus their energies.

“They’re identifying the products within their enormous product line and spotlighting what products are used in what industries,” says Marchetti. “For a small regional distributor, the more educated our account managers and inside salespeople are about where the products are used specifically, the better they’re able to convert that knowledge into a sale. So it’s been very beneficial to us.”

Marchetti plans to schedule onsite Solutions Street sessions for his inside and outside salespeople to attend in the future, but already uses the online training SKF offers distributors. He says Web-based training is a cost-effective and convenient way for salespeople to learn about SKF products.

“One of the things that’s always problematic for the distributor is understanding where the thousands of products SKF manufactures are used. Solutions Street affords us the opportunity to understand what products go in which industries. They’re giving us more industry knowledge in addition to the product knowledge,” says Marchetti.

Stevens says Solutions Street is popular with distributors that are searching for something more meaningful than traditional product training. They’re seeking information about how to apply products and solutions in various industries, and how to help customers improve output or eliminate downtime.

“This type of training is useful because distributors aren’t just selling parts anymore,” Stevens says. “They’re selling more uptime or reduced maintenance. That’s a better discussion for everyone to have because it’s not about parts and pricing.”

Randy Bowen, vice president of distributor relations, says the goal is to help distributors become better equipped to be viewed as problem solvers for customers.

“We’re trying to be partners with our authorized distributors so we can go to customers jointly and become an asset to their business, an expert that can solve problems, as opposed to just being perceived as the people who deliver pieces and parts,” says Bowen.

This article appeared in the July/August 2006 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2006.

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