Atlas Copco - Annual Report 1999

INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUE
INDUSTRIAL TECHNIQUE
Multi-brand strategy
enhances product range
Alliance Tools is a division with three brands, a wide product range, and many
channels to the market but it acts as a single company. The company’s mission
is to leverage the strengths of each brand to expand market share, and the
overall division performance is what counts.
Alliance Tools’ strategy is to make it easy for target customers to
do business with all three brands – Desoutter, Georges Renault,
and Chicago Pneumatic – and to satisfy the requirements of
application support in the areas of assembly, materials removal,
drilling, automotive after-market, and demolition.
Following the formation of a single Alliance Tools sales
company in Great Britain, benefits have become apparent for
three different groups: salespersons, distributors and end-users.
60 ATLAS COPCO 1999
The salesperson can offer an extensive
range of solutions rather than just solve
part of the customer’s problem, which is
often the case when only one brand can be
offered. It is also easier for a salesperson
to get an appointment with a customer,
because each brand is recognized on its
own strengths. While at the customer’s, a
salesperson can present the other brands’
products as well.
From the perspective of end-users and
distributors, the most significant advantage
is having a single point of contact for
each issue, such as sales or technical support,
instead of three. Previously, a drilling
and riveting problem might have been
solved by two separate vendors, but now the customer only has to
meet with one.
Many distribution customers also offer a fully integrated
supplier package to large end-users. Alliance Tools will now be
able to work in synergy with the distributors in these situations
and will look to target specific customers in each sales region.