The Advanced Services Partnership is an industry consortium of multinational companies that are seeking to excel at servitization through the implementation of advanced services. Executives benefit not only from networking with like-minded business leaders, access to the latest research as well as tools and techniques to accelerate their servitization efforts. Each company is assigned one of our Servitization experts as their dedicated Relationship Manager to guide and advise them through their servitization journey.
Today, we are talking to Ian Machan, ASG’s Managing Director and Relationship Manager to several partnership members, about his role and experiences.
What is the role of a Relationship Manager?
As a relationship manager for one of our partners, I am the focal point for anyone within their organisation who wants to know, understand or use any of our tools, frameworks, or just better understand how advanced services can help them move forwards.
I am also the communicator into the Advanced Services Group team of the needs and progress being made by that partner. ASG is home to some of the most world-renowned experts on servitization, so partners do not only get my expertise, but the combined knowledge and insight of our research group.
How do you engage with your partners?
I have regular calls, email exchanges and face to face sessions with my partner, typically a call every couple of weeks. In those calls I listen to the challenges the partner is facing and then provide advice and support. We have a wealth of IP, case studies and previous experiences. We also have links to lots of people that have been on the servitization journey and our partners appreciate those insights and contacts. I always try and learn the market demands the partner is seeing and how they are organising themselves to meet those demands. I link the questions the partner has with our best answers.
What do you bring to your partners?
I bring an empathy to the internal and external servitization journey they are on. Like my colleagues I have performed this role with several other businesses and provide support and a forum in which creative discussions on how to move things forward can be moved into actionable plans.
Over the past 40 years, I have been working with a multitude of manufacturing companies and whilst many face the same challenges, the way to overcome them is their own. ASG is a people business and I believe in a bespoke approach to each and every company.
Ian’s top tip for the servitization journey
When in doubt, think about where the value is for the customers and the end user. This is a useful lodestone for whenever you get lost. If you can clearly articulate what the value is and how a business can leverage their capabilities to deliver that, you are part way to winning the internal and external battles.
Our next Advanced Services Partnership Roundtable will take place in early 2023 at Tetra Pak in Lund and will include a showcase day for those interested in joining the partnership. If you would like to find out more about membership, please contact us at ask@advancedservicesgroup.co.uk.