Grundfos Company: Processes, Products and Services Case Study

Introduction

Overall, Grundfos demonstrates effective alignment with the fifth criteria of the EFQM model, putting a particular emphasis on customer services and relations and stakeholder value. It also provides improvement projects, creates different models necessary for efficient running or organisational processes, and develops its presence in e-commerce. Nevertheless, the lack of support from the UK government leads to a slow take-up of e-products. The company also does not provide detailed description or discussion of improvement projects or market penetration, which indicates that either they are not analysed objectively or are lacking depth. Customer segmentation is also presented only in part, although it is an integral part of the evaluation process of the EFQM’s fifth criteria (Müller & Haase 2014). The globality of the Grundfos’ operations is mentioned but not evident as the report mostly focuses on the domestic market.

Grundfos: Strengths

1. GPL Process Model. The model supported the organizational restructure and was used to deliver customer, employee, and stakeholder & society value. It is related to the company’s vision, strategy, and values.
2. Account Management Model. It aims to achieve multiple points of contact between the customer and Sales Teams, resulting in additional insights (Case study Grundfos Pumps Ltd. n.d.).
3. Process Management System. Both the Business Process Model and working instructions supporting it have been certified to ISO9001 standard since 2004.
4. GBW meetings. The meetings provide product development reviews with regard to marketing requirements and/or competitor offerings. Customer requirements considered as a factor influencing product launch schedule.
5. Servicing options. Grundfos pays attention to customer terms and conditions by including servicing and after-sales support options, managed by the company. Innovative chargeable services are currently developed for global deployment (Case study Grundfos Pumps Ltd. n.d.).
6. Sales Excellence Program. An assessment tool based on the EFQM model used for the measurement of sales capabilities and supports organisational improvement. It is completed annually.
7. Effective production planning. Monthly, quarterly and annual sales forecasts are used to ensure efficient production planning. Sales forecasts are reviewed at the quarterly supply chain meeting.
8. Webshops. Webshops are used for the indirect domestic market; in 2011, the service was improved, and a significant increase in usage was observed too. The platform uses a direct interface with SAP (Case study Grundfos Pumps Ltd. n.d.).
9. Customer-oriented services. ECSS surveys used to analyse customer perceptions and produce action plans based on them. Online event-driven surveys are aligned with key processes such as sales, order processing, and servicing. Customer service unit, established in 2010, analyses all available data to develop market opportunities and drive different process improvements.
10. Warranty. Failures detected are reported both to the original manufacturer and the Group to identify possible systematic failures and eliminate them. All products carry different warranties, including 3, 5 or 10 years, which can increase customer’s satisfaction with product support.

Grundfos: Areas for Improvement

1. Wastewater market (WW). Due to the conservative nature of the UK market, the company has a smaller share in the wastewater market because customers prefer specialist WW suppliers traditionally associated with this area.
2. E-products. The slow take-up of e-products in the UK is explained by the lack of support and commitment from the UK government. Nonetheless, the company uses the services of a governmental lobbyist and promotion to resolve this problem.
3. Improvement projects. Although an improvement project team is established, it is unclear how exactly it supports improvement and what actions are done to encourage it. The company only states what resources are needed for improvement but does not specify how this improvement is achieved.
4. Global player. Grundfos is a global company, which production and development are spread across countries (Grundfos n.d.). Nevertheless, the data presented in the report relates to the domestic market. It remains unclear whether Grundfos’ results are the same in other countries, and, if not, what the organisation is planning to do with it.
5. Market penetration. As stated previously, Grundfos does not have substantial market shares in some of the markets (WW). Market penetration strategies are barely presented, although a clear understanding of them could result in better recognition among various markets, including WW.

Grundfos: Areas for Investigation

1. Multiple contact points. Multiple contact points are a positive factor, but there is no exact explanation of how these contact points are created or what practical value they bear. Abstract presentation of these contact points might indicate weak research of their value.
2. Customer segmentation. Customer segmentation is presented in little detail; it is unclear how the targeted customer segment was addressed by the company as there is no information about customer segments whatsoever.
3. Stakeholders. The role of stakeholders in the design of processes is mentioned, but no clarification is given on how exactly they contributed to it.
4. Outsourcing. Grundfos considered outsourcing as an option but did not provide any clarifications about what selection criteria would be used for outsourcing companies or what factors would be considered during the selection.
5. Process model. The efficiency of the process model is not addressed, which undermines the objectivity of its presentation.

Reference List

Case study Grundfos Pumps Ltd. n.d. Web.

Grundfos. n.d., Headquarters and production. Web.

Müller, S & Haase, K. 2014, ‘Customer segmentation in retail facility location planning’, Business Research, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 235-261.