Better Together

Efforts to drive an enterprise point of view across the value chain with suppliers, dealers and ultimately customers are under way at Caterpillar. Multiple internal initiatives are now extending to increase collaboration across the entire value chain.

Suppliers in China, for example, are deploying the Caterpillar Production System (CPS) in order to experience the same transformation that the system has delivered in our own manufacturing operations. The Cat brand and a focus on brand advocacy was a key initiative with dealers, and Caterpillar's flagship leadership development program is now inviting leaders from critical suppliers, dealer principals and select customers ... all in an effort to develop rock solid people.

CPS for Suppliers

In 2006, Caterpillar rolled out CPS, focusing first on internal operations. Three years later, CPS was extended to its supply base through the CPS for Suppliers program in an effort to drive collaboration across its entire value chain. Today, that program is driving significant results around the world, creating long-term relationships with key suppliers sharing a common goal to produce the highest-quality products as efficiently and safely as possible.

"The introduction of CPS has brought significant changes in the ideas of Chinese suppliers," explained Gao Erging, general manager of BUT Construction Machinery Manufacturing in Xuzhou, China. "We are more confident about the elimination of waste and cost reduction, and about maintaining our competitiveness for Cat^® products."

According to Erging, who has been a Caterpillar supplier for nearly 17 years, they reduced the amount of space in their production area by nearly 40 percent by following the CPS Principles." We use only three-fifths of the production area originally planned to achieve the same production capacity in layout," said Erging. "CPS has helped us greatly reduce our investment in the plant and improve our efficiency, so it is of great significance to us."

Dealers Advocating the Cat Brand

For more than 85 years, Caterpillar has had a unique relationship with its dealers. This simple yet powerful partnership has combined the capabilities of a global technology and manufacturing leader with dealers who enjoy close relationships with their customers in their own language and culture.

The dealer network helps Caterpillar and customers win around the world. Cat^® dealers share the Caterpillar passion, enhance the competitive edge and ensure customers receive maximum business value from Cat products and services. Most Cat dealers are independently owned, locally operated businesses and benefit from strong, longstanding customer relationships.

They are an integral part of the enterprise strategy and play a key role in the Caterpillar business model. They are at the front lines of serving our customers. They are a competitive advantage that competitors simply cannot match. That's why Cat dealers were a key player in the rollout of Caterpillar's revitalized brand strategy in 2012, which focused on energizing and developing a culture that has an intense, acute focus on the customer.

"We are rededicating ourselves to living up to our brand promise. To ensure that the way we present ourselves, both internally and externally, reflects our unwavering dedication to ensuring our customers' success," stated Caterpillar Group President Stu Levenick. In addition to the more than 9,000 Caterpillar employees worldwide who completed the brand experience training, more than 600 dealer marketing managers from 114 dealerships in 13 regions of the world and 22 of their agencies also learned about the Cat brand promise and updated global advertising framework. Working together with a common understanding of what the Cat brand stands for, we are champions for our customers' enduring success.

Suppliers/Dealers/Customers Learning to L.E.A.D.

Leadership Excellence in Accountability and Development (L.E.A.D.), Caterpillar's leadership development program, has a flagship program designed specifically to prepare future Caterpillar leaders for executive-level positions. Developed in partnership with Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, this program includes intense week-long sessions spread over 12 months in different locations around the world, allowing participants to experience Caterpillar's global footprint with an emphasis on growth markets.

While the program was initially designed to develop Caterpillar leaders for senior roles in the enterprise, it quickly became evident that leaders from the entire value chain would benefit from participation and bring another dimension to the program. Now, critical suppliers, dealer leadership teams and selected Caterpillar customers comprise about one-third of program participants.

"The intent is to have the entire value chain represented to truly provide the enterprise point of view," said Group President Ed Rapp. "Participants see the value in having open, honest dialogue with one another and see the power of the entire value chain, including customer leaders, there in the same room to work on project teams to solve real business challenges we're facing."