Dealer wins

Helping a customer to identify the perfect propulsion solution for a vessel is a job that takes years of experience as well as a degree in hydrodynamics. So how can a CAT dealer bridge that knowledge gap? The answer is through a cleverly designed training program.

Mattias Dombrowe is the project manager – and driving force – behind the Caterpillar Propulsion Dealer Training Program, which gives CAT dealers from around the world the base knowledge and expert insight they need to help their customers meet their propulsion challenges. The program is a well designed combination of over a dozen e-learning modules the dealers can access from home anywhere in the world, and 5-day, instructor-led courses in Sweden. But it doesn’t stop there. The training is made complete by support and mentorship from Caterpillar Propulsion to make sure each dealer’s knowledge develops on an ongoing basis. The program is on track to train around 100 CAT dealer representatives in its first year.

"It's about helping dealers ask the right questions to give customers the most value."
- Mattias Dombrowe

NAME: Mattias Dombrowe
OCCUPATION: Project Manager, Caterpillar Propulsion
LIVES: Öckerö, Sweden
FAMILY: Wife and two young children
LEISURE: Spending time with the family and fixing up the old house

A POSITIVE RESPONSE

We met up with Mattias at the Öckerö Maritime Center where attendees eat, sleep and learn during an intense week. A course was underway at the time with close to 20 dealer representatives taking notes and quizzing the instructor about propulsion configurations so we left them to it and slipped out onto the terrace that overlooks the sea. Mattias is delighted by how the program is going so far and he bases that on the response from the attendees: “We ask the attendees to answer an online survey at the end and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
One comment captures the heart of the program and the knowledge transfer from the Caterpillar Propulsion specialists: “I was very impressed with the inside knowledge of the presenters. Especially by giving us the “why” not just the “what”. Why this bearing is different, why we don’t produce fixed pitch propellers, why we need ship design data from the customer and so on.”

THE EARLIER, THE BETTER FOR CUSTOMER VALUE

Ultimately, the course is designed to give CAT dealers’ sales and technical staff the confidence and insight to get involved earlier in the selection and design process, which will increase the opportunities for customers. For example, a change in the operational profile of a vessel might be better and more cost-effectively addressed by changing propellers. Or a whole ship design and engine configuration can be optimized by starting with the propulsion solution. But it’s not all hard work. During the instructor-led training, the attendees make friends and work contacts for life amongst the other dealers and the Caterpillar Propulsion specialists. And they also have a lot of fun. Mattias smiles when he describes the popular beer, pizza, and quiz night that ends in a sauna and plunge in the icy Swedish sea, “They love it. And seeing one of the Brazilian dealers jump into 3°C water in the Scandinavian winter was something else!”