Speaking about sales activities in emerging markets in the first edition of Update, the company’s customer magazine, Boekstegers said this was despite stagnation in Argentina and Brazil due to the economic and political climate there.
Chilled distribution chain
“Many emerging countries do not yet have the necessary infrastructure, which is essentially a chilled distribution chain, and which is a necessary requirement for the marketing of packaged food,” he said.
“Currently, this is still a real problem in many Asian countries. These requirements should however be met in China in the near future.”
Boekstegers added thermoforming packaging machines are the most important drivers of turnover for the company and its pre and after sales service had been successful in emerging markets due to hiring local staff rather than sending someone out from its head office in Wolfertschwenden, Germany.
“The packaging technology used depends on the individual requirements of our customers,” said Boekstegers.
“It is usually the more simple packs, which are in the foreground when a market begins to develop. Sophisticated packs are only in demand, when markets are already developed.
B2B portal and Webshop
The company opened a B2B portal with Webshop on the internet in January this year to make ordering spare parts easier for customers.
Coining the phrase an ‘online Multivac cockpit’ to describe the portal, Dominik Rotter, manager, e-commerce and online marketing, Multivac told Update the spare parts shop was completely different to what it had before.
“Customers can select and order spare parts on the basis of their own machines. For selected machines the portal contains a 3D catalog with expanding drawings of the machine modules,” he said.
“The most frequently required spare parts are compiled in Top 10 lists based on the type of machine.”
Countries which had access to the portal since January include Germany, US, UK, France, Sweden and Canada and there will be a rolling programme by the end of the second quarter to add a further 16 regions.
“E-commerce plays a large role today – both in the B2B and B2C sectors,” added Rotter.
“The purchasing behaviour of private consumers is increasingly being adopted in every day business dealings. This means expectations are growing on manufacturers, that business procedures can be conducted online.
“If one considers, that in the B2B sector only 1% of the total turnover is currently generated via e-commerce, but this also amounts to over 95% of the total current e-commerce market volume based on turnover, one can see what hidden potential is lying here.”