Organisations are increasingly focusing on empowering Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) within the industrial automation sector through strategies that drive efficiency, innovation and competitiveness. 

This strategic shift emphasises tailored go-to-market strategies, a deep understanding of the OEM channel, improved partner support, and targeted content creation. These efforts aim to deliver customised solutions, optimise distribution channels, enhance technical support, and highlight benefits for OEMs.

Oriel Soupen, Channel Marketing Manager at Schneider Electric South Africa, notes that OEMs play a vital role in industry-specific supply chains, supplying essential components or complete products that other companies integrate into their offerings.

“As manufacturing evolves, OEMs lead in creating innovative automation solutions that boost efficiency and productivity. These advancements help businesses quickly adapt to market demands and remain competitive. Collaboration with OEMs is thus crucial for progress in industrial automation,” she says.

Adapting strategies 

Soupen explains that organisations in the industrial automation sector are adapting their strategies to strengthen partnerships with OEMs by leveraging four key levers: 

• Growth through key offers: Companies are developing and promoting key offerings that meet OEMs' needs, creating innovative solutions to enhance value and drive mutual growth.
• Growing applications and subsegments: By targeting specific applications and subsegments in industrial automation, organisations can tailor strategies to niche requirements, capturing new opportunities and expanding market reach.
• Developing ecosystems with partners: Building a robust ecosystem with partners is crucial. Organisations are fostering collaborative relationships with OEMs and stakeholders through joint ventures, co-development projects, and strategic alliances to enhance capabilities and market presence.
• Refining the organisation and upskilling: Companies are refining organisational structures and investing in workforce upskilling to ensure teams can effectively implement strategies and support OEM partnerships.

“These strategic adaptations aim to provide customised solutions, optimise distribution channels, improve technical support and highlight the benefits for OEMs, ultimately driving growth and innovation in the industrial automation sector,” says Soupen.

Creating tailor-made offers

There are several key benefits to creating tailored go-to-market offers for OEMs, says Chris Neethling, Channel Sales Manager at Schneider Electric. These benefits collectively help OEMs adapt to market demands, drive efficiency, and maintain a competitive edge.

“Tailored solutions help OEMs address specific needs, making them more attractive to customers. By focusing on digitisation, software, and robotics, OEMs can upskill their teams, win new customers, and stay ahead of industry trends,” says Neethling.

He adds that leveraging OEMs' unique strengths and innovation helps win business. Implementing a triangulation approach in targeted markets enhances customer coverage, ensuring OEMs can meet the needs of their Point of Entry Market customers.

Neethling explains that channel partners also play a crucial role in the success of OEMs in the industrial automation space by leveraging their specialised expertise and market reach. These channel partners collectively enhance the reach, efficiency and innovation capabilities of OEMs, contributing significantly to their success in the industrial automation sector.

Solutions to enhance productivity

Schneider Electric supports OEMs in enhancing their productivity through innovative automation solutions by providing a vast portfolio of empowering, agnostic software solutions. These solutions improve the efficiency of operations throughout the entire lifecycle, ensuring that OEMs can optimise their processes from start to finish.

“We also provide instant access to machine control solutions and products, which are designed to support OEMs throughout the machine process and enable OEMs to streamline their operations and enhance productivity,” says Neethling.

Ultimately, Schneider Electric helps OEMs optimise supply chains and accelerate time to market through simple digitisation, including digital platform integration and online engagement. This streamlines processes, enhances efficiency and transparency, and aids quicker decision-making and implementation.