In Conversation… With Ann-Kristin de Verdier and Jonathan Wood
Ann-Kristin de Verdier, Executive Managing Director of Distribution Europe, talks to Jonathan Wood, Vice President and Chief Technical Officer (CTO) about how Cummins, a global power technology leader, focuses on delivering the right technology portfolio for its customers for both now and into a future filled with possibilities.
Cummins is at the forefront of the drive to decarbonise. It’s a mammoth challenge that Cummins will meet head on, but it will not be easy.
To discuss those challenges and how Cummins sets up to deliver the solutions that its customers have come to expect, Cummins Magazine brought together senior leaders Ann-Kristin de Verdier and Jonathan Wood.
We asked Jonathan, who is based at Huddersfield in the UK, to kick us off by outlining the role of the Chief Technology Officer.
“Basically, I’m the voice of more than 9,000 Cummins engineers around the world,” he says. “It’s my job to ensure we have the right technology portfolio for the business and are deploying the capital to deliver on it. I’m constantly evaluating where and how we should be making our technology investments to support the different markets and business areas.
“But I don’t do this in isolation. I need to consider the needs of all our regions and business units; they have their own product plans and will be thinking through what they need to do to meet their commercial targets and serve their customers.
Finding the right balance
“I look across the portfolio to determine if we are spending the right amount in different areas of technology and product types, so we have a balance and are consistent with the strategy of the business.”
Among his other responsibilities, Jonathan is charged with future-proofing the technical function by ensuring, to the best of his ability, that Cummins has the right talent, is training people the right way and is mindful of what skills and processes might be needed in the future.
“Our customers are facing the biggest technology evolution for many years. In fact, it’s more like a revolution. Big changes are already starting to happen, and our business teams are having to gear up to support products that could be based on hydrogen, battery, hybrid or dual-fuel.”
Partnership is vital
Jonathan and Ann-Kristin agree partnership is the key to picking a way through the technology maze and unlocking the enormous opportunities ahead, starting with the way information and insight is shared across Cummins.
“Our engineers, our sales people and everyone who is interacting with customers needs to be so knowledgeable, because our customers are interested in technology and technical developments and they look to us for guidance,” says Ann-Kristin.
“Jonathan brings together all the technical leaders across the business at least quarterly to look at best practices and drive alignment on technical objectives, and we’re delighted to be represented by our first chief engineer for our European business unit, Dawn Whiting.
“Dawn started as an apprentice with Cummins, which is a great story in itself. She will play her part in helping Jonathan to understand how and where we as a business are going to need support, to upskill or develop the capability to deal with products that are in the pipeline.”
Jonathan says it makes sense for the business units to get visibility at the earliest stage of technologies that might be five to 10 years out from hitting the market. “That’s why the technical leaders review is an essential part of our business. It helps the business units plan ahead and be ready to support new products as soon as they are launched.”
Deeper involvement
Ann-Kristin detects an important shift in the nature of the support required of her team by customers.
“We’ve always done a lot of application engineering and been equipped and ready to deal with technical issues in the field,but now we are starting to do more product development design work. For that, we need our technical organisation to support us for tools, processes and expertise.”
Ann-Kristin points out that Cummins in Europe is working with a number of small and medium-sized original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) that typically do not have the same technical resources enjoyed by larger manufacturers, “so they are more reliant on us coming up with the right technical advice, telling them about different solutions.
“We have to give them the knowledge and the confidence that we can help them navigate through the transition phase, so it really is essential we understand these new technologies.”
Jonathan agrees big changes are ahead and more collaboration will be required. “In the past in our industries the answer was typically always a diesel or natural gas engine of some shape or form.
“There was some tailoring but not huge variation in terms of the core technology. Looking ahead, there will be no ‘one technology suits all’ solution. Whether it’s diesel, gasoline, hydrogen internal combustion engine, a fuel cell, or battery – it will be considered in Cummins’ portfolio of solutions.
“I think it’s fair to say our customers don’t always know the right answer to manage the decarbonisation transition at the right pace to keep them profitable, meet their business objectives and maintain regulatory compliance.
“Many of the skilled Cummins engineers and technicians who learned their trade on combustion engines will transition their skills into new technology solutions ”
“They are looking to us to tell them what we think is the right answer, the right technology solution. And after selecting the technology, they naturally assume they will get the same support from the distribution business unit (DBU) as they had with diesel in the past.
“Having the DBU is definitely a competitive advantage for Cummins. In these new technology areas, you have a significant number of start-ups, entering the market with batteries or fuel cells, but the thing that takes the time to set up is a distribution network like the one we have established with our core product over decades.”
Cummins is in a uniquely strong position, being represented in every European country either though a Cummins-owned distributor or local country or specialised dealer.
“Aftermarket support is critical with any new technology,” says Ann-Kristin. “You don’t just deliver the upfront product, you have to be able to support it through its lifecycle. That’s how you build the confidence that is so vital to long-term success.”
Skills and capabilities
Jonathan expects many of the skilled Cummins engineers and technicians who learned their trade on combustion engines will transition their skills into new technology solutions. “There’s this view that internal combustion engine technology is old and obsolete, and you are going to need new skills and new people to deal with future technologies,” he says.
“I don’t buy into that thinking. We have people who work on complex engines that are ready to deploy their skills and capability on learning new products and how to support and engineer them.”
Jonathan says there’s a steady stream of people transferring their skills across from the core business into Accelera™ by Cummins, the zero-emissions technologies business segment of Cummins.
Cummins has also made acquisitions to bring in capability and skills from outside.
“As things evolve and change, we need more skills in certain areas, such as software, controls, cyber security and electro chemistry. These are growth areas and they are challenging.”
Jonathan says he is always on the hunt for talent. “For me, it starts from how we encourage more young people to get involved with STEM subjects, but there are also great opportunities for people working in our business who can transfer their skills to the new areas of growth.”
Ann-Kristin says the growth of Cummins in Europe means more products in the field requiring engineering and service technical support.
She endorses Jonathan’s view that more partnerships need to be built with schools. “We want young people to get to know Cummins and appreciate there’s more to us than diesel. It’s important to pitch ourselves as leading the energy transition, which is something that excites them.
“We also want them to get to know our culture as much as our technology, because that is the thing that makes Cummins a great place to start and build a career.”
