Customers*
The KION Group’s business model is designed so that customers of all sizes and from all sectors can obtain the full spectrum of material handling products and services from a single source. Customer centricity and a firm focus on customer requirements are also enshrined in the KION Group’s vision of being the best company in the world at understanding its customers’ material handling needs and providing them the right, sustainable solutions.
The KION Group is a global player operating in many customer sectors and enjoys established relationships with its customers. It aims to extend these relationships through joint development projects and other initiatives. Another important lever is the sales organization that ensures the KION Group has the necessary proximity to its customers in all the key markets worldwide. It achieves this both through its own resources and through partnerships. In addition, cross-brand and cross-segment development and sales activities are intended to unlock the potential for cross-selling between individual product categories.
The Industrial Trucks & Services segment has a diversified customer base. Customers range from large key accounts with global operations to small and medium-sized enterprises.
The Supply Chain Solutions segment seeks to maintain long-standing customer relationships with major players in a range of sectors. Specific solutions are intended to help Dematic to further consolidate its position in key customer industries, most notably general merchandise, grocery retail, clothing, and food and beverage.
In the reporting year, the KION Group and its brand companies again used trade fairs and other industry events to maintain relationships with customers and present its various material flow solutions. The virtual formats and online events continued as well.
The KION Group’s stand at the 2023 LogiMAT logistics trade fair in Stuttgart reflected its cross-brand approach. Dematic, STILL, and Linde Material Handling showcased various product innovations and demonstrated in a joint presentation how equipment such as pallet stackers, palletizers and depalletizers, and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) can be integrated in one solution in order to manage and fully automate material flows. STILL also presented the KION Group’s VDA 5050 control system for automated guided vehicle systems at the 2023 IFOY Test Days and at the automatica trade fair in Munich.
Last but not least, the KION Group brand companies won further accolades for their product quality and innovation. Dematic was named ‘Voice Partner of the Year’ for the Asia-Pacific region by Honeywell, while STILL’s hand-operated pallet truck series EXH-14-20-Plus picked up an IFOY award in the ‘warehouse trucks lowlifter’ category in 2023.
* The content of this chapter/section is disclosed voluntarily and is therefore unaudited.