Category Lounge: Story in the 5/2022 Issue of the German Trade Magazine 'O+P Fluidtechnik'

Mark Wever is Chief Digital Officer at Stauff Global. His view of digitalisation goes beyond the IO-Link. However, in his eyes, digitalisation is not an end in itself, but rather a means to improve customer focus and thus create added value. He spoke to O+P Fluidtechnik about the opportunities for the hydraulic sector associated with this. As I originally come from the Sauerland region, I was already aware of the STAUFF Group as a family-owned, global mid- sized company. In 2010, I was looking for a new career chal- lenge in a company with potential and opportunities for per- sonal development and that’s how I got in contact with STAUFF. To date, this industry has felt very international and varied to me. I particularly like the down-to-earth and ap- As Global Chief Digital Officer, you have initiated an education programme – why is that so important for STAUFF? DIGITAL BUSINESS MODELS HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL IN HYDRAULICS PEOPLE AND MARKETS proachable nature of the people I deal with. Furthermore, the sectors in which hydraulics are used are so varied with so many different applications, from agricultural machinery to oil rigs, that bring you into contact with so many different busi- ness partners around the world. And, last but not least, the hydraulics industry offers great potential for new, specifically digital business models that offer our customers added value. Digitalisation is still a major task for industry. For many companies, it means collecting and interpreting data. Does the same apply to the hydraulics and connection technology sector? Definitely. Every manufacturing company produces mass- es of data along the entire value chain. The ultimate chal- lenge is to organise this data and make it usable to enable you to derive knowledge from it. Customer benefits and competitive advantages can then be derived from this. We’re not just talking about machine data here. For in- stance, if I fully track and interpret customer interaction on my ecommerce platform, then I obtain direct and, above all, unfiltered customer feedback that I can then use to improve my services. Mr Wever, how did you end up in the hydraulic and connection technology sector? What do you like about this sector? O+P Fluidtechnik 2022/05  www.oup-fluidtechnik.de We have developed a digital and interactive learning platform with our STAUFF University that imparts knowledge through e-learning courses. This is aimed, firstly, at customers operat- ing in the mechanical and plant engineering sector who wish to understand the major interrelationships within fluid tech- nology or deepen their technical expertise. The information on our product groups and their functions is also well received by installers and project managers. We have received positive feedback from merchants and even buyers who use the plat- form to find out about components and prepare for discus- sions with suppliers or service providers. Installation, usage and maintenance are crucial for the perfor- mance of a hydraulic system. However, there is major potential for error in this, which can be considerably reduced by educat- ing and qualifying employees. The more competent users are, the safer are their hydraulic systems. STAUFF is more than just a full-line supplier for the components of hydraulic lines and deals with the entire line system. Offering the relevant special- ist knowledge is therefore consistent with this approach. The STAUFF University is part of our publicly accessible digital platform and is available to any interested parties, as are our live streams. FLUID TECHNOLOGY