Thought Leadership Forum on Services and Solutions for Alabama Equipment Manufacturers and Providers


person presenting at a conference
Where: Bryant Conference Center

When: Wednesday, August 7th, 2019 from 9 A.M. – 4 P.M.

Who: Alabama equipment manufacturers and providers

What: A day of discussion about the competitiveness and future challenges of the sector, bringing together leading industry and academic perspectives on the increasing role of services and solutions for business models in manufacturing driven by the continuing digitalization of production, assembly, and logistics as part of Industry 4.0 and the associated opportunities and challenges.

Executives of the Alabama equipment manufacturing industry are coming together for a Thought Leadership Forum on Services and Solution at the Culverhouse College of Business.

The forum takes place Wednesday, August 7, 2019 at the Bryant Conference Center on The University of Alabama campus and features an agenda full of presenters from major companies located in Alabama including DESHAZO and Mercedes-Benz International as well as from leading international service research centers including the Cambridge Service Alliance (UK), the Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State University, Queen Mary University of London (UK), the University of Paderborn (Germany), and the Culverhouse College of Business at The University of Alabama. Companies will share how they incorporate services and solutions in their business models and operations, and academic experts will present some of the latest research on digital transformation and service-led growth in manufacturing.

The Forum aims to provide a stimulus for a continued dialogue between industry and academia in Alabama by identifying and developing engagement formats that facilitate knowledge creation as well as sharing on topics important to the competitiveness of Alabama industries.

Agenda

Time Event
9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Coffee & Welcome
STATE OF THE ART
9:15 – 9:45 a.m. Sebastian Forkmann (Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama)
Role and state of the Alabama manufacturing sector
9:45 – 11:30 a.m.
(Including coffee break)
Andreas Eggert (University of Paderborn, Germany)
Stephan Henneberg (Queen Mary University of London & Cambridge Service Alliance, UK)

  • Managing service growth in manufacturing
  • Digital transformation for successful service infusion in manufacturing
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Tray Ivey (Executive Vice President, Services, DESHAZO, AL)
A supplier’s perspective on services and solutions in manufacturing
12:15 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. Lunch (provided)
1:15 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Jim Cochran (Associate Dean for Research, Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama)
Welcome
1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. Markus Weber (Project Manager, Mercedes-Benz US International, AL)
A customer’s perspective on services and solutions in manufacturing
LOOKING FORWARD
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
(Including coffee break)
Tom Baker (Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama)
Nancy Sirianni (Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama & Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State University)
Understanding seamless sales/service delivery through the customer journey
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Sebastian Forkmann (Culverhouse College of Business, The University of Alabama)
Discussion & Outlook: Alabama alliance of equipment manufacturers
3:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Tour of Mal Moore Athletic Complex with Senior Associate Athletics Director Jon Dever

 

Speakers

Tom Baker, Ph.D. is Professor of Marketing and Doctoral Program Coordinator at The University of Alabama. Tom’s research interests relate to the management of the interactions between front line employees and customers in service settings. In addition to having worked with multinational organizations, he has taught graduate, undergraduate, and Executive Education courses at multiple universities in the United States as well as in Spain, England, Belgium, Croatia, Italy, and Latvia. Tom has published research articles in the top journals in the Marketing discipline and is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Service Research and the International Journal of Management Reviews, two highly ranked journals.

Andreas Eggert, Ph.D. is Chair Professor of Marketing at The University of Paderborn in Germany. He has been a Visiting Scholar at the University of Sydney in Australia, the University of Toulouse in France, and the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia. Andreas’ research interests focus on strategies for the creation and appropriation of value in business relationships. With more than 9.000 Google Scholar citations, his articles are among the most influential research publications in their domain. Andreas has consulted and trained large corporations as well as mid-sized companies and he has taught academic courses at the Ph.D., Executive, Master, and Bachelor level in Germany, France, Australia, Slovenia, and Finland.

Sebastian Forkmann, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Marketing at The University of Alabama. His research primarily focuses on business relationships, in particular with business customers or suppliers, and how firms can leverage these relationships in order to stay competitive in fast-changing business environments. One main strand of his research focuses on industrial services in the context of innovative business models of traditionally manufacturing-oriented firms. He is currently collaborating with several industry partners on those topics. Sebastian has published in leading international journals and he has received awards for both his research and teaching.

Stephan Henneberg, Ph.D. is Chair Professor of Marketing and Strategy at Queen Mary University of London, UK. He is a Visiting Academic Fellow at the Cambridge Service Alliance, University of Cambridge, UK. Before coming back to academia, he worked in senior positions as a management consultant with A.T. Kearney and McKinsey & Co. Stephan’s research interests are in the areas of business marketing and supply chain management, as well as business strategy, e.g. covering topics such as business relationships and networks, supply chain integration, and business model innovation through solutions and digitalization (industry 4.0). He has published more than 150 academic articles in leading international journals on these topics.

Tray Ivey, is Executive Vice President at DESHAZO with responsibility for the Company’s Service and Automation Groups. His duties include the development and execution of the Company’s strategic goals related to industrial equipment service, automation, installation and modernization. Mr. Ivey has identified geographic and strategic business development opportunities and recruited, hired and trained sales and operational personnel to improve equipment service coverage, market share and profitability. Mr. Ivey is a Certified Public Accountant and received his Master of Accountancy degree from the University of Alabama in 1998. Prior to being appointed as Executive Vice President, Mr. Ivey has served in various roles during his fifteen years with the Company, including Service Group President and Chief Financial Officer. DESHAZO is an industry-leading OEM of heavy-duty industrial overhead bridge cranes and fully integrated automation systems. With four manufacturing facilities in Alabama and over twenty service locations throughout the United States, DESHAZO provides material handling solutions to customers through a comprehensive program of custom equipment manufacturing, inspection, preventative maintenance, repair and upgrade.

Nancy Sirianni, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Marketing and currently holds the Jones Endowed Chair in Services Marketing at The University of Alabama. She is also a member of the Research Faculty of the Center for Services Leadership at Arizona State University. Nancy’s current research focuses on understanding and innovating the customer experience. She enjoys working closely with companies to help solve their pressing issues and has run field experiments with firms including IKEA, A&W Canada, Virgin Pulse, and Carpe Vino. Her industry background includes eight years of combined experience in consulting, marketing research, and service management with Accenture, BSI Consulting, and Insperity.

Markus Weber, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering and Business Economics, is a project manager at Mercedes-Benz US International. Over his 20-year tenure with Mercedes-Benz, Markus has worked at locations throughout Germany, Hungary, and the USA. Across his different roles, Markus has specialized in assembly integration of new vehicle types, ramp up support as well as equipment integration in assembly shops worldwide. Most recently, Markus is working on a first-time integration of a Sedan platform and an SUV platform within an existing assembly shop as part of the preparation phase for the production of electric vehicles in Alabama.

Contact

sebastian forkmann headshot

Sebastian Forkmann