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More so, thanks to digitalisation and the availability of connected solutions, we are moving ever closer to Industrie 4.0 and the Smart Factory. Cebeo is gearing its product portfolio and service to this today. The specialists of the Cebeo Competence Centre Industry are looking for solutions together with manufacturers and customers. The partnerships with Siemens and Schneider Electric should also be seen in this perspective. The company also consciously chooses to digitise its processes itself.
Cebeo (Waregem) has specialised in the distribution of electrical equipment, technical services and solutions for the residential, tertiary and industrial sectors for almost 100 years. It is a wholesaler of solutions for electrical installations, lighting, cable, HVAC, domestic appliances, security, home automation and industrial automation. “Especially in the field of this automation, there is a lot of movement today. We see clear trends, especially the move towards Industry 4.0 such as investment in IoT, remote control and operation, data logging on servers (cloud) and cybersecurity,” says Maarten Rood, Market Segment Manager Industry. “At the Hannover Messe some ten years ago, the new industrial revolution was already raised as a theme, but at that time hardly anyone was really ready for it. People have been talking about the Smart Factory and Big Data for years, but we see very few best practices. Large companies are often already taking steps, but SMEs can no longer see the wood for the trees and prefer to leave everything as it is. At Cebeo, we now want to build up the same competence as our suppliers in order to support this target group to make their machines and processes simpler, smarter and future-proof. In this way, we are taking the step from a distributor to a value-added reseller.‘
That is why Cebeo recently concluded strategic partnerships with Siemens and Schneider Electric. The wholesaler had been a Siemens distributor for automation, drive technology, low voltage and installation equipment for many years, but now the commitment from both sides is being reinforced. “The Approved Partnership (APP) implies that a team of Cebeo specialists receive thorough individual training from Siemens” experts, which in turn allows them to support customers with the same level of knowledge. After all, thanks to our excellent geographical spread, we are much closer to the customers than the manufacturer,“ explains COC Manager Industry Wouter Vierstraete. ”In a similar way, we approach the market for Schneider Electric, one of the leaders in the digital transformation of the industrial automation market. Indeed, as a certified Industrial Automation Distributor (IAD), we are a selected partner, with which the manufacturer works closely to provide a comprehensive service to customers from the industrial segment. This too was preceded by an intensive training programme. Thanks to their knowledge, our specialists can now help customers create smarter, connected, more flexible, efficient and safer machines, better analyse and then optimise the production process, prevent cyber attacks or give operators remote access to machines ... and these are just a few examples."
At Cebeo, they not only want to help customers automate and digitise. The distributor itself is also consciously choosing to further digitise its processes. “We inform our customers via webinars about new products and optimised functions of existing systems. Those customers can still visit our local branches, but can place their orders even faster via the Cebeo e-shop, in which they can also use the manufacturers” integrated configurators,“ indicates Rood. Vierstraete concludes: ”The way of training is also going through quite an evolution. Whereas until recently we organised half-day or full-day workshops for our customers, they can now use online training sessions of 15 minutes or 30 minutes on specific topics based on questions from the market: short and to-the-point."
