EBS’s Lucky Seven
In keeping with its new company strategy, Ensto has split into two business units. Ensto Building Systems is taking it even further and dividing itself seven ways.
Seven is significant. In Christian scripture, seven symbolizes completion or perfection. There are seven notes in the musical scale. The phases of the moon last seven days. Osiris led his father through seven halls. Seven is a prime number. Seven is thought to be lucky and is most named as a favorite number by people everywhere in the world.
With all that fortune on its side, Ensto Building Systems (EBS) consists of seven product areas: Lighting, Residential Electrification, Industrial Electrifications, Cable Management, Cabling Systems, EV charging, and Marine. The reason? Because specialists win.
Specialists win
Jackie Joyner-Kersee is undeniably a great athlete. She's among the all-time greatest athletes in the heptathlon. She's won six Olympic medals and was voted by Sports Illustrated for Women magazine as the Greatest Female Athlete of All-Time. But in the seven events that comprise the heptathlon, she holds not a single world record. In fact, the record holder in a single athletic event always performs better than the world’s best heptathlete.
Some athletes are good at both, of course, but even they can get distracted. Barbora Špotáková, the world's greatest javelin thrower, also happens to hold the hepathalon javelin record. But she threw more than ten meters farther when she wasn't forced to do six other things. (Špotáková's javelin world record is 72.28 meters, but her best in the heptathlon – also a record – is 60.90 meters.)
EBS knows that a jack of all trades is a master of none, and so it’s giving its specialists the opportunity to specialize. Each product area has its own business owner. What to sell and where to sell it is that director's decision. EBS’s salesforce will also be divided among seven areas. And the entire staff has focus and aim: a crystal clear understanding of who they work for and what they’re to do.
The customer wins, too
"For each of our seven product areas we'll have the best specialists in the industry to talk to," says Jukka Tiitu, President and Managing Director of EBS. “A lighting customer, for example, will get connected to a lighting specialist, whether in sales, product management, or tech support.”
When a product area is present in a market, it means that customers can count on full lifecycle support. "EV charging is good example,” says Tiitu. “The work doesn’t end with the purchase of the unit. We don’t take the money and say 'Thank you very much, good luck.' We want to be absolutely sure that if we’re building up the infrastructure with the customer that we can be there with him/her for the lifecycle period of the product."
The magic of “7”
Just as in athletics, a great service and support team must back up the athletes. It’s the only way to reach maximum potential. As part of EBS, the seven product areas will get this support. Service, support, and specialization are the future.
“In the grand scheme of things these seven areas will make EBS greater than the sum of its parts,” says Tiitu. “Lighting is important. EV charging is important. The seven areas are what's important, and it's the product areas that will change the business.”