New Siemens chief stresses importance of partnerships
Siemens Thailand plans to grow its businesses through partnerships and customer support to accelerate their digital transformation and sustainability journeys, says new president and chief executive Ross Conlon.
Germany’s Siemens AG announced the appointment of Mr Conlon to the top post in January, following the retirement of Suwannee Singluedej. In this role, Mr Conlon oversees the company’s businesses in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos.
“We aim to support our customers to accelerate their digital transformation and sustainability journeys,” Mr Conlon told the Bangkok Post.
The future growth of businesses will be tied to the impact of their sustainability practices and offerings, he said.
Demand for intelligent and sustainable products and solutions increased substantially in 2023. A recent study conducted by McKinsey and NielsenIQ highlighted consumers shifting their spending towards products with ESG-related (environmental, social and governance) claims, he said.
Behind these claims is the actual contribution of such business practices to achieving their sustainability goals such as reducing carbon emissions across value chains.
“More than 90% of Siemens’ business today supports our customers on their digital transformation to achieve positive sustainability impacts. We help our customers reduce CO2 emissions and at the same time get more done with fewer resources.”
Mr Conlon said the company has the right technologies to support customers. One example is the Digital Twin, which enables strategies that combine the real and digital worlds. It is about bridging the gap between the two worlds, essentially creating a perfect digital replica of a physical product, process or system.
“Imagine, in the real world, you own a factory which consists of machines, assembly lines, manpower and so on. In the digital world, you create an exact copy of this factory on a computer, reflecting every machine, every line, manpower and others. This is your digital twin.
“You can use this digital twin to run simulations, predict problems before they occur, optimise efficiency and even experiment with changes before implementing them in the real world,” he said.
By combining the real and digital worlds, users get a powerful tool that helps them conserve physical resources, understand, analyse and improve the real operation efficiently while moving towards achieving sustainability goals.
GROWTH VIA PARTNERSHIPS
Mr Conlon said strong partnerships are crucial for Siemens’ success.
“We leverage global partnership locally where it is feasible,” he said.
Regarding the vision for its markets in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, Siemens focuses on creating technologies that transform the everyday, for everyone.
“Our goal is to elevate the community, the businesses and the lives of people in all aspects. Our focused areas include industries, infrastructure, mobility and healthcare which are the backbone of the economy.”
Siemens Thailand focuses on industries and infrastructure, he added.
For industries, it offers a comprehensive portfolio of software and automation technologies designed to help companies transform into fully integrated, digital enterprises. This allows them to integrate and digitalise their processes at every stage of the product life cycle and across the full value chain.
For infrastructure, it offers intelligent energy systems, grid infrastructure and digitalisation and Internet of Things solutions for utility providers.
“In addition, we also offer building technology solutions, with a focus on automation and digitalisation. This includes technologies for heating, cooling, ventilation and fire safety systems.”
Mr Conlon said in the building technology market, the data centre market is growing fast in Thailand. As businesses increasingly rely on data to drive decision-making, innovation and customer satisfaction, the need for reliable, secure and efficient data storage and processing facilities has never been higher.
According to KPMG, Thailand’s data centre market will grow by 27% between 2019 and 2026.
“Our building technology solutions can also be tailored to sectors such as pharmaceutical research and production sites, manufacturing plants and commercial buildings. Moreover, we also offer charging infrastructure for electric vehicles and electrical products for consumers.”
DIVERSE PORTFOLIOS
While multiple factors from slowing economies to geopolitical conflicts are affecting local businesses, he said Siemens Thailand has a diversified setup with different businesses and different customers in different industries.
The company also fosters cross-sector expansion to create new businesses, Mr Conlon added.
“In the past few years, we have transformed our supply chains to make them more diverse, creating a better balance between global and local supply chains. In some cases, creating shorter supply chains may have a lower carbon footprint.”
RESKILLING AND UPSKILLING
He said local policymakers should expedite the digitalisation of businesses, irrespective of their size or nature, enhancing access to technologies that facilitate this transformation.
“In enhancing digital competitiveness, it is crucial to prioritise reskilling and upskilling the workforce in technical and digital literacy,” he said.
“At the policy level, a proactive approach involves preparing the future workforce by ensuring the integration of relevant skills into the education programme from an early age, extending beyond the graduate or undergraduate level,” Mr Conlon said.