Consistent with its strategic vision of innovating for customers to power their success, Cummins is constantly looking for new ways to serve its customer base. Therefore, it has implemented the Dealer model in Angola, Mozambique and Zimbabwe, with six new Dealers appointed as a result.

“We are committed to serving our customer base in the Southern African region through our new channel partners giving them the capability to provide end-of-mile support,” explains Racheal Njoroge, MD Cummins Southern Africa. Cummins utilises this partnership model globally, with thousands of Dealers appointed around the world, “hence it is not something new we are introducing to the region.”

“We are thrilled to welcome all our new partners to the Cummins Distribution Business, which spans over 190 countries globally,” comments Patrice Ndzana, General Manager: Cross Border Business Southern Africa. “The focus is to ensure that efficient and reliable product supply and support is offered to our customers while extending our footprint, enabling territory coverage and capable networks.”

Cummins’ main path to market is through its distribution channels, fully or wholly owned entities, joint venture partnerships, independent distributors, or Dealers. “In terms of these three countries, we are now transitioning to that Dealer support model,” highlights Njoroge. From a footprint perspective, Cummins is not reducing its coverage as a result. “It is very important for our customers to understand that we are not exiting these countries.”

The benefits of appointing dealers compared to having a brick-and-mortar presence in-country is the added flexibility it affords Cummins in responding to customer requirements. “These entities are highly entrepreneurial and have a lot of inherent agility due to being involved with our customers at ground level,” adds Njoroge. “From a Cummins perspective, we are here to provide power solutions that empower our customers’ success.”

All the new partners have been provided with the necessary training to familiarise them with Cummins’ processes and procedures. Parts availability and technical training are critical elements of Cummins’ superior service, which the Dealer will continue to provide, in addition to escalated support being available from the Cummins technical team. “This allows for a smooth transition in terms of customer support,” stresses Njoroge.

Two local Dealers have been appointed for each of the three countries to ensure that Cummins has an extensive and flexible network suited for local market requirements and will allow for future growth. Mining and power generation remain the biggest growth markets for Cummins in the region, followed by marine, oil & gas, construction and automotive. “Such diversification has stood us in good stead in the Southern Africa region, where our strategy has been to continue to service our customers, despite any prevailing volatility or uncertainty in the region,” highlights Ndzana.

The Southern Africa region is serviced by the Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Johannesburg, which oversees the supply chain for the entire Dealer network, from parts to filtration and whole goods (engines and gensets). In addition, the Master Rebuild Centre is a critical pillar of Cummins’ 24/7 support and back-up operation for the mining industry, reinforced by the training centre which ensures that all Cummins technicians are fully trained and up to date with the latest technology.

In terms of the global disruption due to Covid-19, Ndzana says that Cummins is conducting extensive demand planning. “Essentially, we are investing ahead of demand to ensure we have adequate availability of parts and spares centrally at our RDC, ensuring satisfactory distribution to our dealer network. While supply chain issues remain a major challenge, we work around the clock to alleviate any constraints that we may encounter.”

Deren Moodley, Power Generation Dealer Manager, Cross Border Southern Africa, says that both the transition period and onboarding process have proven relatively seamless to date. “It is important to promote business continuity to retain the confidence of our customers. Moodley says that Mozambique and Angola in particular, are anticipated to be major markets for power generation. “We adopt a cohesive, team-based approach to any opportunities, which allows us to introduce our customers to other parts of the business such as our aftermarket segment,” he points out.

“It is important to note that we continue to be part of the conversation with all stakeholders. We are an integral part of the success of our end users, our OEM partners and our Dealers. The Dealer model in these countries will enable everyone to be more successful at the end of the day,” stresses Njoroge. It also allows Cummins to leverage new technology in the region as the continent keeps apace with the accelerating Fourth Industrial Revolution.

“Southern Africa remains key to the success of Cummins’ presence on the continent, with a significant part of our business in Africa is currently derived from this region. It is therefore paramount for us to continue along this growth journey. It is also imperative to remind our customers that we would not have a presence here if it were not for their valued business. The new model is not to detract from this support but will essentially go a long way to enabling a more agile and speedy service offering, and an appropriate value proposition for our customers in Southern Africa. Our highly dependable engines are there to get the job done and to ensure maximum uptime,” concludes Njoroge.

The new dealers appointed in the Southern Africa region are as follows:

Angola

• Namib Diesel CC
• Máquínas e Tractores de Angola, Lda dba M.T.A

Mozambique

• S A Tube & Honing (Pty) Ltd T/A TSM Engineering Sociedade Unipessaol Limitada
• Equator Equipamentos, SA

Zimbabwe

• Applied Diesel & Power (Private) Limited
• Machinery Exchange (Private) Limited