Pictures of the Future      Spring 2008

Inside Corporate Account Management

Interview with Thomas Dieckhoff

Thomas Dieckhoff, 55, has been the Siemens Corporate Account Manager (CAM) for the world’s leading chemicals company, BASF, in Ludwigshafen since 2002. Dieckhoff, who has a Masters Degree in Engineering, has worked for Siemens since 1980, most recently as the spokesman for the Chemical Industry sector team. He’s one of more than 100 Siemens CAMs who support companies such as Coca-Cola, Daimler, and Shell.

What are your responsibilities as Corporate Account Manager for BASF?

Dieckhoff: Primarily, I serve as BASF’s contact partner for all solutions offered by Siemens. I therefore also examine Siemens’ extensive portfolio to find the technologies BASF needs. In this regard, I have to make sure that Siemens understands and can meet BASF’s requirements, even when these don’t exactly correspond to a specific standard solution. To me, corporate account management means getting my own company to focus more and more on the customer. So you could also say that I act somewhat like an advocate for BASF vis a vis my own employer.

What type of skills did you need to have in order to be selected for your position as a CAM?

Dieckhoff: In general, an account manager has to have a great deal of experience working for Siemens, as well as the ability to deliver the right technologies to a specific customer. That means a CAM needs to have worked in diverse fields. He or she must also understand people and possess the necessary leadership experience, because as an account manager, you need to bring together people with different interests and cultural backgrounds. A good CAM makes both sides of the argument clear and reconciles opposing interests.

What sort of added value do you offer your customer, BASF, and your employer, Siemens?

Dieckhoff: There are two types of added value here. For BASF, it’s important to know who to turn to for consultation on all issues relating to Siemens products and services—and the person they come to is me. At the same time, my team and I provide added value to Siemens by striving to ensure that each project we conduct also pays off for the company.

How do you determine what BASF needs?

Dieckhoff: In order to analyze BASF’s requirements, I first need to understand the company. This isn’t always easy if, like me, you’re not a chemist. When I talk to the head of Technical Plastics at BASF about future plans and projects, for example, I need to have a basic understanding of that field. To obtain such an understanding, I consult with the appropriate Siemens specialists, such as those at Corporate Technology. The knowledge I gain in this manner enables me to better understand what BASF wants and needs.

How do you go about comparing all this information with available Siemens products in order to come up with the right package for BASF?

Dieckhoff: With knowledge and experience, whereby I get a lot of help from the Chemicals Solutions Market Development Board at Siemens—a body whose members consist of representatives from different Siemens divisions. These members meet to discuss and develop products, systems, and solutions for the chemical industry. The board provides me with a quick and simple overview of the latest technologies available, and also offers me the specialized support I need in order to present these solutions in a professional manner.

What kinds of solutions has Siemens provided for BASF?

Dieckhoff: Just recently, we delivered a Simatic PCS 7 process control system to BASF in the U.S. The system included a 15-year Life Cycle Service agreement. But there’s a lot more in the Siemens portfolio that we can offer BASF, like products and services from the Mobility Division. At its Ludwigshafen headquarters, BASF operates one of Germany’s largest freight rail stations, for which Siemens, among other things, supplied switching devices and automatic train control systems. So as you can see, even divisions that appear to have little to do with chemicals are also quite active in business with BASF.

What’s the difference between your job and the work carried out by other account managers?

Dieckhoff: There are some big differences. For example, some account managers work for only one division and customer. Others deal with the entire Siemens portfolio, but are responsible for customers with only one or two locations. We, on the other hand, represent eight divisions and have offices at six BASF locations around the world. So the differences in what we do individually are sometimes extreme.

What could be improved at Siemens Corporate Account Management?

Dieckhoff: In my opinion, we account managers need to have stronger ties with the various Siemens units and regions. Such links will definitely be easier to establish with the new sectors and an associated consolidation of Siemens’ business operations. That’s why I’m confident we’ll be seeing improvements here very soon.

                                                               Interview conducted by Sebastian Webel