Husqvarna


Building on innovationWith a new CEO in place, the consumer division of Husqvarna is aiming to expand on a culture of innovation in products and process alike, as Keith Regan learns. The name may not roll off the tongue of Americans just yet, but Sweden-based Husqvarna is already the worldÔÇÖs largest maker of outdoor power equipment, such as lawn mowers, chainsaws and portable garden trimmers and pruning tools, as well as a top provider of specialty cutting tools to the construction industry. As he ascends to the role of chief executive officer of the companyÔÇÖs Consumer Products North America division, which is based in Augusta, Georgia, Roger Leon intends to ensure that the Husqvarna name becomes synonymous with both product and process innovation and excellence. Leon has been with Husqvarna for 30 years and served as chief operating officer for 18 months before taking the CEO seat. The division already strives for operational excellence with a focus on meeting the needs of customers, he says. ÔÇ£That is something that is very much embedded in the culture here and will continue to be.ÔÇØ An area of increased focus will be innovation in general, he adds, both in terms of product innovation and process innovation. ÔÇ£That type of innovation is something the parent company has in its history and has made it a success, but it has not been as big a part of the consumer division,ÔÇØ Leon notes. ÔÇ£The professional and construction divisions and specialty areas such as irrigation have been highly innovative over the course of their history, and we want to continue to try and embed that more deeply inside the consumer products division.ÔÇØ To make that happen, Leon has been building the leadership framework and starting the important process of communicating the need to pay attention to innovation. Leon has hand-selected a team of leaders to create a product development group with close ties to the engineering and consumer research groups. ÔÇ£We have elevated that activity inside of our organization and brought it into the corporate office, where it has become part of the daily communication,ÔÇØ he says. Innovation is critical, he adds, because the expectations of consumers have been driven ever higher. He notes that the cutting-edge designs of consumer goods from the likes of Apple is just one example of how shoppers have been conditioned to expect better products in a range of areas. ÔÇ£More and more innovations are going to the consumer level in a lot of different industries and categories, and consumers are now looking for that from all the companies they do business with,ÔÇØ Leon notes. At Husqvarna, such innovations will include creating products that are more energy efficient or less polluting. ÔÇ£Green products, green features, all these things are very much in the consumerÔÇÖs mindset today, and a lot of the innovation will focus around that,ÔÇØ he says. Getting there will also require a focus on operational excellence. The parent company has been on a worldwide lean journey since the early 1980s, with a heavy emphasis on process controls. Training continues nonstop and touches all areas of the company, from how efficient the divisionÔÇÖs manufacturing facilities in Georgia, Arkansas and South Carolina can operate to how quickly the customer service call center employees can field and answer inquiries from product users. ÔÇ£ItÔÇÖs an endless journey. There is always waste in systems that can be eliminated and reduced, and variation from the accepted can always be worked on,ÔÇØ Leon points out. As initiatives move forward, the division will borrow on the experience of parent Husqvarna Group, which had 2007 sales of around $5.5 billion and which has successfully integrated a number of acquisitions in recent years (it was itself spun off from onetime parent Electrolux in 2006). Husqvarna runs several centers of innovation from which Leon will borrow ideas and talent as necessary to utilize the full capability of the Husqvarna Group for the consumer side of the business. Technology has been and will remain part of the answer as well, with Husqvarna working hard to leverage the data it collects from the point of sale all the way back to its interactions with suppliers.In fact, the division believes its supply chainÔÇöwhich has been buffeted by change and consolidation in recent years, as smaller, Tier 2 suppliers have been bought up by larger playersÔÇörepresents a significant competitive advantage in a field with relatively low barriers to entry. ÔÇ£Making the products doesnÔÇÖt represent a high barrier to entry for a lot of what we make and sell. What we have done better than our competitors is integrate our supply chain so we can take that information from the point of sale and weave it all the way back through channels and be more responsive to whatÔÇÖs occurring in the marketplace,ÔÇØ Leon says. ÔÇ£We can do things with very low inventory investments by taking that approach.ÔÇØ That flexibility and insight is important because the companyÔÇÖs product lineup includes a number of items that experience seasonal demand in much of North America, giving the company a narrow window to make adjustments to market conditions. The new CEO is confident that consumers will find their way to Husqvarna products that are innovative and well made, even in a more difficult economic environment and even if rival products on the shelf in a big-box retail store or a local distributor come with lower price tags. ÔÇ£In the end, I think consumers are looking for value. Even in challenging economic times, I donÔÇÖt think cost alone is whatÔÇÖs driving consumers. More than that goes into it. Consumers by and large are very intelligent in their purchases, and they will migrate to value,ÔÇØ Leon states. ÔÇ£Our mission has to be to provide that value in a way that also meets or exceeds their expectations for innovation.ÔÇØ Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *   ┬áFirst published August 2008