In 1980, when Grundfos developed a frequency converter which was controlled by a micro-processor, it became the first-ever pump company to introduce electronics in pumps. The extensive research and development resulted in the launch of X99 in 1991, which became the first intelligent pump in the world. The company’s journey of digitalisation started then. It has been nothing short of spectacular only because of the company’s will to grow consistently.
Over the years, both the company and its products have evolved and rightly adopted digitalisation. More than a decade ago, in 2004, Grundfos developed a technology that enabled text messages to be sent directly from its pumps to the pump owners. These messages contained information about the status of the pumps, essentially being an early facilitator of predictive maintenance. However, the product wasn’t commercialised then.
Later, a paradigm shift took place in the industry and predictive maintenance became a popular term. This feature is one among the top priorities at Grundfos now. Being the forerunner of advanced pump technology, it transformed itself into a conventional hardware giant fully capable of developing intelligent digital pumping solutions.
Today, Grundfos is the world’s top pump manufacturer, supplying water to almost 800 million people every day. A small enterprise that once commenced business from a basement employs around 18,500 people today and has established itself as a global leader in digital pump solutions with 83 companies located across the globe.
To enable digital transformation to the fullest across our worldwide operations, we have taken a highly customer-centric approach. We have made all digital customer interactions simpler, more integrated and effective. Realising the increasing competitive market, its approach was to transform its products from simple hardware to intelligent connected pump systems and thereby avoid the risk of commoditisation and the threat of low-cost suppliers. It used its strong engineering and technological capabilities to collect reams of data through pump sensors and connect it to a right solution, to gain numerous benefits.
Firstly, the massive amounts of data collected enables constant monitoring of the use and performance of each pump solution, to ensure preventive and predictive maintenance along with other services. Now the company is working towards developing pumps that might even be able to order their own spare parts, further lightening the workload for the user, while eliminating any downtime.
Secondly, the digital transformation of the products enables entirely new business opportunities and new product offerings that customers can choose from. One example is performance-based contracts wherein customers can pay for the benefits and business impact of the products and services that Grundfos provides.
Finally, the company looks forward to digitalising feedback collection directly from products, which can be used in improving the design and manufacturing processes going further, to benefit the customer.
The company has made huge advancements in terms of digitalisation over the years. For example, last year it launched SCALA2, a fully integrated water booster pump for domestic users. It features a built-in sensor that measures the discharge pressure at all times. With its intelligent pump control, SCALA2 automatically adjusts performance to both inlet pressure and water consumption in the home. If the pressure falls below the desired level, it boosts its operation immediately to compensate for the loss of pressure. SCALA2 is built with digital controls to provide perfect water pressure.
Grundfos iSOLUTIONS, another digital pump solution offering from Grundfos, provides a wide spectrum of intelligent products that when combined in accordance with your needs, creates a system that offers seamless integration. Whether you require a solution for a range of applications such as cooling or heating, pressure boosting, boiler feed or wastewater treatment, Grundfos iSOLUTIONS can meet all the application needs.
The Grundfos Product Centre puts all pump information at the customer’s fingertips via a simple online system. By simply entering search parameters as basic as head and flow, customers can find CAD drawings, instructional videos and service kits for all pumps that are appropriate for their specific installation.
Finally, the company also offers digitalised training through the Grundfos Ecademy, a free digital training tool and information platform that keeps you abreast of the latest developments within Grundfos and the pump industry. The Ecademy can be tailored specifically to your needs. This easy to use online tool offers you training tutorial videos, presentations and in-depth reports. You can browse on your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Despite advancements in the field of digitalisation of pump solutions, the company has no desire to toss away its core business – the production of durable hardware and path-breaking water technologies. Marianne K. Knudsen, Senior Director, Head of Digital Commercial Offerings in Grundfos, says: “We still believe that you need a pump to deliver water. That won’t go away. Digital bits and bytes can’t deliver anything but data. You still need the physical element, but you can do very much around the pumps and that’s what we’re really looking at today. This is where we would like to utilise digitalisation. We sell more than 16 million pumps a year and we’ve been in the market for a long time. We have a huge installed base out there where we could build other offerings than just delivering pump functionality. Ultimately, this will enable us to deliver better customer value and experiences.”
Through its journey of digitalisation, the company has learnt that there is no fixed formula for digital transformation and that hard work is the key. “We are geared up to constantly embrace this change with open arms and create intelligent and efficient pumping solutions for the digital age,” said the company sources.