Huisman: Translating digitalization to added value for customer is essential

Business Developments & Projects

January 5, 2024, by Aida Čučuk

“A lot of people talk about digitalization, but digitalization is not a purpose in itself, but it can be an enabler to meet changing customer demands,” said Maaike de Rover, Program Manager Digitalization, Huisman.

During the Huisman session at the Offshore Energy Exhibition & Conference (OEEC) 2023 in Amsterdam, De Rover discussed digitalization and Huisman’s approach to adding value to customers via digitalization.

According to De Rover, the sector is very innovative when it comes hardware, but in regard to digitalization, it is not ahead, and to answer why is that the case, De Rover said:

“Because we love physical products, and because the knowledge base within our industry is focused on the physical products and not the digital side yet. So, everyone knows we have to do it, but the main challenge is, I think, how to do it and what to do because there are so many opportunities. So, what do you do first and how do you find the right people to do it?”

In regard to stepping up the digitalization game, De Rover stated: “I do not believe that digitalization will replace our offline business, but it can help us to speed up to make things more efficient and to move towards, for example, from reactive maintenance towards predictive maintenance.”

To note, Huisman’s digitalization journey started three years ago in which they took a year to prepare. In that year, the company formed a customer advisory board, collaborating with them on the digitalization process, De Rover revealed.

The company went live with its digital platform, myHuisman, in 2022. The platform has five digital products: webshop, technical library, ticketing system, project module and data platform, which is to be developed in 2024.

De Rover said that the first three digital products are creating efficiency both for customers and the company, allowing the company to focus on value-adding activities for the customers, while the last two are creating new types of business models.

The manager also emphasized that human touch is not getting lost in the process: “All the stuff you don’t want to worry about are digitalized and automized, but not the context. So, you can actually talk with your customer about the ‘nice things’ such as innovative products…”

As for sharing the knowledge with the industry, De Rover concluded: “I think the only way we can really transform as an industry in the arena of digitalization is working together and sharing knowledge and expertise.”

Watch the full session “Huisman – It’s not about digital, it’s about staying relevant for your customers” in the video below: