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Our marketing and sales colleagues worldwide are experiencing a knowledge boost at the ComEx Academy. After just the first session in the Americas region, it is already clear that the cross-BU work teams are bursting with energy and drive, developing new solutions for customers. Some projects are already being implemented.

In LANXESS’s home country, the third year of recession is drawing to a close—and the outlook remains challenging. “We live in a volatile world. We have to accept that and adapt,” says CEO Matthias Zachert. “What we need now is courageous action,” he adds. In his view, the right tools are already in our hands: we know what needs to be done. Zachert highlights three key priorities—full focus on the customer, the continued advancement of economically promising innovations, and the consistent implementation of the initial findings and measures from the Excellence program. All of this can only succeed if the company tackles these tasks together: “Break down BU and GF boundaries! The focus should not be on the microcosm of individual divisions, but on the progress of the entire Group. The future belongs to ONE LANXESS.”

With this guiding principle in mind, the Commercial Excellence initiative placed customers at the center and launched the Academy. In the United States, around 90 marketing and sales managers from the Americas region have already taken part. The feedback was enthusiastic. “It wasn’t just a training course—it was more of a transformation,” one participant remarked. Another described it as the start of an entirely new mindset.

This is how Regional Sales Manager Jefferson Goncalves, BU PLA, describes his growth project, which he presented to his cross-BU team at the Academy. To date, the PLA business unit has sold the plasticizer Adimoll® exclusively to industrial customers. “But for some time now, it has been clear to me that it would also be an excellent fit for the consumer market,” Goncalves explains. “It can be used in sunscreens, skincare products, decorative cosmetics, nail varnishes, as well as hair and body care products.” While the market is already crowded with plasticizers, Goncalves stresses the sustainability advantages of this emollient: “It offers very good biocompatibility and solubility, our molecule can replace silicones, is readily biodegradable and fully REACH-compliant.” With a purification process that is easy to implement, all standards of the cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries can be met.

The entire PLA team had been aware of this potential for around two years. The challenge, however, was that the PLA sales organization and its distributors were focused on industrial customers, not on the consumer market. At the Academy, Kent McDaniel, Head of Sales Intermediates at BU F&F, immediately recognized the opportunity as a member of Goncalves’ ComEx team. “This is an excellent product with chemistry that fits perfectly into our portfolio. We have strong contacts in the consumer market and were immediately impressed,” says McDaniel. The team is now planning the next steps together.

So far, the team has carried out detailed market analyses and held discussions with distributors and customers. “In all of these discussions, we compare our previous assessments,” says McDaniel. The business units intend to bring Adimoll® to market in Brazil first. “This plasticizer, di-butyl adipate, is already widely used there. That would make market entry easier. Mexico also meets these criteria.” The United States, by contrast, is considered a very mature market. There may be interest, but only a few product launches are expected. “We need to conduct further research to determine whether there is sufficient willingness among customers to switch and whether consumers increasingly prefer silicone-free plasticizers and place greater value on sustainability.” At the same time, the U.S. remains a key target market due to its overall potential. There is already good news: only internal conformity validation is required for approval by the FDA. A suitable distributor with strong customer connections has also been identified. “US Chemicals is a mid-sized distributor, which makes the company agile and flexible,” says McDaniel.

The team is approaching the project with great enthusiasm. Europe and Asia are also firmly on the radar. “In Europe and Germany, we are working closely with Beiersdorf. If they submit the approval and we receive it, that would of course be ideal,” says Goncalves.

Other BUs Follow Suit

The cross-functional team sees substantial long-term opportunities in this collaborative approach. Following Goncalves’ initiative, it emerged that LAB has around 20 products that could be suitable for the consumer market. “Nine of them are ready to be launched directly,” says Goncalves. Some of these products are currently designed for the aviation industry. “The requirements in that sector are extremely high. That’s why the transition to the consumer market is relatively straightforward,” he explains.

Goncalves admits he had to laugh when he pitched just one product—only to see LAB suddenly with a large pipeline. But he was the pioneer who got the ball rolling. “We would not have done this without him,” says McDaniel. “We sensed in our teams and through the coaching that this was a real breakthrough for us. Cross-BU collaboration is opening up so many new business ideas. The knowledge we are now sharing is also helping us in other areas. It was truly a very motivating experience.”

Based on many studies, Paul G. Stoltz has developed a concept of how we can successfully overcome resistance and grow from it.

Stoltz takes his audience by the hand and shows them how to proceed in difficult situations. With the CORE questions, a situation can be analyzed and thus made manageable:

Ownership: Where and how can we take action to achieve the fastest possible effect?

Reach: What can we do to minimize the potential disadvantages and maximize the advantages?

Stoltz has also developed special tools for managers. Especially in economically challenging situations, these LEAD questions help team leaders motivate their teams to move from inaction to action. First, they work with the team to establish the facts. This alone creates clarity. The clear view provided by the questions leads to the discovery of new areas of growth – specifically those that arise from this particular situation. This creates unexpected opportunities that can lead to greater economic success than was conceivable before the situation arose.

The Academy starts with e-learning courses for the marketing and sales teams. This is followed by a two-day live seminar. Here, the knowledge acquired is not only deepened, but also supplemented by coaching from Paul Stoltz (see info box). He gives colleagues the mental tools they need to discover opportunities and possibilities for LANXESS, especially in difficult economic situations. During these two days, participants in cross-BU teams develop intrinsically motivated growth projects from four core areas.

The following 90 days are really exciting: the teams continue to pursue their projects, apply their newly acquired knowledge and receive regular support from business coaches. At the end, they present their projects to the Operational Committee, which decides on the next steps.

Some of these growth projects, which were pursued in the USA, have already proven to be groundbreaking for LANXESS.

Rob Castaneda, Marketing Manager BU MPP from Pittsburgh, says: “The Academy has opened up new opportunities for us. We now know how we can work with our colleagues at PLA to advise our mutual customers more efficiently and profitably for all sides. We also had a meeting with one of our mutual customers. This cross-BU collaboration will take LANXESS as a whole to a new level.”

These cross-BU teams in the Americas region have generated so many new projects that they fill 150 densely written pages. For example, it became apparent that there are industry segments that are served by several BUs. What was missing, however, was a customer-oriented approach under the motto “One LANXESS.” One project that emerged from the Academy targets the energy segment (oil and gas industry) in the North American market. This segment uses drilling and completion applications as well as lubricants from various BUs. In the project, participants focus on knowledge transfer between the MPP, PLA, LAB, and AII business units in order to tap into growth opportunities.

For this knowledge transfer, the BUs exchange information about who their most important customers are and define common target customers. What are the customer needs? And what cross-business or cross-divisional product portfolio can LANXESS offer customers in the energy segment? Ultimately, every sales colleague should know what the other BUs offer and do. “Such practical use cases allow what has been learned to become second nature,” says Rolf Haselhorst, who oversees the ComEx Academy project. This includes using the tools and collaborating with colleagues from other BUs, but also training a new mindset.

want to boost your knowledge at the ComEx Academy? Then apply for a place by email. Applicants are nominated jointly by ComEx and the business units: