From the start of April, Eurocopter has adopted a new customer-focused organization. On 3 April 2006, the Vital Project, which was launched at the end of 2005, created a new organization to restructure Eurocopter. The customer is the lynchpin of this new organization, which will channel all the company’s efforts with the clientele in mind, and provide them with innovative and effective solutions. Consequently, a Customer Directorate has been created, which – as the name indicates – is fully responsible for managing customer relations.

With Philippe Harache at its head, this new directorate comprises three major sectors responsible for customer relations, market development, and commercial operations. Each customer now has a personal contact: the Key Account Manager (KAM). Not only does the KAM manage the accounts but he also guarantees that all the actions necessary for satisfying customer’s requirements are being performed within the company. In the areas where the KAM cannot be permanently on-hand, another function has also been created: the Field Representative.

This key figure will be the customer’s confidant on a daily basis and will demonstrate the customer’s vital importance to Eurocopter. A customer satisfaction unit has also been tasked with referring the main problems encountered in this field to top-level management, and with monitoring the in-depth improvement actions.

Proposals Closely Matching the Customer’s Economic Model
Next up, the Market Development sector must also anticipate changes to the market as well as customer expectations so that specific offers can be proposed for each market segment, to match as closely as possible the customer’s economic model. At the heart of this system, the Key Segment Manager (KSM) oversees a market segment and provides an overall vision and specialist support to the KAM. Finally, the Commercial Operations unit harnesses all the cross-sector functions and tools that the KAM needs in terms of commercial policy, offer preparation, sales administration, commercial network and support, and exports control, to name but a few.