Industry Class in New Orleans on CTO trend
As a platinum partner in Europe, Cadac is one of the largest resellers of Autodesk's design, engineering and construction software. However, winning a spot among the many dozens of so-called classes during Autodesk University is not easy.
'Certainly not,' says Mischa van Brandwijk, Customer Success Manager at Cadac. 'No presents are handed out. We have submitted several applications in the past, but the selection is very strict. This year, there were over 2,000 applications to pitch. We first sent an extensive proposal, then explained it and in the spring we got the green light. Fantastic, because we could then present ourselves as Cadac to a whole international audience. A great opportunity.'
Configure to Order as an unmistakable trend
Not that it should be a "PR talk", adds consultantive sales Dennis Vriese. 'Content is leading. The audience consists purely of specialists looking for innovations and trends in the market. They want to hear something they do not yet know. We chose to highlight Configure to Order. An undeniable trend, both in industry and construction. With Cadac, we have gained considerable experience with this among various customers in recent years. And with success. We were keen to share that.'
After the confirmation from the US in April, Mischa and CTO specialist Marcel de Goey went to work. Not only did they put together a thorough presentation with some 40 slides, Autodesk also made a professional video recording to share afterwards via socials and with visitors to the Autodesk University website. 'We put many hours into it,' Mischa looks back. 'We even shot the video at 4:30 in the morning in Vianen to meet the deadline.'
Autodesk Industry Class in New Orleans
On the second day of the conference in New Orleans, the 28th of September, it had to happen. 'At eight o'clock in the morning,' says Marcel de Goey, who made the presentation together with Dennis in front of a room with over a hundred interested people. 'Of course we were slightly nervous but we knew that with a good story, several rehearsals and with light and sound tested, we had everything under control. Americans are critical. There are dozens of parallel sessions at a time like this, people can switch or go for a coffee in no time. Fortunately, that was not the case. Everyone stayed seated, we got applause and more importantly: people came up to us for further explanation. We exchanged contact details and the first follow-up emails have now arrived.'
Different way of working with CTO
Configure to Order, CTO, surely cannot be unknown in the software world. 'We thought so too,' says Mischa van Brandwijk. 'Apparently it is still quite new to many software specialists. We were the only ones at the University with this topic. Somehow I understand that. CTO mainly stands for a different way of working and thinking, not directly for an innovation in software. Engineering to Order and certainly Design to Order are still necessary, declining and synonymous with time-consuming processes. Industry and construction demand ready-made building blocks with which they can serve customers. Quickly, without many engineering hours. Building blocks whose information must be processed in various applications.'
Autodesk with the right software for CTO
Of course, software in CTO is a crucial factor, says Dennis Vriese. 'And not coincidentally, Autodesk has developed the necessary programmes that we deploy with our customers. But for our story, that was not important. Software is an indispensable instrument in the transition process, a tool. For Cadac, process support for companies is the first priority. Carefulness is key, because these are far-reaching processes in which you have to bring board, management and employees along. Change is difficult, it takes time. In New Orleans, we told that story. The hundred people in the room were hanging on our every word.'
Best practises
It helped that Cadac could draw on practical experience. Several customer cases from the construction and manufacturing industries came along, for instance. We are very grateful to our customers Van Wijnen, HTC, WEIR Minerals and Goudsmit Magnetics for participating in this Industry Class, as Autodesk calls it,' says Dennis Vriese. ‘Their practical stories were particularly appreciated, also because we were able to interpret and explain questions from the audience based on the great diversity in customer cases. This was much appreciated, as was shown during the Questions and Answers round and after the session.'
Interested in Cadac's presentation and video during Autodesk University?
Watch it back via the link below:
https://www.autodesk.com/autodesk-university/class/ETO-CTO-journey-2022
More information
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