Caterpillar Inc. - Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series

Caterpillar Inc. - Enterprise Tech Ecosystem Series

Summary

Caterpillar Inc (Caterpillar) is a construction, transportation, and energy equipment manufacturer that designs, markets and sells construction, diesel-electric locomotives, mining and forestry equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. The company's brands portfolio includes MWM, FG Wilson, Caterpillar, Progress Rail, Perkins, Olympian, Hypac, Prentice, Anchor, AsiaTrak, and Prentice. Moreover, it provides retail and wholesale financing solutions for Caterpillar products to its customers and dealers. The company, through its subsidiaries and dealers, expanded to several countries across Africa, North and South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Europe.

In 2017, Caterpillar introduced the fourth edition of its Dirt & Digital Lab in Chicago. It’s an event that focuses that enables participants to explore the latest technologies behind the iron, including drones, autonomous machines, virtual and augmented reality, machines, and develop sustainable solutions to meet its customers’ dynamic requirements.

In 2015, Caterpillar announced its new Analytics & Innovation division to build a comprehensive and connected analytics ecosystem for connecting data from the product lines, invest in emerging technologies, and build innovation culture and to manage strategic third-party relationships to augment its product and service development.

In 2015, the company introduced a Data Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois, Research Park. The lab works with entrepreneurs, engineering, and computer science experts to drive innovation, accelerate growth, and explore emerging and disruptive data-based technologies such as visualization, big data, coding, and other analytical techniques. This helps Caterpillar in discovering hidden insights on the usage of its products and services, and deliver better digital solutions to its customers.

Caterpillar introduced a new Dealer Experience Center for its Illinois training campus in collaboration with Dimensional Innovations. The center showcases the various technologies implemented by its dealers such as on-location repairs and equipment re-manufacture through interactive monitors placed at the center.

In 2020, Caterpillar joined the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) introduced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), in United States along with other exhibitors including Samsung, Intel, Procter & Gamble, John Deere, Google, Amazon, and vehicle manufacturers. The company showcases its wider product portfolio of mining technologies and solutions to improve consistency, and minimize operating costs, connect with its business partners, attract digital talents and expand its customer base.

This report provides insight into Caterpillar's digital strategies, including its digital transformation strategies, its innovation programs, its technology initiatives, its estimated ICT budget, and its major ICT contracts.

Scope

• Caterpillar’s core technology strategy “the Age of Smart Iron” is focused on bringing new digital solutions leveraging technologies like IoT and predictive analytics to maximize the customer experience. Additionally, the company is utilizing data to open new opportunities for its assets, dealers, customers, and business. It has deployed IoT to its fleet of construction and farm vehicles, and connected millions of industrial equipment, assets, and processes with telematics and monitors the data to uncover customer insights, and address customer pain points. The company installed sensors on its delivery vehicles to add visibility over deliveries. By analyzing the data collected from these equipment, Caterpillar can schedule maintenance at right time, detect faults, and improve productivity, efficiency, and safety in its operations along with assisting ongoing product development. Caterpillar is also working to retrofit older machinery leveraging sensors and analytics technology.
• Caterpillar is strengthening its digital culture by hiring digital talent, introducing innovation programs, and digitizing its workspace. For instance, it has appointed Ogi Redzic as Vice President & Chief Digital Officer & head its digital-enabled solutions division (DESD). CAT Digital also recruited Andrei Khurshudov, as Director, advanced IoT analytics. Moreover, invested in Yard Club to hire digital talent from them. The company’s Leadership and Technical Development Program helps groom technical experts by providing technical training, rotational assignments, and other developmental opportunities. As a part of its efforts, Caterpillar targets startups, entrepreneurs, and engineers in the construction sector, and provides them with an open innovation platform to get their ideas operational and develop new products and solutions.
• To improve its operating model, Caterpillar is focusing on strategic partnerships and tapping into new opportunities. Caterpillar partnered with Newmont for underground vehicle automation, to develop underground hard rock mining vehicle technology. Caterpillar also collaborated with Nevada, to automate underground loaders and allow operators to work safely from a control room. It teamed up with Simon-Kucher & Partners for sales benchmarking analysis. In addition, the company partnered with Live Factory to reduce the time taken for deployment of software.

• Gain insights into Caterpillar's tech operations.
• Gain insights into its digital strategies and innovation initiatives.
• Gain insights into its technology themes under focus.
• Gain insights into various product launches, partnerships, and acquisition strategies.