Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:20
ShareBar

Abstract

This case concerns the industrial automation division at Belden, a hardware manufacturer. While Belden historically sold products such as cables, wires, and other networking devices, EVP of Industrial Automation Ashish Chand recognized that IT vendors were entering the market via new digital technologies. Chand initiated Enhanced Solutions Delivery (ESD), which pivoted Belden from selling products to selling solutions to optimize customers’ networks. The case has three main teaching objectives: 1) To understand the impact on an organization of changing buyer criteria and competition due to digital technology; 2) To examine what does and does not change (in areas ranging from product development and pricing to sales hiring, training, roles, and channel responsibilities) when a company shifts its focus from product sales to marketing “solutions”; and 3) To illustrate how channel partners are both conduits and barriers to managing these changes.

Keywords

Implementation; Sales Cycle; Digital Transformation; Sales; Product Positioning; Business Model; Market Entry and Exit; Customer Focus and Relationships; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Supply and Industry; Technology Industry; North America; United States

Citation

Cespedes, Frank V., and Amy Klopfenstein. "Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales." Harvard Business School Case 823-002, January 2023. (Revised January 2023.)
  • Educators
  • Purchase

About The Author

Frank V. Cespedes

Entrepreneurial Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • January 2023 (Revised January 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales

    By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
Related Work
  • Belden and Digital Transformation: From Product Sales to Solutions Sales By: Frank V. Cespedes and Amy Klopfenstein
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College