Suppliers involved in the adventure
It takes time to produce these 46 semi-rigids. As delivery to Les Sables-d'Olonne is only made in daily batches of 4, Highfield has mobilised significant technical, human and financial means and resources. Indeed, the RIBs are delivered "turnkey" to the organisation, i.e. ready to sail and must be on the water to accommodate the IMOCA boats before departure. Also the preparation tasks usually carried out by the distribution network are in fact the responsibility of the builder, requiring the mobilisation of extraordinary means and resources.
Once the start of the Vendée Globe has been given, the hulls that do not remain on site will be delivered to the network and invoiced under special conditions, as they have already been used. Some of the RIBs will remain in Les Sables-d'Olonne and will be patiently waiting in the warmth of the warmth for the arrival of the competitors around three months later. This means that material resources will remain immobilised during this time. That's why the industrial partners are participating and contributing to this adventure. What is more, Highfield, as an official supplier, is paying the Vendée Globe organisation fees.
Unlike Honda, Highfield's historic engine manufacturer, these brands or brand distributors, industrial partners are little known to the general public, as they work in the B to B field. We have approached 3 partners involved in this adventure to find out their motivations:
- Proxam
- MC Technologies
- SunWay
While in general the approach is the same, the means and objectives differ.
Navigation electronics MC Technologies: GPS an indispensable tool used by navigation professionals
" What this partnership with Highfield brings us in the specific context of this mythical race, is to maintain a commercial relationship that has lasted for several years to consolidate it, to generate visibility for the brands as we are moving more and more towards co-branding. Indeed, an end customer does not know that boats can be equipped with this type of electronic equipment and vice versa "says Pierre Rivoal Commercial at MC Technologies.
He continues, " This partnership brings credibility to the products as they are used by the Everest of the Seas organizers and allows to prove their reliability. Safety in navigation being essential, the use of a Lowrance GPS allows each RIB to know the limits of the water and in particular the zones where navigation is forbidden for non-accredited boats."
" MC Technologies takes part in this type of nautical event because they have a strong image and offer feedback from the professionals who skipper the organization's boats on the practical, intuitive and qualitative aspects of our products. These professionals have a different viewpoint from the traditional yachtsman, which allows us to develop more relevant solutions in the menus of our products afterwards. "
Once the start area is defined according to the weather conditions, i.e. just before the start of the race, the organisation communicates the coordinates of this area which are loaded into the GPS by MC Technologies allowing the RIB pilots to protect this reserved navigation area.
MC Technologies' support to Highfield consists of specific pricing on a defined quantity of vessels with an adapted settlement period. All this with the participation of Navico, manufacturer of Lowrance GPS.
Sunway Boat Trailer: Be seen and meet professionals
" Sunway trailers are positioning themselves as a partner of the partner and as such are setting up a specific operation with Highfield "begins Pierre-Yves Renou, Sales Director. " When communicating for this limited edition "Vendée Globe" RIB, Highfield refers to its partners, including Sunway. Then at each launch and launch, the trailers are used and therefore visible to the public in the village area. Sold and delivered with the boats, once the organisation no longer needs the equipment, Sunway invoices the trailers at a reduced rate which does not generate any margin or loss. For a brand like Sunway, the volume of trailers involved in the Vendée Globe operation only represents a very limited share of sales, but has a major impact in terms of image. It is also necessary to send teams to adjust the trailers as the boats leave the water. It also allows me to be on site and meet the professionals. Of course it costs a bit of time and a bit of margin.. "
Proxam engine accessories: Promoting the quality of its products
" Proxam and Highfield have been partners for four years, this is our second Vendée Globe and we took part in the last Route du Rhum, as well as other less renowned races. This partnership allows us to promote our brands and products that we represent: Seastar Solutions for hydraulic steering and Solas for propellers "introduced Olivier Jurien, CEO of Proxam. " Highfield RIBs are thus equipped with Seastar Solutions hydraulic steering and Solas propeller motors. For Proxam, the interest of being Highfield's partner is to demonstrate to professional customers the advantages of Seastar Solutions steering systems compared to other steering systems and thus remove their reluctance to install them. It is the same for our Solas propellers. The operation allows us to reach professional customers who would never have installed our products and to demonstrate their qualities to them. Our contribution is to offer high quality technical products with a worldwide reputation. For the financial aspect, it is a sponsoring and communication operation. Our suppliers give us a stake in the Vendée Globe and the Route du Rhum, otherwise Proxam takes care of everything. "
Optimize your image and keep to a budget
Knowing how to surround itself with reliable and involved partners therefore enables Highfield to guarantee the Vendée Globe organisation to deliver products that are fit for purpose and to guarantee performance and reliability, but also to share the costs of such an operation to make it profitable in terms of image and financially neutral.
