2017 Global Distributed Control Systems Company of the Year Award

Implementation of Best Practices

Through its Next Level Strategy, which aims at profitable growth, relentless execution, and business-led collaboration, ABB has adapted to rapidly changing market dynamics to serve its clients with a combined power and automation portfolio. In October 2016, it launched its Stage 3 of the Next Level Strategy, which helps ABB rebuild its successful

transformation momentum and strengthen its position as a pioneering technology leader and global digital champion. ABB places a high focus on increasing its customer value proposition with the help of software-led differentiation, solutions-as-a-service, and technology leadership.

ABB's dedicated service organization focuses on maintaining and continuously improving the performance of customer's equipment and processes through a suite of services. Especially ABB's advanced digital services are in continuous evolution, also in combination with new business models, to address opportunities through digitalization and unmet needs of customers. A key differentiator for ABB is its lifecycle policy. This policy aims at maximizing the useable life of a customer's investment. This means that ABB is committed to maintaining full lifecycle integrity for its products and systems and supports any products for at least 10 years once removed from active sale and an equivalent replacement is available.

In order to take complete advantage of digital transformation, a broader ecosystem of applications is required. For instance, start-ups foster innovation and help automation vendors scale up their digital offerings faster than they would with organic developments. As a leading automation vendor, ABB embraced this trend earlier than many other vendors in the automation space. ABB formed a strategic venture capital unit called the ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) in 2009. ATV focuses on many segments and automation is one core focus area for the organization. The primary objective is to seek out potential automation technology partners who are aligned seamlessly with ABB’s vision of industrial digitalization. Since its inception, ATV has invested about $150 million in technology companies that have a high potential in diverse sectors, including IIoT and cybersecurity. These start-ups function as an extension of ABB and offer innovative services and analytics capabilities to complement its existing digital portfolio. In October 2016, ABB entered into a strategic partnership with Microsoft to develop next-generation digital solutions on an integrated cloud platform that will enable digital transformation for its customers in businesses such as robotics, marine, and eMobility.

Financial Performance

ABB’s penetration and expansion in emerging markets has helped it dominate the DCS market with a 20.5% market share in 2016 and continue its market dominance, while its two closest competitors hold market shares in the range of 15.2% and 14.5%. ABB has unswervingly lead the DCS market across power end-user segment. It’s expertise in developing innovative solutions that match the needs of energy and energy-intensive industries like oil and gas, utilities, and mining operations has reinforced its significant global market share. ABB has the best and widest DCS portfolio across the process automation market. The organization offers the customer-specific control platforms ABB Ability System 800xA, ABB Ability Symphony Plus, Freelance and a Compact Product Suite. ABB’s continued quench to stay ahead of the market is very clear here, as its competitors are progressively introducing compact and low-cost products in the years to come from now. While many competitors have had flat growth in recent years, ABB continues to steam ahead and build on its existing installed base. For instance, in the oil and gas enduser industry where safety is a primary concern, ABB astutely developed the System 800xA HI (High Integrity) solution. This integrates two previously independent automation platforms— safety and process control—into a single system. Also, with rising concerns over minimizing the carbon footprint, ABB has given its clients a greater visibility of energy use with the help of more integrated

and automated systems. Having invested $10 billion in R&D, organic growth, and acquisitions in the United States over the past seven years, ABB is growing in the North American region—a region that contributes 23.5% of revenues to the overall DCS market. Its recent acquisition of Bernecker + Rainer is in line with its growth strategy to improve its number two position in the industrial automation space. The acquisition closes the gap in the machine and factory automation portfolio of ABB and is expected to enhance market coverage, offering a broader solution scope for customers and provide an end-to-end digital offering with the help of this combined innovation power.

Customer Ownership Experience

With the commercial launch of ABB Ability in 2017 and the availability of more than 180 ABB Ability solutions customized for individual end markets, ABB continues to set the benchmark for digitization, enabling its customers to accelerate towards achieving operational excellence. ABB Ability Collaborative Operations, for example, connects customers instantaneously to a subject matter expert from ABB for timely help and