Feature story
Dependability, reactivity and customer focus: the key elements of Arianespace's commercial offer
2006 Customer Seminar special report
May 1, 2006
Arianespace's commercial offer is based on a family of robust and capable launchers that is backed up by a long-term commitment to providing the best facilities and value-added services for its customers.
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In opening remarks to attendees at the 2006 Customer Seminar, Philippe Berterottière, Arianespace's Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, said the company is upbeat about the satellite industry's future, and has tailored its services to meet the evolving needs of operators and spacecraft manufacturers.
"People used to say that the satellite industry was consolidating and downsizing, but if I judge by the number of companies and organizations represented at this Customer Seminar, it is another sign that the industry is, in fact, growing," he said. "Arianespace indeed is bullish about the future, and we are positioning ourselves to respond to this new period of development."
Two key elements of the company's commercial approach are the dependability and reactivity of its launcher family, which is led by the heavy-lift Ariane 5 ECA, and will be expanded with Arianespace's future introduction of the medium-lift Soyuz and lightweight Vega at the Spaceport in French Guiana.
As the family leader, Ariane 5 ECA offers an unmatched combination of excellent performance and dual-satellite capacity – which is reinforced by the Spaceport's modern spacecraft processing facilities that can handle six or more satellites simultaneously.
"Ariane 5's dual-satellite launch is a key differentiator for Arianespace, giving us flexibility in managing our very strong backlog and providing the ability to react to delivery delays of individual payloads," Berterottière explained. "When manifests fill up, dual-launch becomes the most efficient and dependable approach – in contrast to single-launch systems, which tend to 'choke' when capacity gets backed up."
The significant investments made in facilities, resources, processes and mission personnel guarantee long-term stability for Arianespace and its launcher family. "One of our resources is a highly motivated workforce – recognized as the industry's best – which has the experience that comes from more than 170 launches," Berterottière said. "The strong commitment from our people was demonstrated by the total of seven Ariane 5 and Soyuz missions performed between August and December of last year, which is a demonstration of what we call 'the tempo of success.'"
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The investments also ensure the highest level of quality, from launch vehicle production to acceptance and operations. The result is evident in Ariane 5's excellent demonstrated accuracy and highly predictable performance, along with a good flight environment for satellite payloads carried by the launcher.
Berterottière said another key element of Arianespace's commercial offer is its emphasis on value-added services, including the company's Launch Risk Guarantee mission re-flight offer, which provides additional underwriting capacity in the marketplace at attractive, fixed conditions. "To date, 80 satellites have been launched with our Launch Risk Guarantee, and 31 of the payloads in our current backlog are covered by the by this very useful tool," he added.
Arianespace managers also emphasized the importance of the company's openness policy with customers. This ensures a dialog on all aspects of the business and operations - from technical and quality matters to contractual and commercial issues.
The Arianespace Customer Seminar at French Guiana was part of this openness policy, which was given high marks by many of the attendees at the two-day meeting organized by Patrick Loire, the Vice President of Customer Service.
"I very much appreciate Arianespace's approach to open communications with the industry," said the representative of one U.S. satellite manufacturer who participated in the Customer Seminar. "This requires a commitment from all levels of management and unfortunately, is not always the case with other commercial launch services companies."
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