Beyond the Machine:
Navigating Competitive Forces in the Aftermarket
Date: September 25, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM (CDT), 6:00 PM (CET)
Beyond the Machine: Navigating Competitive Forces in the Aftermarket
How external shocks reshape rivalry—and how to adapt pricing, stock, and SLAs.
You’re not selling parts - you’re selling outcomes: uptime, reliability, and clear value for money. At the same time, global forces such as interest rates, commodity prices, labor shortages, policy shifts, and new technologies are directly influencing what buyers are willing to pay and how they judge suppliers.
In this webinar, you will learn how to connect these external forces to concrete actions in pricing, inventory, and customer experience. Economist Al Melhim (Sr. Director Business Intelligence, AEM) will set the stage and show how today´s macroeconomic trends translate into shifts in buyer power, competitive dynamics, and substitutes in the machinery market. Anurag Garg (CPTO, MARKT-PILOT) will expand that conversation and demonstrate how leading manufacturers can respond by:
- Using a two-lane lens that balances uptime with trust and total cost of ownership
- Building commercially viable approaches that create resilience where speed and availability matter most
- Offering customer experiences that match B2C standards in a B2B environment, including reliable promise dates, transparent tracking, and self-service tools
Prepare to discover how to defend premiums when your value is clear, and how to stay agile and competitive when the market demands it. The session offers actionable strategies for adapting your commercial approach and inventory planning in response to external disruptions—helping you safeguard profitability and maintain customer confidence, even in uncertain environments.
Al Melhim, PHD - Senior Director, Business Intelligence, AEM
In this role at AEM, Al Melhim provides direct support to the Ag Board and is AEM’s staff liaison in the Sustainability Council. He also supports AEM’s role in the Agrievolution Alliance and assists with member functions and services such as Business Intelligence, statistics, and data analytics. Al’s 25+ year career has been centered around agriculture, food and agribusiness, and the financial services industries. Prior to joining AEM, Al worked at the world’s largest Food and Ag lender as vice president of research, focusing on value-chain economics of the horticultural industry. Al also has ample experience in the equipment manufacturing industry, having served as manager of credit risk and statistics, focusing on analytics and applied research, and linking agricultural commodity markets to the demand of agricultural equipment.
Al has a diverse academic background. He holds a B.Sc. degree in Agricultural Engineering, a Master of Science degree in Horticulture, a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics, and a Ph.D. in Applied Economics & Econometrics.
Anurag Garg - Chief Product & Technology Officer, MARKT-PILOT
Anurag Garg is the Chief Product & Technology Officer at MARKT-PILOT, where he leads product strategy, data, and engineering for an AI-enabled platform that helps OEMs grow by making pricing effortless. His focus covers the company’s data and AI strategy, strengthening product maturity and adoption, and linking product decisions directly to customer lifetime value. By combining deep industrial expertise with modern SaaS practices, he helps transform complex market data into scalable, high-impact SaaS solutions.
Previously, Anurag served as Chief Product Officer at SafetyChain Software, where he drove product growth, modernized engineering practices, and led security and compliance programs. Before that, as VP of Product Management at Plex Systems, he oversaw a product portfolio spanning IIoT, Analytics, Platform, EDI, and User Experience, supporting the company through its acquisition by Rockwell Automation in 2021. Earlier in his career, he co-founded DATTUS, an Industrial-IoT startup acquired by Plex Systems, and was recognized on Forbes 30 Under 30.
Anurag holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Purdue University.
James Hom - Customer Success Manager, MARKT-PILOT
James joined Markt-Pilot earlier this year as a Customer Growth Manager and has been integral to helping customers drive value from the Markt-Pilot platform. He is an experienced professional with over 10 years of field services experience. During his time in field services, he spearheaded implementation of IoT and SaaS platforms to improve field and material processes that delivered higher efficiencies and returns.