Design World
| September 1, 2022
Machine builders are looking for you to help them automate functions and make machines easier to use and maintain. They also are looking for more power while using less energy, modular designs to conserve space, and versatile components to increase flexibility, and reduce inventory.
Most importantly, they are looking to you for end-to-end solutions through a machine’s full lifecycle. That’s why the quality of your machine lifecycle support is increasingly critical. Machine lifecycle support has evolved to include training, managing inventory, and access to parts. This support benefits your customers in many ways — from assuring uptime and saving labor and maintenance costs, to increasing productivity and overall profitability.
Machine lifecycle support is a great opportunity to develop mutually beneficial relationships. You have opportunities for ongoing and additional revenue, and the customer has paths for realizing the full potential of their machine investments.
An integrated machine lifecycle and operational support model is mostly split between your pre- and post-sales. The pre-sales is your project execution, from the concept/design phase through commissioning. Post-sales includes technical support and services.
Essential components of your machine lifecycle support should include:
As you build more automation and motion control into machines, and rely on more real-time data, your service agreements take on increasing importance from a technical support perspective. Service agreements should account for the scope of resources available for response and provide a process for technical support. A higher level of support might include remote monitoring, quicker response from field technicians, or access to research and development (R&D) via internal tech support for debugging.
Technical support should include:
Like many machine builders, you are likely facing increasingly stringent demands from end users on productivity, safety, equipment availability, and performance optimization. Therefore, your optimal services need to cover end-to-end needs for machine builders and their end users, including:
Your customers need to be able to respond to the end users as quickly as possible. The focus on machine support should be on the end users; they are the ones getting value from the investment in the machine.
The right machine building partner will help you grow revenue after the sale. There are now suites of products in a single platform that are specifically designed to enable machine builders and manufacturers to monitor machines and sell after-market services and support to end users. These include:
The right partner will not only provide you tangible benefits throughout the machine lifecycle, they will also provide the best possible customer experience and peace of mind. The right partner will be responsive to design, implementation, and service, but they also will be able to show you what is available as they develop technological advances. They will keep you engaged in the continuous process of research and development and how it impacts your machine lifecycles.
Learn how the right partner can help you improve your approach to machine lifecycle support.
Sponsored content by Schneider Electric
Browse the most current issue of Design World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading design engineering magazine today.
Top global problem solving EE forum covering Microcontrollers, DSP, Networking, Analog and Digital Design, RF, Power Electronics, PCB Routing and much more
The Engineering Exchange is a global educational networking community for engineers.
Connect, share, and learn today »
Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us