Part 2: Interactive Spare Parts Catalog - No more Manual Data
PDF and print catalogs reach their limits at the latest when a catalog needs to be updated or published in several languages. An interactive spare parts catalog can reduce the workload for manufacturers and operators of machines and systems — but can it really save time?
The barriers created by conventional spare parts catalog
When manufacturers are creating and publishing spare parts catalogs for their machines and systems, they face the same challenges time and again. The topics of data, timeliness, and efficiency are particularly critical.
The problem is that the information about spare parts often comes from different sources. In analog spare parts catalogs, the data does come together centrally. However, there is no link to backend systems such as ERP or PDM. If the catalogs are not published online but as PDFs or printed copies, it is almost impossible to update the data. As a result, operators do not always have access to up-to-date spare parts information wherever it is needed.
In the following sections, we highlight the biggest challenges to creating and publishing spare parts catalogs and explain how the introduction of an interactive spare parts catalog can overcome these hurdles.
Challenge 1: Dispersed data
A spare parts catalog thrives on data. The biggest hurdle in catalog creation is the need to bring together all the required information from different sources:
- When collating data, catalog creators rely on input from different departments.
- Today, company data is often not yet available centrally. Instead, it is distributed across countless computers, servers, and data carriers.
- Especially when data is supplied incompletely, the creation of catalogs is delayed.
- If the creator is also facing a deadline because the service technicians urgently need the data, catalog creation quickly becomes a real ordeal.
How to manage your data in the digital spare parts catalog
If your company data is maintained in different systems and fed from different sources, that’s not a problem for modern catalog software:
- All of the relevant data for creating the catalog is consolidated and structured in a central location in a data pool.
- Data transfer is not just one-way: all of the data that flows into the spare parts catalog is linked bidirectionally.
- The final result is instantly visible. If necessary, the data can be manually reprocessed immediately.
The spare parts catalog thus becomes a "single source of truth" and can be supplemented with technical documents, circuit diagrams, and drawings as needed.
Challenge 2: Outdated content
Once a catalog has been created and published, the data must be kept up to date. After all, the technicians and service staff who work with the spare parts catalog can only solve the problems of their customers or their employer if they have information that is correct and up to date.
However, updating spare parts catalogs in PDF or print format is costly and time-consuming.
A particularly critical problem is the fact that if a spare parts catalog is required in different languages, a separate catalog is usually created for each medium and language. This increases the effort required for updates many times over.
Updating with just a few clicks
An interactive spare parts catalog makes it possible to publish all of the relevant information from one system to different media and even to adapt it for different users. If the data in the source system changes, the digital spare parts catalog can be updated automatically.
Adjustments can be made centrally for all media. Redundant, incorrect or unnecessary information thus becomes a thing of the past, and the effort required for updating is reduced to a minimum. As a result, the quality of your service documentation is greatly improved.
Challenge 3: Inefficiency
Manual spare parts catalogs are no longer up to date. They are prone to errors and do not offer the functionalities that service technicians and machine and plant operators need for their work today.
Above all, they cost manufacturers a lot of time and nerves. Even if experienced employees can create a manual spare parts catalog in no time at all, making adjustments to graphics or collecting data can drag out the process.
Create and publish at the touch of a button
Catalog creation processes that may take hours or weeks can be shortened to just a few minutes with digital assistance. Catalog software gives you more time for your core business, thanks to efficient catalog creation and maintenance processes.
The efficiency advantage is not limited to the creation process. Publishing also becomes easier: With catalog software, you can publish your spare parts catalog online on the Internet and intranet or on modern data carriers such as USB.
Paper catalogs can also be published automatically and almost at the push of a button. You can even generate an Internet catalog from an existing catalog.
Save time and effort with the interactive spare parts catalog
Digital spare parts catalogs bring a lot of benefits and increase the transparency of spare parts information. This makes operators' work easier and allows them to offer even better service.
Operators and service technicians also benefit from digital spare parts catalogs. They receive exactly the information they need and can rely on it being up to date. If the spare parts catalog is linked to a web store, identifying and ordering spare parts becomes child's play. The changeover from analog to digital spare parts catalogs is completed in just four steps. This quick start ensures that better results can be achieved immediately.
Manufacturers and operators of machines and systems who previously created spare parts catalogs manually can finally leave tedious work steps behind. This gives them more time to focus on their core tasks, further digitalize their services, or realize new business models.
