Quanos Customers Test New Cloud Software: Beta Phase - Quanos InfoTwin Put to the Test

Today's Quanos Solutions was formed in 2020 from the merger of three market leaders: SCHEMA GmbH with solutions for management and distribution of technical information, and TID Informatik GmbH and Docware GmbH with two complementary solutions for information systems and parts catalogs. The three companies have an impressive reference list of companies, a not insignificant percentage of which use solutions from both areas. Quanos offers its customers over 20 years of experience and a highly competent staff to assist with implementation and use. 

Quanos' existing solutions for service and spare parts management are customizable to the needs of the companies. Such individually customized solutions logically require a certain amount of effort during implementation, for example to optimize the existing database so that the software can fully exploit its efficiency advantages. To avoid this effort, Quanos has now developed InfoTwin, a standard solution based on its many years of experience with such implementation projects, which combines the advantages of the individual solution with a best-practice-based preconfiguration. 

Quanos InfoTwin is a modern cloud application "that brings together the information worlds around spare parts and documentation," as Görz describes it. "The goal of the solution is to enable the service department to work productively by providing them with all the information they need to do their job - from the right spare parts and product-related information to service and other documents. In InfoTwin, we bring together all product-relevant information and make it easy to find. Especially the latter is important - what is the use of bringing together all relevant information if it then disappears in a large database and cannot be found? That's where the linking of data is crucial, leading from a specific asset, i.e. a precisely identified machine, to the spare parts and associated information that are relevant for precisely this machine." 

The goal is to connect InfoTwin as a central information platform with the other processes in the company, for example with spare parts sales, maintenance plans and even real-time machine data. Field service management systems can also be connected - creating a data hub. With InfoTwin, Quanos offers a standardized solution that can be implemented quickly for companies that prefer a preconfigured system instead of individually tailored solutions. 

More emphasis on simplicity and speed instead of individuality 

A major difference between Quanos InfoTwin and Quanos' existing solutions is how data is handled. In the existing solutions Quanos SIS.one and SCHEMA ST4, the focus is on processing data as automatically as possible. To do this, the data must not only be complete, but data from different sources must also be related to each other so that the automation functions can work optimally. InfoTwin works with a predefined data model into which existing data can be gradually integrated. 

The advantage of this approach is that data sets can be uploaded to the database incrementally - instead of a "big bang" implementation project with a lot of effort, the transition can be smooth, and the solution can be put into operation step by step. This allows users to work with the system more quickly and see the added value of the solution sooner. As Görz puts it, "You can start before you've done all your homework" - ideal for companies that want to get started with the information platform without a lot of effort. 

"The problem is linking the data during integration," explains Görz. "For example, the customer starts by uploading the product structures, usually in the form of Excel lists, to the portal, followed by all the documentation. Now, a logical link must be created between the components or assemblies and the documentation elements - this is where a lot of work and brainpower goes into it." 

Interesting findings in the closed beta phase 

The system is currently being tested and optimized in a closed beta phase with pilot customers. This also involves fundamental questions, as Görz says: "We are approaching this very openly and asking questions such as: Is the technical concept coherent? Can power users set up the system themselves? Will customers reach their goals faster with the new system? Before we finalize the system, we test its suitability for practical use." 

Customers who use the existing solutions from Quanos Service Solutions and Quanos Content Solutions and are familiar with the performance of the customized systems were deliberately selected. The use of the cloud solution is facilitated by the fact that the data pools of these customers are already optimally suited - data problems therefore do not affect the assessment of the functionality. 

The beta phase started with three companies that come from different industries and have different products and requirements: A plant manufacturer, a special-purpose machine manufacturer and a series manufacturer from the mechanical engineering sector. "We started the beta phases one after the other, so we could learn and improve with the first customer and have the second customer start right away with the improved status," recalls Görz. From the end of June to mid-August, a one-hour workshop was thus held per week and customer, followed by concept workshops in October, where the experiences of the beta customers were evaluated and deepened. 

"The 'learnings' have been very different so far," says Görz. "Companies are already approaching data structures very differently. Where the special machine builder wants to address each individual machine, this fine resolution is more of a hindrance for the series manufacturer. We have to make this breadth of application implementable in the interface so that everyone gets the info they need without completely overloading the interface." 

Another insight for Görz: "Some companies need a product hierarchy in which certain documents apply to entire product families and others to individual variants. We also need to be able to map that without having to build too many special cases into the cloud solution. It's exactly this input that makes the closed beta so valuable for our developers." 

Customer testimonials 

Beta customers have already had some positive experiences with InfoTwin. WILO SE from Dortmund is a multinational technology group and one of the world's leading premium suppliers of pumps and pump systems for building services, water management and industrial applications. Today, more than 8,200 employees work for Wilo worldwide.  

Holger Danielzik has been working in the service sector for many years and was also involved in the introduction of Quanos CATALOGcreator® eight years ago: "I am not a programmer, but with a little help from Quanos and thanks to the logical structure of the software, I completed the configuration of InfoTwin in just one to two days." According to the service and spare parts specialist, existing data could be transferred to the new system with only marginal adjustments, "only the structure of the parts lists had to be slightly adapted."  

"It was a great feeling when the system displayed the right images for the product on the first try," Danielzik recalls. "The Quanos InfoTwin is easy to use and allows for quick successes; existing BOMs can be quickly integrated and linked with the other data to form a catalog structure. In documentation we use Schema ST4, this data can also be integrated into InfoTwin without much effort."  

Also participating in the beta program is MINDA Industrieanlagen GmbH from Minden. The special machine builder develops and manufactures individual intralogistics and conveyor technology solutions for various industries. MINDA stands for quality and high product automation. Founded in 1979, the company combines project planning, design, control technology, visualization as well as assembly, commissioning, and service. MINDA employs nearly 600 people in Germany and the USA and integrates all process steps in-house.  

In her daily work, technical editor Lena Bredemeier is responsible for the Quanos products Schema ST4 and CATALOGcreator®: "We were asked at a trade fair whether we would like to participate in the beta test and spontaneously agreed, out of interest in how the Quanos products would develop. The beta phase began with a workshop in which Daniel Binder and Johannes Görz introduced us to the functions and handling of InfoTwin. We were also shown how to import the information into InfoTwin."  

Bredemeier describes her first experiences: "The new interface is great - once you've done something, you understand how to use it. And if there are any problems, the Quanos employees are there to help. We were particularly interested in how quickly data could be entered into the system, and we were pleasantly surprised. In our company, practically every machine is an individual item. We can map that neatly in InfoTwin, select each machine by serial number and call up its individual spare parts catalog."  

"We created test customers," Bredemeier explains further, "and imported machine structures, parts lists, documentation and models. All this information could be linked with little effort - exactly as we need it in our day-to-day work as special machine builders." 

Bredemeier is very satisfied with the new software: "With InfoTwin, an information source has been created that can simplify the work not only of the customer, but also of the fitter or service technician, for example. Whether it's spare parts or maintenance work for the customer and service technician, or assembly or transport of the machine for the fitter, the bundled and filterable information means that many can benefit from the information provided by the InfoTwin at the same time." 

Conclusion  

With InfoTwin, Quanos is on the right and innovative path into the future. The beta testers praise the easy data transfer to the cloud solution and the simple configuration. The company is thus building a second product line alongside its established, highly customizable solutions, which is ideally suited for companies that require less customizing and faster implementation.