Windhager

Upgrade project CATALOGcreator® 2015

By upgrading to the new version of the software for electronic spare parts catalogues, Windhager secures all options for a future-oriented orientation of its after-sales. In the course of the project, the company optimised its web services and the performance of the catalogue in addition to improved handling and additional search functions for spare parts.

About Windhager

By upgrading to the new version of the software for electronic spare parts catalogues, Windhager has secured all options for a future-oriented orientation of its after-sales. In the course of the project, the company optimised not only the improved handling and additional search functions for spare parts, but also its web services and the performance of the catalogue.
 

Company

"The heater. Since 1921." is Windhager's motto. For almost 100 years, the company has stood for reliable technical solutions that make heating comfortable, safe and cost-effective. Today, Windhager is one of the leading manufacturers of boilers for renewable energies in Europe and offers the right heating system for every fuel and solar energy. Production takes place exclusively in Austria, at the company headquarters in Seekirchen, near the city of Salzburg.

Initial situation

In the DACH region, Windhager Competence PARTNER installers use the 2D online spare parts catalogue, which can be accessed via an online portal solution. In the catalogue, the user can easily find the required spare parts and further documentation such as installation instructions. Prices and availability for customers can be called up according to user and country. In addition, the online catalogue is also used for internal purposes for about 120 technicians in the customer service organisation. The technicians also receive an offline version of the catalogues in order to be able to provide the best possible service to customers on site without Internet access.

Windhager had already been working successfully with an older version of CATALOGcreator®. After five years in productive use, it was now time to check whether a new software version would offer further advantages for the company, the customers and the newly added products. Windhager first learned about the innovations of the 2015 software version at cDAY 2015, the annual customer day of TID Informatik GmbH. Ultimately, the personal consultation with the responsible project manager at TID revealed that an update to the new version would bring considerable benefits for Windhager.

Requirements

The three main requirements to be implemented at Windhager in the course of the update were:

• Performance increase
• More intuitive user guidance
• Improved search functionality

By the way: The last two points are already standard features in CATALOGcreator® 2015.

Solution

In order to improve the performance in the online catalogue, Windhager decided to switch from the originally used 2D vector graphics to complete conversion of the drawings to 2D pixel graphics for the catalogue. This guarantees significantly shorter loading times. The 2D pixel graphics can be imported directly from Windhager's PLM system Agile into the CATALOGcreator® software and output in the catalogue. In the course of the upgrade project, the existing web services were also optimised. Among other things, with regard to prices and availabilities from the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics AX. Furthermore, this led to an improvement in handling and performance.

In order to make it as easy as possible for users to operate the system, a PDF was created in which the functions of the electronic spare parts catalogue are clearly explained. In the new version, it is now also possible to switch between the different products in the catalogue at any time. A special feature of the upgrade project is the new article search. In the start screen of the catalogue, an article number that is already known can now be entered and searched for. In this way, articles can also be found that are not in the catalogue but are stored in Windhager's ERP system. A list generated in the background from the database of the ERP system makes this comparison possible in CATALOGcreator®. In this way, even such a part can subsequently be ordered via the shopping basket function.

Experience and outlook

Windhager launched the new version of the electronic spare parts catalogue in mid-September 2016. "We had very positive feedback from internal and external users. The new features have been very well received," explains Harald Nussbaumer, IT Administrator & Projects at Windhager. Ultimately, the company would like to further expand the use of the catalogue. "In this way, we hope to achieve the goal of the online catalogue becoming the number 1 ordering channel and increasingly replacing telephone orders. The higher the user rate, the more the demands on the catalogue will increase," explains Windhager's project manager.

Currently, Windhager processes around 15% of spare parts orders via the online spare parts catalogue. A 3D catalogue could therefore be a possible option for the future. Since an even better navigation is possible here. Currently, however, this is not yet planned as a concrete project.

"We have had very positive feedback from internal and external users. The new features have been very well received."
Harald Nussbaumer (IT Administrator Windhager)

Conclusion from Windhager

"With the upgrade to the new version of CATALOGcreator® we have created the technological basis for the future. The extension to current platforms such as the use of tablets is now already standard. We value the cooperation with TID very much due to their technical competence and look forward to further joint projects," says Harald Nussbaumer.