Shortage of skilled workers, digitalization, and competitive pressures are just some of the challenges that are faced by machine and plant manufacturers today. Customer expectations are also increasing with regards to service, efficiency, and customer experience – driven by experiences in the private sector.
When it comes to questions about their machines, customers expect quick help, uncomplicated and transparent processes, and direct access to all the relevant information. At the same time, manufacturers are eager to reduce their costs without affecting service quality. These challenges require innovative approaches and holistic strategies in order to ensure long-term commercial success. Aftersales and service portals have huge potential.
Aftersales portals, service portals, self-service portals, customer portals, or information platforms are digital platforms that allow machine and plant manufacturers to offer their customers further added value after the sale of the actual products.
These portals provide customers with relevant information, resources, and services to improve the service experience and help them with questions, problems, or maintenance requirements quickly and efficiently.
The differences in terminology often lie in the emphasis and focus of each platform, as well as the specific features provided by machine and plant manufacturers to meet customer requirements.
For example, these portals typically enable access to technical documentation, operating instructions, training material, spare parts ordering, service tickets, and direct contact to customer support.
By using these digital solutions, manufacturers can improve customer loyalty and increase customer satisfaction while at the same time making their own aftersales processes more efficient.
Customer portals offer a number of advantages, such as:
An effective aftersales portal should include functions such as:
In addition, a good aftersales platform offers the possibility to draw customers' attention to further offers, upgrades, or additional services, which open up additional sales potential.
Information platforms also enable data collection and analysis through the use of machines and the problems that occur. This data can be used by the manufacturer to continually improve their products and services and become more customer-oriented.
With the help of IoT (Internet of Things), machines and devices can be monitored online and customers can access remote diagnostic tools. This means that manufacturers can identify problems quickly and provide solutions, without the need for a physical visit to the site. This saves time and costs for both parties.
Behind some of these functions are IT systems that have often been used by machine and plant manufacturers for years. The trick is to integrate these seamlessly into an aftersales platform so that customers can access all the functions via a cloud platform and use them without interfaces.
An aftersales portal optimizes spare parts management by allowing customers to independently search for and order spare parts online as well as track the shipping status. This speeds up the ordering process and makes spare parts available to the customer more quickly, which reduces downtimes and the associated costs.
Field service technicians usually require more comprehensive information than the operators of a machine or plant. A well-designed rights and roles concept allows manufacturers of machines and plants to configure the view of data in the service portal so that service technicians receive exactly the information they need to carry out service call-outs efficiently and customers are not confused by too much information. Connecting a service portal to a field service management system gives field service technicians the ability to jump directly from the service report to the service portal, use the specific step-by-step instructions, and order the required spare parts directly.
A good aftersales portal is scalable and grows with the business alongside the changing requirements and processes of the machine and plant manufacturer. It offers modular functions and flexible interfaces for connecting further systems, such as field service management systems or asset management systems.
Due to the improved customer service, quick processing of spare parts orders, and efficient technical support, an aftersales portal increases the satisfaction of your customers and thus builds long-lasting customer relationships.
Such a portal also offers you the possibility of analyzing data on the use of products and services in the customer portal and gain valuable knowledge about the needs of your customers. Your service portal thus becomes an important platform for evaluating, developing, and offering new, personalized business models.
A good aftersales portal not only ensures increased customer satisfaction, but also more efficient service processes.
In addition, it increases service efficiency by:
A fundamental goal of digitalization is to break down data and process silos. It is therefore necessary to strengthen interfaces and network processes. Information platforms offer the perfect framework for this. They therefore improve customer relationships, increase efficiency, and provide valuable data for the continuous improvement of products and customer experiences.
Various challenges can arise when implementing aftersales portals in the mechanical engineering field. Some of the key challenges include:
Overcoming these challenges requires careful planning, cooperation, and flexibility on the part of the company to ensure that the aftersales portal functions efficiently and adds value for customers and the company.
Future developments in the area of aftersales and service portals in mechanical engineering are expected to be shaped by advances in technology and the needs of customers. Possible developments include:
These developments will help make aftersales and service portals even more powerful, efficient, and customer-oriented. Mechanical engineering companies will be able to improve customer service, maximize the uptime of machines, and optimize the overall performance of their products.
In our checklist “What Most Companies Forget During Digitization - Information platforms as drivers of digital transformation”, you will find five steps with specific to-dos to check off to guide you through the process of establishing a digital information platform in your company.
Quanos InfoTwin is the modular cloud solution that machine and plant manufacturers use as a platform for modern, digital services. The platform integrates seamlessly into existing software solutions and bundles product information, spare parts and service information, and technical documentation in one central location. In this way you can provide your customers, maintenance staff, and service technicians with the information they need for their specific use case.
Digital information twins of machines and plants are thus created from which manufacturers can generate various added values according to their needs and the needs of their customers – whether aftersales portals, service portals, self-service portals, or other smart services. As a standardized out-of-the-box solution, Quanos InfoTwin is ready to use immediately, with the possibility of modular expansion.
