Why services are the future for every business

There is a nice English word for it – ‘servitisation’ – so it must be interesting. This became clear during Lenze's The Pace of Automation event, where many visitors were curious about the advantages of new business models. “In the future, this will be the way to distinguish yourself,” predicts Klaas Nebuhr of Lenze.

Digitalisation is comparable to the apps on your smartphone. You don't use them because the icon looks nice, but because they add value. The same applies to digitalisation for machine builders. “In a few years” time, the quality of your machine will no longer be a distinguishing factor,“ warns Klaas Nebuhr, Head of Digital Portfolio at Lenze. ”Think of PCs. I used to buy a new model every year because it offered so many more possibilities. Today, that's no longer the case; it's all about price. And we can't win that competition in Western Europe with our cost structure. We have to take a different approach."

Digitalisation: the path to added value and productivity

Digitisation offers the answer to declining margins and the war for talent. “The operators of your machines no longer have the same level of knowledge as they used to. This has consequences for the design of your machines. Ease of use is now a top priority,” explains Nebuhr. It's also about how companies organise themselves. By providing better service, they can distinguish themselves. Servitisation models go one step further: instead of just supplying machines, machine builders can also offer productivity. They already have the necessary knowledge and data in-house. “We are happy to help them exploit that potential strategically,” says Nebuhr.

A few simple steps towards greater servitisation

Implementing servitisation does not have to be complex. Nebuhr summarises the process in a few simple steps: “The future of service is digital. It all starts with connecting your machines. This provides immediate benefits, as it enables you to offer remote service. That means faster support without travel time and the associated costs.”

The next step is to utilise the data to create transparency. “If you can see how a machine is performing and compare that data with previous performance, you can convert data into valuable information. Currently, that knowledge is still in the heads of your team. However, once you capture it in software, the machine evolves into a real service employee. It then generates tickets itself and predicts problems, which significantly improves your customer's OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).” This forms the basis for reducing downtime, energy consumption and production losses. “Ultimately, only the KPI of machine productivity remains, and you can continuously improve that.”

Experienced long-term partner

What makes Lenze an ideal partner in this process? “Knowledge management is becoming the biggest challenge for companies, because many experts are retiring,” explains Nebuhr. “You have to transfer that knowledge from your employees to your machines. With Nupano, we have developed a platform that is independent of suppliers and uses standard protocols. This allows machine builders to better manage their apps and software, locally and independently of the company network, in accordance with the highest cybersecurity standards. The openness of this platform is crucial, because it allows you to easily integrate with other applications. Our tip: opt for open standards and solutions. And just get started; digitisation is happening so fast that if you wait too long, you'll miss the boat. Start learning and experimenting today, with Lenze as your long-term partner,” concludes Nebuhr.