Industrial Service Platform for Machine Builders: Automate Service Processes, Reduce Downtime
An industrial service platform connects machine builders with their operators in an open, vendor-independent network - automated, without media gaps. Machine signals become service jobs, operators work in self-service, and downtime is measurably reduced. Transaction-Network is the leading industrial service platform for German machine building - 80,000 machines, 5,000 companies, one network.
Machine builders in Germany face the same challenge: the installed base keeps growing. Service demand grows with it. But the structures behind it - phone, email, separate portals - don't scale.
What an industrial service platform delivers
An industrial service platform is more than a ticketing system or a spare parts catalog. It is the digital connecting layer between the machine builder and its installed base - in real time, across manufacturers, automated.
What it changes in practice:
- Machine signals automatically become service jobs - without manual reporting by the operator
- Operators order spare parts and report faults themselves - without contacting the field service team
- OEM service teams see every open case, every machine, every SLA status - in a single view
- Downtime is automatically captured, analyzed, and made visible per machine, site, and shift
The result: less manual coordination, more structured service revenue, faster response times - without the team growing proportionally.
Open and vendor-independent - why it matters
The word "open" is often marketing language in the platform market. At Transaction-Network it has a concrete meaning: the network belongs to no single manufacturer. Every OEM brings its machines and its spare parts catalog into the same infrastructure.
What this means for machine builders:
- Your operators have machines from several manufacturers - and see all of them in one view
- Your service process runs in the same system as your operators' - no media gap, no coordination round
- New operators joining the network are immediately reachable - without individual integration
The contrast: a closed manufacturer portal ties operators to one OEM. An open network ties operators to the infrastructure - and gives every OEM in it a structural advantage over competitors still coordinating manually.
Whoever offers the best service infrastructure wins customer loyalty - not whoever builds the most elaborate single portal.
How machine connectivity changes the service case
Machine connectivity is the technical foundation - but not the goal. The goal is that a machine signal triggers a complete service workflow without a human having to coordinate manually.
The flow inside Transaction-Network:
- Step 1: The machine sends a signal (OPC UA, MQTT, REST API)
- Step 2: Transaction-Network evaluates the signal and detects the need for action
- Step 3: A service job is created automatically - with machine type, fault pattern, location, and maintenance history
- Step 4: The OEM service team is notified - structured, prioritized, with all relevant data
- Step 5: If a spare part is needed - an order is triggered automatically with the supplier
From machine signal to a running service job: 120 seconds. No phone call. No email. No manual handoff.
Older machines without native connectivity can also be connected via gateways. Machine connectivity does not require buying new equipment.
What connected machine builders in Germany gain in practice
| Before | With Transaction-Network |
|---|---|
| Operator calls in - a service employee coordinates manually | Operator reports the fault in the system - a service job is created automatically |
| Response time starts at the ticket | Response time starts at the machine signal |
| Spare part needs are requested by email | Spare part order is triggered automatically |
| Downtime is recorded manually or not at all | Downtime is captured automatically and analyzable per machine |
| Operator asks for service status by phone | Operator sees the status themselves at any time |
| Service revenue depends on the field service team | Service revenue arises structurally from the installed base |
References: German machine builders in the network
Transaction-Network is not a new idea - it is a proven infrastructure. German machine builders with high standards for service quality and customer loyalty already use the network:
- Gerhard Schubert GmbH (Crailsheim): OEM and strategic investor. Around 1,000 operators already active in the network.
- United Grinding Group (Bern / Germany): 9 brands, 150,000 machines in the field, 10 languages. Transaction-Network as a shared service infrastructure across all brands.
- Kaltenbach Group: sawing and steel technology - service coordination via Transaction-Network.
- Bihler (Halblech): precision technology - machine connectivity and service digitalization via the network.
- Singulus Technologies (Kahl am Main): global OEM, service processes structured via Transaction-Network.
The network works across manufacturers - operators with machines from both Schubert and United Grinding see both in a single view. No separate portal, no media gap between manufacturers.
Digital customer service as a competitive advantage
Digital customer service is no longer a differentiator in 2026 - it is a prerequisite. Operators no longer just compare machines. They compare how quickly they get help in a service case. How transparent the service status is. How easily spare parts can be ordered.
Machine builders who want to win that comparison do not need a new machine. They need a better service structure.
Transaction-Network delivers that structure - as an open network that becomes more valuable with every new participant. Not a single portal that only reflects one OEM. An infrastructure that industrial service runs on.
Service decides. Not only at purchase. Every day the machine runs.
