Digitization of service is not a question of ‘if’, but of ‘how’

The future of the manufacturing industry lies in digital transformation. However, even though this insight has long since reached management, implementation is still lacking in many places. Often there is guesswork: How do you get started? Which procedure makes sense? How can the digital transformation be shaped successfully? This is where enormous pressure to act meets great uncertainty. But the challenge can be mastered – with strong partners and a systematic approach.

“When it comes to digitization, it’s no longer a question of if, but how.” This is the conclusion reached by Staufen AG in its current study “Future Industry. The four dimensions of competitiveness 2023”. For this purpose, the consultancy surveyed 401 industrial companies from the DACH region. According to the survey, 60 percent of companies are intensively engaged with the topic of digitization.

Why there is no way around digitization

he reasons for this are similar. This is the way things are going in the industrial sector as a whole, as well as in machine manufacturing in particular:

• Competitiveness
• Increase in sales
• Customer centricity

But how exactly can digitization secure your competitiveness?

To survive in today’s competitive market, it is no longer enough to offer a good core product alone. Thus, the differences between various machines and systems are often hardly apparent and rarely play a decisive role in the selection process. A competitive advantage can hardly be achieved with them, but with efficient processes. Particularly in times of a shortage of skilled workers and a lack of young talent, it is important to make the best possible use of available resources. Consequently, 86 percent of the companies surveyed are driving their own digitization with the aim of increasing efficiency. This increases the chance of keeping up with the competition or even outperforming it.

Focusing on the aftersales service

But merely staying on par with the competition is not the only goal. This is because margins in product sales are falling. At the same time, the core business is stagnating or sales are even falling. The hardware business no longer makes the difference. Instead, you can set yourself apart by digitizing your service. Accordingly, 39 percent of industrial companies in the DACH region also see the greatest potential of digitization in focusing on aftersales service. After all, with comprehensive support and an optimized customer experience, customers can be retained even after they have purchased a machine.

Whether maintenance service, spare parts or new machines: If all these aspects are on a common platform, you can build a functioning ecosystem in which your customers benefit from more security, transparency and significant time savings. But that’s not all. In addition, a digital aftersales service makes it possible, for example, to exploit cross-selling and upselling potential or to develop new business models. And this is exactly what 35 percent of the companies surveyed in the study hope their digitization measures will achieve. In this way, service in mechanical engineering is transformed from an annoying must to a business driver.

The customer in focus

Closely related to a focus on aftersales service is customer centricity. Putting the customer first can build long-term relationships and minimize churn. Here, too, you can achieve a lot with the digitization of your company. For example, 54 percent of industrial companies are using digital processes to strengthen interfaces with customers and suppliers, and 37 percent are digitizing for better networking.

The results of the study show one thing very clearly: the industry is consistently aware of the absolute necessity of digitization. So what’s the problem? The central question is: How do I start? Companies often get lost in a veritable jungle consisting of buzzwords such as

• Platform economy
• Predictive Maintenance
• Subscription models
• SaaS
• Digital twin
• Condition Monitoring.

Finding the right one for your own company seems to be a mammoth task that is almost impossible to solve. What it takes is a strategic approach and a plan. Wir als Transaction-Network unterstützen gern. How far has your project to digitize your service progressed? Find out if you are on the right track and what the next steps are.