ITG Induction Heating Systems is part of the SYSTEC Karlstadt Group, which operates in various business areas, and thus has access to an above-average level of expertise and services.
ADTANCE's Augmented Reality solution enabled ITG to provide online support together with the customer at short notice and worldwide. In addition, systems could be commissioned remotely anywhere in the world, and this with the travel situation restricted worldwide by Corona.
The solution made it possible to serve remote overseas customers at any time and to invoice the systems.
Developed in Hirschhorn shipped to the world
As one of the leading suppliers of complete induction technology solutions, ITG Induktionsanlagen GmbH recently handed over a latest-generation surface hardening and tempering system ready for operation. With this plant, complex finishing processes for surface hardening with subsequent tempering of the surface layer can be realized for alloyed and unalloyed steels in the main diameter range of up to 50 millimeters with a length of up to 8.2 meters. The customer's high quality requirements were ensured by optimum process control. A wide range of recipe-based warning and disturbance limits guarantees optimum adaptation of the quality assurance systems to the respective product.
In addition, the company recently expanded its worldwide agencies to include "Scandinavia", thus strengthening its sales activities in the European market. Having a local representative to sell the core business of ITG induction systems in the Scandinavian market shortens the distances and provides the end customer with a direct and local contact person.
Serving the globally growing customer base as well as assisting with questions regarding ITG's innovative solutions required an optimized and forward-looking after-sales support. The change from the classic on-site analysis by a technician during commissioning or service cases to an online solution had to take place.
The hurdles of the service of the ITG induction plants
Providing a worldwide service, especially during times of travel restrictions and a growing customer base, presented challenges for the company. Technicians had to travel to customers for analysis as well as commissioning and, depending on the current situation, this could be several days later due to quarantine regulations.
An offer for short-term service and commissioning had to be created, which could be used quickly and easily by the customer.
"As part of the SYSTEC group of companies and a provider of complete solutions, various suppliers often have to investigate problems at the customer's site at the same time," explains Andreas Simon, authorized signatory / commercial manager at ITG. "Coordinating all the different technicians is often difficult in the current situation."
ITG's own claim to innovation, as well as its commitment to the customer, requires the company to constantly look for new solutions and ways to improve its own offering, regardless of whether it is an end product or a service. The advantages of digitalization are also to be made available to the customer in order to ensure the smooth functioning of the systems.
ADTANCE as a partner for innovation in after sales
"First and foremost, the presentation of the solution - in contrast to market competitors - was 100% convincing," says Thomas Wagner, IT / QM Representative of ITG Induction Systems, "as well as the outstanding quality of the solution led us to choose ADTANCE as an innovation partner."
The ADTANCE support software was implemented quickly and to full satisfaction; thanks to its ease of use, ITG was able to go straight into use without any major training or implementation effort. After the start-up phase, the solution could be rolled out to all customers while maintaining excellent availability and stability. Any questions could always be answered quickly and at any time by the ADTANCE support team.
The added value of the ADTANCE solution
The use of ADTANCE technology enables the service technicians to receive optimum support at the customer's site from ITG's specialist departments. In this way, one or more specialists from Hirschhorn or other companies in the group can be present live "through the technician's eye". Circuit diagrams, drawings or other documentation as well as the marking of problem areas can be transferred directly to the display of the technician's data glasses.
After completion of the assignment, all data is documented, archived and can be retrieved at any time via the system. The use of augmented support not only gives the technician additional security during troubleshooting, but the customer also benefits from a speedy and comprehensive execution of the service call. Downtimes and costs can be minimized in this way.
Conclusion
With the help of the ADTANCE support solution, ITG Induction Systems was able to serve customers worldwide even in times of crisis, regardless of whether it was a service call or a commissioning. This significantly reduced downtimes and costs for customers and meant that service calls could be made as quickly as possible.
Thanks to the simple handling as well as the worldwide availability, the solution could be rolled out to the customers quickly and a high acceptance could be generated. The service was future-oriented without any process adjustments in the daily business.
"In conclusion, we would always call ADTANCE again for such challenges," concludes Thomas Wagner.
Contact us and find out how you can use the ADTANCE Smart Service solution for a future-oriented after-sales.