For well over a century, manufacturers had one source for vital parts information: paper catalogs. The Internet however, revolutionized the storage and retrieval of critical industry data.
For end-users it’s been a game changer, but for the sector that compiles the information, listing and updating information was still painstaking and slow. Even today, many engineering professionals use paper catalogs and diagrams, especially field technicians who can’t rely on a consistent wireless connection.
Specifying a part with a catalog is only one part of the equation.
Ordering frequently means wasted time, struggling with customer service lines to order parts which may be out-of-stock, special order only or no longer available as OEMs close down. Simply digitizing a paper catalog isn’t enough.
But now, new Cloud-based software programs are making it easier for end users to find part specification, ordering details and make live updates to digital catalogs faster, ensuring information is up to date and relevant.
Of course, OEMs aren’t working with just a handful of catalogs. The quality and quantity of information that engineers need can grow exponentially in a complex project. Simply sharing a Cloud network with coworkers may not be enough.
That’s why a growing number of OEMs are turning to advanced Cloud-based software like Digabit’s Documoto.
Advantages of Cloud-Based Electronic Parts Catalog Software
With Cloud-based electronic parts catalog databases, manufacturers can easily modernize their parts catalogs for ease of storage, editing and sharing.
An illustrated parts list can depict all of this information, plus exploded parts drawings for faster identification of critical and difficult to distinguish parts.
“They’ve been creating parts catalogs in a relatively similar manner for the last 50 years,” said Alan Sage, CEO of Digabit. “The problem with that is even if you modernize yourself with Adobe FrameMaker or more modern products or CAD data, by keeping this content on paper, you can never update or maintain the information easily. How do you easily update one part across thousands of PDF files?”
A parts catalog publishing suite allows Documoto users to make changes to parts catalogs on the fly with integrated engineering and ERP data. Updates to parts catalogs reach across the entire system, saving time and preventing the frustration of uncoordinated update processes found in older systems.
Accessible to OEMs’ customers no matter where they are on the globe, fulfilling an order is just as fast and easy. Calling customer service and waiting on hold while the representative on the other end checks your product’s availability isn’t necessary anymore.
Parts can be ordered online through Documoto and with only the most relevant iterations of parts available, there’s no question about obsolescence or which revision represents the right part.
Saving Time and Money
Digabit, the company behind Documoto, is hoping to bring their software’s solutions to OEMs across the industry.
“We’re able to offer an enterprise solution to manufacturers of all sizes and get the benefits across all of them, whether you’re making a million machines or just a few. You’re leveraging the same platform,” said John Skinner, CTO at Digabit.
Transitioning to the Documoto system is made easy with on- or off-site training opportunities. Classes on how to use the software are held monthly and custom training options are available.
Documoto’s users have reported savings and increased adoption of their systems. “Documoto has given us at least a 65 percent savings if we look at it logistically across the board,” said Mark Dyos, Executive Vice President of Maruyama US.
Sage told ENGINEERING.com of other customers’ success stories.
“One of our customers, Excel Industries, they reported after using a legacy electronic capability that they were able to increase their adoption from 50 percent to 85 percent. We have several other customers like Takeuchi Manufacturing, who report a 99 percent or better use of electronic systems and I would say I hear pretty regularly, customers talk about using pure e-commerce and only being able to attain a 20-30 percent rate of electronic orders.”
The bottom line with Cloud-based systems like Documoto is, simply, the bottom line. Saved time lowers costs and boosts profitability in a complex manufacturing environment. “That’s really what we as a company are addressing and dealing with, the ability for companies to create this content inexpensively, simply, in the Cloud, globally, so it can be monetized by increasing parts sales,” Sage said.
To learn more about Documoto and Digabit, visit their website here.