Executives, service managers, and pricing experts from around 250 machine manufacturers discussed current trends in aftermarket and parts business.
PARTS SUMMIT, a major aftermarket event in the machine manufacturing industry, made a triumphant return following its successful debut last year. Setting an attendance record, the summit attracted executives, service managers, and pricing experts from approximately 250 machine manufacturers to Ludwigsburg in mid-October. Here, they engaged with industry experts, market analysts, and IT service providers specializing in aftermarket to explore the latest trends and technologies in the service and parts sector. The event became the most important forum of its kind in Europe. Almost all subsectors of machine manufacturing were represented, including many world market leaders and hidden champions from various industries, such as manufacturers of toolmaking, packaging and agricultural equipment as well as machine builders for metalworking, plastics and wood processing and for the construction and printing industries.
At the beginning of the event, Alex Morbe highlighted the importance of the PARTS SUMMIT in his keynote. “It is the forum for strengthening and expanding the community of aftermarket experts machine manufactuing.” The need for a venue dedicated to exchanging experiences in the aftermarket sector of this industry was clearly felt, and the event's program and various opportunities for dialogue catered to this need. The PARTS SUMMIT is intentionally designed for extensive networking. It serves as a platform for machine manufacturers aiming to expand their aftermarket sector with innovative service models and to establish a proactive parts business.
The participants were united by two fundamental questions:
In line with this, Alex Morbe outlined important trends in the industry. Despite a decline in sales of approximately 3% in 2024, the overall revenue can be significantly increased through a market-based pricing strategy for spare parts.
The theme of the PARTS SUMMIT was chosen accordingly and was reflected in various facets of the talks, demos and presentations: Innovative technologies for sustainable growth.
In this context, Alex Morbe outlined key industry trends. The machine manufacturing sector is experiencing a decline in new business revenue in 2024, down about three percent compared to the previous year, which is expected to continue into 2025. At the same time, the CEO of MARKT-PILOT emphasized that overall revenue can be significantly increased through market-based pricing of spare parts, despite stagnant new business.
Alex Morbe supported this statement with specific figures: In the past twelve months, OEMs that use MARKT-PILOT software solutions have increased their revenue by an average of 19 percent. Furthermore, the CEO pointed out that, in addition to market-based prices, the availability of spare parts is also becoming increasingly important. Those who offer short delivery times gain an additional advantage in the competition.
Alex Morbe used his presentation as an opportunity to recognize the companies Heller (Fastest Onboarding), OPTIMA (Innovation Leader), Kapp Niles (Growth Champion), and Illig (Longevity Champion) with customer awards in various categories. He also announced that, since mid-October, MARKT-PILOT has been a member of the SAP® PartnerEdge® open ecosystem network.
It is a fact that volatility in the parts business is increasing, and there is no way around a dynamic pricing strategy based on reliable market data and innovative technologies. Artificial intelligence plays a key role in this. Alex Morbe: "MARKT-PILOT enables machine manufacturers to make smart decisions for their parts business through AI-driven data analysis."
This is why MP ONE was developed, the latest software evolution from MARKT-PILOT, which was presented to a larger audience for the first time at the PARTS SUMMIT. With the AI platform for parts pricing and market intelligence, machine manufacturers of any size, structure, and sub-industry can reliably price their entire parts portfolio down to the individual parts level—not just standardized purchased parts, but also special or custom-made parts—and for an almost unlimited number of spare parts. Alex Morbe referred to this as a "product revolution": MP ONE is the successful combination of market-based pricing and value-based market intelligence using valid market data, according to the CEO. The interesting part is that price changes can be implemented quickly and accurately for thousands of parts, even when there is insufficient market data available.
Especially the ability to individually price any type of part and adjust it as often as needed according to market conditions drew great interest from visitors. This was emphasized in countless discussions and highlighted during the detailed product presentation of MP ONE in the afternoon session of the PARTS SUMMIT. Clemens Komorek, Vice President Product & Growth at MARKT-PILOT, presented the basic principle, key advantages, and various use cases of MP ONE within the product roadmap. In the coming months, MP ONE will be made available worldwide and will be continuously enhanced with new functions and features. The first specific inquiries from participants have already been made.
Digital transformation in aftermarket of machine manufactures has various aspects—this was repeatedly emphasized in the different presentations at the PARTS SUMMIT.
For instance, Kai Ostendorf from machine manufacturer Terex demonstrated why utilizing as much data as possible from sales, pricing, and product management is beneficial for making informed decisions in aftermarket. The Director Parts demonstrated clearly that pricing spare parts should never rely on just one criteria; it must always be a combination of multiple factors. In this context, he examined the dependencies between these areas and explained how revenues can be concretely increased based on data-driven decisions.
In other presentations, the focus was also on the question of how aftermarket services can be made an even stronger driver for more revenue and profitability than before. The range of possibilities is vast. Whether it's Equipment as a Service (EaaS), which has been successfully operated by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen for several years, or the AI solution used at UNICOR for interaction between customers and OEMs—these approaches show that innovative service models are important pillars for sustainable growth, especially in light of shrinking margins in the new machine sector.
The panel discussion addressed the topic and explored from various perspectives what proactive spare parts management means for a company. Lola Clemente (IWK Packaging Technology), Rainer Hundsdörfer (MARKT-PILOT), and Benjamin Reichenecker (PartsCloud) discussed in this context how to involve different stakeholders, how market-based pricing affects profitability, and what role data plays in this process.
This question was also addressed by Dr. Marcus Demmelmair from the consulting firm Horváth (a partner of MARKT-PILOT). The industry expert and Head of Pricing highlighted in his presentation that the trio of new business models, innovative technologies, and improved data quality form the cornerstone for redefining aftermarket pricing. According to Demmelmair, stringent pricing strategies must equally include areas such as digital services, service contracts, and spare parts. At the same time, the use of artificial intelligence and the availability of much more data than before offer enormous potential for faster and more accurate pricing, according to Marcus Demmelmair. At the PARTS SUMMIT, he demonstrated how the successful implementation of modern aftermarket pricing can achieve a financial Return on Investment (RoI) in a very short time.
At the PARTS SUMMIT 2024, the value of personal interaction was evident. The extensive networking opportunities were used intensively to share thoughts and experiences and establish new contacts. Lively discussions and conversations developed, especially during breaks and at the partner exhibition booths. The PARTS SUMMIT 2024 once again emphasized its significance as a central forum for exchange and progress in the aftermarket sector of machine manufacturing.
The success of the event was made possible in large part by the support of the sponsors. As a Premium Partner, Horváth significantly contributed to its success, while remberg and ServiceLobby as Advanced Partners provided important impulses. Additionally, Empolis, Synthavo, Transaction Network, and Synctive enriched the event as partners with their expertise and innovative solutions.
The next PARTS SUMMIT will take place in 2025. All important information and registration here.
Impressions from PARTS SUMMIT 2024
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