The Smart Services Revolution in Machine Manufacturing: Insight into a Future Model

In a recent interview, Albert Gorlick from Synctive and Tobias Rieker from MARKT-PILOT provide exciting insights into the world of smart services in machine manufacturing and their views on the subject. The two entrepreneurs share their vision and experience of the digital transformation in the industry - revolution or trend?  

Albert Gorlick is the founder and Managing Director of Synctive GmbH. With a clear focus on the service business in machine manufacturing, Gorlick and his team have created an IoT service platform. This enables manufacturers to monitor their installed base in real-time (condition monitoring) and provide proactive service (predictive maintenance), thus laying the foundation for Service 4.0 in machine manufacturing. 

Tobias Rieker is Co-Founder and Managing Director of MARKT-PILOT, and is responsible for Business Development. He can look back on over 7 years of professional experience in after sales at various machine manufacturing companies and is revolutionizing an entire industry with innovative solutions for market-based spare parts pricing.  

Smart services and servitization  - buzz words or revolution?   

Smart services and servitization are currently on everyone's mind - are these just trends or is there a profound revolution behind them? Gorlick clearly sees a revolution in the collaboration between machine manufacturers and customers. Rieker sees it as a trend that will prove itself in the future, especially in the context of the increased focus on service excellence and after-sales.  

What do smart services mean in machine manufacturing?  

For Rieker, smart services mean intelligent solutions and networked processes throughout the entire service. Gorlick emphasizes the importance of intelligent operational processes and the networking of machines to proactively use relevant information: "What we enable through IOT technology, for example, is that important information is directed to the right place. Similar to MARKT-PILOT, which brings together data and information from various sources for intelligent spare parts pricing and makes it available and usable for the pricing manager, it is important for smart services as a whole to provide the relevant data and information in the right places." 

Opportunities and potential for companies  

The two entrepreneurs agree that there is huge potential in the after sales sector of machine manufacturing. Smart services can not only save costs, but also increase efficiency and boost sales. The focus is on replacing reactive service with proactive partnerships between machine manufacturers. Tobias Rieker comments: "Reactivity is a thing of the past. Many machine manufacturers are still reactive when it comes to service, but if you're thinking about the future and increasing profitability and competitiveness, then you have to be much more proactive, and that means above all being brave, just doing it, trying it out and testing it."  

How can machine manufacturers exploit this potential?  

Gorlick and Rieker explain that it takes courage to open up to new business models and innovative solutions. Technologically, IoT and the right partners are crucial. The key is to take small steps and act pragmatically. At the same time, it opens the possibility of gaining more decision-making security on this basis, as "the machine manufacturer is provided with information that was previously not available and can now use it. Based on this, decisions can be made on data and facts, rather than on gut instinct as before," says Tobias Rieker. 

Opportunities for the future  

The founders emphasize the diversity of the German machine manufacturing industry and encourage smaller companies to take the plunge into innovation and testing new solutions. Investing in smart services is an "investment in the future, and if you cut such projects into smaller pieces, they can be digested quickly and easily without giving you a stomachache along the way," says Albert Gorlick. Their advice for 2024 is unanimous: "Get going and do it," because the future starts right now.  

Insights into the MARKT-PILOT and Synctive solutions - can they be tested?  

Both solutions can be tested - the two companies have different methods for this. Synctive offers sprint projects to quickly demonstrate the usability of IoT gateways. Additionally, MARKT-PILOT provides proof-of-concept within four weeks, in which the company conducts market price research for 50 parts of the portfolio and provides price recommendations for these parts. The customer can implement these results directly (adjust prices immediately) and see the impact on sales and margins immediately.