Finding the correct documentation or bill of material for an equipement requires technicians to have some knowledge of the codification to find the relevant information on the Identification plate: Model, Technical reference, Serial number, Year of manufacture or age, etc. This information may also be difficult to read, for example, if the Identification plates are engraved.
Technicians must then connect to the manufacturer’s website, identify themselves, enter the correct information described on the Identification plate to launch a search and then access the corresponding documentation or bill of nomenclature.
An inconvenient and error-prone process!
Facilitate the search via QRCodes
The latest versions of DOCUMAT® simplify access to the documentation and bill of material of a machine using QRCodes:
The manufacturer adds a QRCode onto the machines which contain a specific URL to the after-sales site developed by RTE Services.
The technician scans the QRCode via their smartphone.
The after-sales website automatically opens the page corresponding to the machine’s documentation or bill of nomenclature.
Options
Free access or via authentication
All manufacturers using DOCUMAT® can decide whether technicians have free access to information or if they must identify themselves beforehand.
If authentication is required, technicians must enter their username and password after which they are automatically redirected to the machine’s documentation.
When access is free, technicians must subsequently identify themselves only if they wish access to all the portal’s functionalities (prices, orders, the entire catalogue, or others functionalities).
Configurable types of information
When access to the portal via QRCode does not require identification, the manufacturer may decide to limit the information accessible to only certain types of data.
For example, only:
User manuals
Bill of material without pricing
The availability of parts
…
For further information
Contact the RTE Services teams to obtain more information on this functionality or all the services included in the DOCUMAT® after-sales portal applications.
VMI is one of the world leaders in the market for mixing equipment and technologies. The company designs, assembles and installs innovative equipment such as kneaders, mixers and automated mixing systems.
VMI is aimed at food, health, and chemical industries, but also artisanal bakers.
For the artisanal bakery market, VMI relies on a network of dealers ensuring machine maintenance, while in industrial markets, customers are in direct contact with VMI teams. Ensuring the maintenance and after-sales service of these mixers and industrial devices requires being able to consult documentation from an accurate technical database for each piece of equipment.
Stéphane GUILLAUME Customer Service Manager for the crafts / semi-industrial division
The problem
Until 2015, VMI’s customer service responded to requests from customers and resellers without having a specific tool, and exchanges were carried out mainly by phone or email.
Outside of VMI’s office hours, customers did not have the option of requesting a specification sheet, getting a quote, or ordering a replacement part. This was particularly problematic for resellers within other continents, due to the significant time difference with France. In some cases, it took up to 48 hours to receive documentation or a quote.
The solution: an “e-service” portail for resellers and customers
At VMI, the digitization of documentation had been effective for a few years, the machines were therefore delivered with CD Roms or USB keys. By 2015 CDs were obsolete and some companies did not allow the use of USB sticks for security reasons.
A business project for the implementation of an extranet was therefore launched. Arnaud Nagel, Customer Service Director and Stéphane Guillaume, Crafts Customer Service Manager, actively participated in the project so that customers and resellers could access technical documentation, obtain quotes, and order spare parts. The e-service portal makes it possible to provide technical information to customers and resellers 24 hours a day, without constraining office opening hours. It can therefore absorb a large part of the requests received and as a result this reduces the customer service burden. The portal is interconnected with SAP, especially for quotes and online orders.
The e-service portal
1,200 users
20,000 parts ordered per year
Features
Visualization of equipment/models
Access to technical and commercial documentation: manuals / repair / maintenance manuals, machine parts lists
Visualization of spare parts lists with price, availability, and stock
Shopping Cart function and request for a quotation
Order visualization and follow-up
The RTE SERVICES solution
Expertise, ability to listen, responsiveness
“The RTE teams have been involved in our project from the start, so they know our business and understand our needs” adds Arnaud Nagel.
“We were able to interact with customers who were already equipped before adopting the solution. We were looking for a standard product, which was both interconnected and adaptable. RTE Services’ DOCUMAT product met our expectations fully” he adds.
“We had very good discussions with the teams in the pre-sales phase of the project. Our contacts are always attentive to our comments and had the know how to adapt to our issues. The teams respond within the day and our exchanges are always pleasant and serene” adds Stéphane Guillaume.
Time saving, Quality and productivity
Resellers, especially international resellers save time. They no longer wait for the office to open to get documentation or order a part.
There is also a reduction in errors (re-entering references and duplicate orders).
With the implementation of the e-service portal, VMI has also gained in productivity, fewer phone calls, fewer emails to process as orders are placed directly online.
“Of the 3 people in charge of entering orders, we managed to reassign one person to work other tasks, thus saving money and productivity by a third”.
“This also resulted in a 33% reduction in administrative burden, freeing up time for other projects.”
Challenges and prospects for future developments
“While some of the users have adopted the portal widely, we still have to prove to some of our collaborators and resellers the power of the tool, so that they in turn adopt it.”, Explains Stéphane Guillaume.
“Our challenge now is to move on to documentation with 3D machine views with “clickable” parts. RTE Services after-sales solution makes it possible to do this technically, and now it is up to us to carry out the 3D conversion of our oldest documentation” concludes Arnaud Nagel.
About RTE Services
For more than 20 years, RTE Services has been ensuring the digitisation and optimisation of the after-sales activities of numerous manufacturers. RTE Services works continuously to enable its industrial customers:
to simplify or automate their after-sales processes,
to improve the quality of information and its accessibility,
to increase their sale of spare parts or accessories,
Founded in 1881, with a worldwide presence, Haulotte is a manufacturer of equipment for lifting people and loads. Its cranes and nacelles are widely used in France and around the world.
With 7 product lines and 3 ranges of telehandlers, the catalogue of spare parts for Haulotte products is particularly rich.
Haulotte statistics
6 industrial sites
7 product lines for lifting people
21 subsidiaries
2000 employees
439.6 M € turnover
Creation date: 1881
Haulotte Service Portal
10,000 users
175,000 spare parts references
24/7 support availability for customers worldwide
A Haulotte partner since 2007, RTE Services first supported the company in the digitalization of its spare parts catalogue. This web portal quickly became the cornerstone of the after-sales activity by enriching itself with new functionalities such as online ordering, requests for quotes, information, stock, and prices in real time.
The objective
The industrial sector is in the midst of a digital transformation. Today we talk about the digitization of machines, and we think more in terms of use than possession.
The owners of aerial work platforms (rental companies, construction companies, etc.) now wish to have machine usage data in order to control their correct use and ensure that they are not moved to other sites or operated outside the scheduled periods for example in the evenings or the weekends).
The solution: a new “all in one” web portal, “My Haulotte”
Haulotte decided to offer its customers a user experience tailored to their needs via a new web portal. This portal contains both information related to after-sales service, but also machine usage data (consumption, technical incidents, geolocation, etc.).
Haulotte have now equipped the nacelles with telematics boxes (trackers) to collect machine usage data. The nacelles of older models are fitted as a retrofit. These boxes contain SIM cards and upload data to the cloud.
“We needed a web portal to allow users to view the data. No standard solution existed on the market, so we decided to create our own portal”, explains Mathieu Parent, Digital Experience manager at Haulotte.
“Rather than creating a second portal for these new functionalities, it seemed more natural for us to provide a single portal with all the available services”, adds Mathieu Parent.
Example of use
Thanks to “My Haulotte”, a boom lift rental company will now be able to check the exact duration of use of its machines. (If the rental duration is due to stop on Friday, but the machine is returned the following Monday, the rental company will be able to check to see if it has been used over the weekend).
The after-sales service portal “My Haulotte” has been enriched with high added value functions such as:
Geolocation of nacelles
Real-time feedback of usage data (battery level) or fault codes
Fleet management for the customer (site, assignment, etc.)
Intervention request and follow-up
Geofencing (sending alerts when the platform leaves a work area or is used outside of established hours)
The development of the portal is the result of a collaboration between several teams: the internal teams of Haulotte for the interconnections with the ERP, two integrators for the box, data collection and the APIs and RTE Services teams for the front end of the website.
The advantages of RTE Services: expertise and proactivity
Haulotte appreciates two areas of expertise of RTE Services, on which it has relied on throughout the project:
The IT expertise of a development specialist,
The after-sales service provider business expertise (Documat Brand) and Geolocation (RTE Geoloc).
RTE Services strengths were that they were able to offer technical, functional, and ergonomic choices, etc.
“We have been working with RTE Services for over 10 years. We appreciate the professionalism and responsiveness of the teams who listen and understand our needs, which allows us to collaborate with confidence and transparency and we share the same strategy. RTE understands our vision and spontaneously offers solutions. In addition, the work is always of high quality and delivered on time. Over the years, a real relationship has been forged and today we can say that RTE is much more than a service provider, it is a real partner“ adds Mathieu Parent
RTE Services strenghts
To be able to listen
Their reactivity
Expertise in both development and software editing
Respecting the schedule and budget
Ability to propose new developments
Expertise/knowledge to push back/challenge Haulotte
Next steps
Haulotte is continually improving its processes in partnership with RTE Services, which regularly makes suggestions for changes to the user interface.
As the standard Google Maps mapping solution is not available in China, alternative mapping systems are being explored.
Haulotte is also interested in new features such as usage restriction, which would make it possible, for example, to immobilize a vehicle on weekends.
“RTE Challenge the needs of Haulotte and vice versa. We appreciate the support on a human scale. We remain flexible while being able to manage international projects. It’s a co-project”, concludes Mathieu Parent.
About Haulotte
Haulotte Group is one of the world leaders in lifting equipment for people and loads. The group designs, builds and markets a wide range of products, the core of which is the aerial work platform and telehandler.
About RTE Services
For more than 20 years, RTE Services has been ensuring the digitisation and optimisation of the after-sales activities of numerous manufacturers. RTE Services works continuously to enable its industrial customers:
to simplify or automate their after-sales processes,
to improve the quality of information and its accessibility,
to increase their sale of spare parts or accessories,
