Mechanical engineering companies often face the same questions when it comes to the digital transformation of their business models, such as customer needs or the design of data flows. With AERconsult, Aerzen Digital has developed a suitable consulting offer.
The challenge: Mechanical engineers have similar questions about digitization
For mechanical and plant engineering, digital services will be a market standard in the near future. They have the potential to give companies in the industry new kinds of unique selling points. Examples include cloud services for monitoring and controlling machines or “as-a-service” business models with billing based on usage.
To develop such digital solutions in the first place, companies need digital expertise and must gain experience. That’s why successful digitizers are often approached about their projects. This is also the case with Aerzen Maschinenfabrik, a supplier of blowers and compressors in low pressure. In talking with other companies, employees noted some commonalities.
When it came to digitization, companies faced similar obstacles and asked themselves the same questions: How do we build digital competence? How do we analyze customer needs in order to offer added value in the first place? How can we make money with it at all? Where is the relevant data for analytics or artificial intelligence? How do we design data processing with or without cloud?
The solution: Digital consulting at eye level
The realization that machine builders are going through similar experiences in the digital transformation led to an idea: setting up a service for digital consulting. Aerzen Digital, which was founded specifically for digitisation, has the necessary know-how and now offers its digital expertise in the consulting market under the name AERconsult.
The target group is primarily medium-sized machine and plant manufacturers who do not (yet) know what opportunities the digital transformation of their products will bring. One of the first customers was a manufacturer of machines and equipment for shredding and processing various materials.
With its consulting program, Aerzen Digital first gave this customer an insight into Aerzen Digital’s experience with its own digital transformation. In workshops, the consultants determine the requirements and needs of the machine builder. The two companies then jointly developed a strategy for implementing an optimized business model.
The result: Digital business models for SMEs
Digital services in its own portfolio give the environmental machinery manufacturer advantages over competitors. They have the character of a unique selling point and thus increase customer loyalty. The more convenient and useful such a service is, the more likely new customers are to become regular customers.
Furthermore, digital services create additional revenue. Companies are thus extending their traditional one-off sales to regular revenue through rental models and services. AERconsult supports them in the introduction of such digital services and achieves a shorter time to market through its expertise.
In doing so, the consulting team has set itself the goal of not distributing ready-made concepts off the shelf. Instead, the consultants engage in a very intensive exchange of ideas with their customers and work with them to develop a digital solution that is a perfect fit. A major advantage is the consultants’ knowledge of the industry and their position as a medium-sized company. In a nutshell: AERconsult is the digital consultancy for SMEs from SMEs.
