For OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), delivering high-performance machinery is an absolute requirement. However, their true measurement of success lies with ensuring long-term reliability and maximizing uptime for their customers. Downtime isn’t just an inconvenience – it can result in substantial financial losses, impacting both productivity and profitability. By prioritizing dependability in their chosen solutions, OEMs can strengthen customer trust, enhance operational efficiency, and differentiate themselves in a competitive market.
The Data Gap Challenge: Overcoming Connectivity Issues for Reliable Predictive Maintenance
Our OEM customers have shared that they struggle with tracking real-time performance data, predicting maintenance needs, and delivering proactive service solutions. Traditional data logging methods break down in unreliable network conditions, which is fairly common, creating critical data gaps. Without seamless data transfer, predictive maintenance and real-time monitoring become nearly impossible – leading to unexpected breakdowns, dissatisfied customers, and lost revenue opportunities.
The Solution: DataHub Store and Forward
To solve this problem, OEMs are proactively embedding Cogent DataHub directly into the computers shipped with their equipment. This integration allows real-time equipment performance data to be logged and sent to an external historian. The collected data can then be leveraged to enhance Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, supporting more efficient operations and streamline workflows.
Store and Forward is crucial because the OEMs collect data from multiple customer sites, where they have no control over the infrastructure or network uptime. This data must be gathered and transmitted to their corporate headquarters or cloud-based systems for analysis. Ensuring data reliability, even when a customer’s network fails, is essential for accurate analytics and informed decision-making.
Some of our OEM customers use AVEVA PI System as a central platform with its Asset Framework and Analytics to aggregate and analyze all their customer data. They choose the Cogent DataHub with its AVEVA PI (formerly OSIsoft PI) historian plug-in because the Store and Forward feature is a cost-effective solution to ensure data reliably reaches their enterprise historian, even in cases of network disruption.
With Store and Forward, data is continuously recorded – even during network disruptions – and the missed data is automatically forwarded once connectivity is restored. This ensures that no critical data is lost, giving OEMs and their customers peace of mind, as well as accurate and complete insight into equipment health and operational efficiency at all times.
The Business Impact: A Win-Win for OEMs and End Users
For the OEM:
- Steady Revenue Stream – By leveraging real-time equipment insights, OEMs can offer proactive maintenance services, generating a predictable and recurring revenue stream.
- Improved Customer Satisfaction – Ensuring maximum uptime builds trust and enhances the OEM’s brand reputation.
- Competitive Advantage – With advanced remote monitoring and predictive maintenance capabilities, OEMs can differentiate themselves from competitors.
For the End User:
- Improved Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) – Real-time monitoring enables users to optimize availability, performance, and quality, ensuring maximum productivity and efficiency. This leads to maximized equipment uptime by reducing unexpected failures and ensuring smooth operations.
- Higher ROI – With increased efficiency and reliability, equipment operates at peak performance, leading to better resource utilization and a faster return on investment.
- Lower Maintenance Costs – Addressing issues before they become major problems reduces repair expenses and extends equipment lifespan.
Unlock Sustainable Service Revenue: Transform Your Maintenance Strategy with Cogent DataHub
By integrating Cogent DataHub with Store and Forward, OEMs can transform their business model from one-time equipment sales to sustainable service-based revenue. This not only enhances customer relationships but also ensures that equipment owners experience uninterrupted productivity and peace of mind.
Software Toolbox has worked closely with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) for our nearly 30 years of existence. If you're an OEM seeking to improve your maintenance strategy and provide uninterrupted productivity for your customers, we can help. Contact us today for a consultation and discover how Cogent DataHub can revolutionize your maintenance strategy and transform your approach to service and reliability.
