Digital solutions for the service support of the future

The future of service support is becoming progressively more digital. But what for some is still a vision of the future is already corporate reality at Krones: thanks to remote support, Krones’ specialists are available to their clients night and day in the event of unexpected standstills or sudden difficulties, and provide assistance over the phone for trouble-shooting and remedial action. In addition, Krones has recently introduced the Augmented Reality Support Argos, which raises remote support to a new level. With the aid of smart glasses, line operators receive immediate assistance from a Krones support specialist at their machines  – just as if he/she were directly on the spot.

For ordering spare parts, upgrades, components, training courses, service technicians and pre-owned machines, the Krones.shop has for five years now been the digital platform for the food and beverage sectors. With a portfolio of meanwhile almost five million products, the e-Shop is continually evolving, and coming up with a succession of new features.

But Krones’ subsidiary  Syskron, too, offers numerous digital solutions that make line operators’ daily work a whole lot easier. One of these is Share2Act, the industrial Internet-of-Things platform. This Cloud solution supports various standardised services, which can be flexibly combined with each other and matched to the requirements of the production operation concerned.

Tried-and-tested technologies recombined

At the BrauBeviale, Krones Lifecycle Service and Syskron will take you on a trip to the digital service of tomorrow. A showcase will spotlight the services and digital solutions already available in the group, combined with a vision for the future. The scenario shows how data-based capabilities can at an early stage detect and remedy weak points in the production operation before the line comes to a standstill – which in its turn optimises the performance of the line and reduces the costs involved.

The foundation for this digital service is a corresponding service agreement with Krones, on the basis of which Krones monitors the production operation involved, and can thus proactively draw attention to incipient problems. The support specialist can access the machine’s data, and thanks to his competence and experience can determine the right solution. He then proactively contacts the line operator, and guides him through malfunction analysis and remedial action.

The showcase spotlights what service can look like in a world of digitalised production – and that Krones has long since embarked on the pathway to this goal. A live demonstration at the BrauBeviale will be held regularly at Krones’ stand in Hall 7A on all three days of the fair.