Just one click away: Why self-service is also becoming standard in B2B

Expectations for digital services are rising, not least in the beverage and packaging industry. The Krones.shop shows how procurement and service processes are increasingly veering towards self-service, transparency and speed.

Whether it’s clothing, furniture or delivery service, you only need a few clicks to do your shopping these days. What has long been a matter of routine in private life is becoming more widely adopted in the business world as well – because if there is a production line stoppage, every minute counts. It is imperative that spare parts be found promptly, the requisite technical information be available immediately and any service requests be passed directly to the right person.

As Bernd Baldauf, Head of Group eBusiness, explains: “That sort of process often used to be handled via phone, fax, email or a number of different systems. Today, the employees of many companies expect the same simplicity they’ve come to know and appreciate in their private online shopping: retrieving information at any time, generating purchase orders themselves and directly monitoring their current status.” And it is precisely these processes that the Krones.shop has been tackling.

Taking the direct route to spare parts

What at first sounds like a classic online shop actually covers a whole lot more: “When the Krones.shop was set up thirteen years ago, its focus was on digital spare parts ordering and providing a customer touchpoint,” explains Bernd Baldauf. “But it quickly became clear that this platform bore considerably greater potential. You see, our customers’ requirements are in constant flux. That was why the shop has been continually expanded in order to create an integrated platform.”

The Krones.shop unleashes its strengths not only in parts procurement (the online shop’s original purpose) but likewise in spare parts management:

The eCat (short for electronic parts catalogue) enables users to browse through machine structures, directly identify the components they are looking for and order the needed parts straight away, with just a few clicks.
Links between machines, assemblies and spare parts make sure the relevant information can be found promptly.
That reduces the time and effort spent on searches for users while also expediting the process of identifying and ordering components for the purchasing departments.

All in one place

What’s more, the Krones.shop is our customers’ central access point not only for placing orders but also for getting machine information. And invoices, consignment tracking, previous purchase orders and the services on offer are all likewise available there in one place, obviating the need for laboriously searching through a number of different channels.

The Krones.shop supports users with intelligent tools and a clearly structured interface that simplifies an otherwise complex array of data and functions – in a package that can also be linked up to other systems. For example, purchase order information and item details can be exported and transferred to the ERP system, which facilitates further processing and supports automated procurement procedures.

Transparenz bis zur einzelnen Komponente — All in one – The Krones.shop marries clearly structured information to fast availability.

Transparency right down to each individual component

But keeping track of things does not stop at documents, purchase orders or systems. In day-to-day production, too, the platform helps its users see the big picture and recognise complex correlations, especially if numerous machines, assemblies and components are interlinked. You see, anyone operating many machines or several production lines will likely have asked the same questions time and again: Where exactly is a certain component installed? And what do I have to order if something breaks?

Here digital links between items, assemblies and machines in the Krones.shop create greater transparency, enabling users to see in which machines or assemblies a certain component is installed. Not only does that make it easier to identify suitable spares, it also supports maintenance and refurbishment jobs. To give a typical example: If a certain valve component in a filling line is due for replacement, the “Verwendungsnachweis” (where-used documentation) enables the user to see at a glance in which machines and assemblies this part is still installed. That makes it possible to check or replace all the components concerned in one go as part of a scheduled service assignment.

2/ Transparenz bis zur einzelnen Komponente — If a certain valve component in a filling line is due for replacement, the product usage documentation enables the user to see at a glance in which machines and assemblies this part is still installed.

This transparency is particularly helpful if components are no longer available or have to be replaced.

“If a certain spare part is no longer available for sale, customers don’t have to start an elaborate search or contact a number of different people. Instead, they are offered alternatives straight away in a digital substitution list, which directly displays suitable successor products and helps users decide which alternative to choose,” explains Jasmin Heindl, Head of eCommerce. What’s more, additional reports inform users at regular intervals about components that may be discontinued in future, thus enabling companies to take appropriate measures at an early stage in order to safeguard a reliable spare parts supply.

Spare parts from the printer

But there is an even faster way to get your spares: 3D printing. Rapid Part on Demand, a solution developed by Krones, enables customers to print selected components directly on site. Instead of waiting for the parts in question to be delivered, customers can produce them in-house in just a few hours. “That can provide significant benefits, especially for remote locations or in cases where time is crucial: minimised downtimes, lower logistics costs and faster restart of production,” says Johannes Karl, Head of Additive Manufacturing Solutions.

A digital world

So what has long been a matter of course in private online shopping has meanwhile also been widely adopted in the business environment: Information, services and purchase orders are expected to be transparent, available at any time and only a few clicks away. The Krones.shop demonstrates how this transformation has been translated into hands-on reality – and how a platform for ordering spare parts has, over time, been turned into a digital companion for a machine’s entire lifecycle.

And the Krones.shop continues to evolve. As part of the Krones.world, it is being progressively integrated into a comprehensive digital ecosystem. The goals are to intermesh information, applications and services even more closely while also providing our customers with a central access point for all relevant digital options on offer. That is because the ongoing trend is not towards an ever greater number of individual tools but towards platforms that reduce complexity and provide information precisely where it is needed. Or as Bernd Baldauf puts it: “The Krones.shop has long outgrown its status of a spare parts shop – it has become a digital platform that helps minimise downtimes, simplify processes and create transparency. And when our customers wish to have an even more direct connection with Krones, our specialist team will also support them in linking up to EDI and SAP Ariba.”