Digital twins are on everyone's lips. With many application scenarios, they are an important element of the current phase of the digital revolution – including in the upselling of after-sales products and solutions and in customer management. In this article, our managing director Alexander Pircher answers the most important questions on the topic of DIGITAL TWINS!
What does digital twin or digital clone mean?
It is a virtual representation of an object from the real world. So it is not a model for a type, but for a very specific object. Digital twins are mostly used for complex objects that only exist once. In the construction industry, for example, BIM (Building Information Modelling) is used to digitally model entire buildings, right down to the individual power socket. That is the digital twin. The counterpart in the real world may already exist or may still be under construction. Since a digital twin is easily and universally accessible and can be queried digitally, information about an object and its structure can be obtained from it much more easily and quickly than from the real object itself. Digital twins have many application scenarios, from planning and construction to maintenance, expansion and extension, and even demolition or dismantling of an object.
How important is this topic for upselling after-sales services and solutions, or for improving customer relations?
Digital twins are also a way of determining demand in after-sales sales. If you know what the customer already has and what maintenance cycles are involved, you can offer additional products and services that are precisely tailored to their needs. There is no more wasted coverage. This makes selling incredibly efficient. And the customer is not inundated with irrelevant offers, but receives optimal support, which significantly improves the relationship with them.
How important is this topic for your customers in industry and technical trade?
For our customers, the topic of digital twins will completely change customer relationships and the opportunities for upselling products and solutions. This applies to component manufacturers as well as plant and machine builders. Knowledge about the application at the customer's site in the real object is comparable to the knowledge about users from the perspective of large online retailers. This represents an invaluable competitive advantage in the current phase, where the topic is emerging. Soon, digital twins will be indispensable. They are therefore vital for survival.
Where do your customers stand in this regard?
Even today, most manufacturers, dealers and plant engineers do not know exactly what happens to their products, machines and plants after they have been sold and installed. How they are used, operated and maintained by the customer, when they were last serviced, which consumables and spare parts are regularly required, which components would be useful additions, which new products or services would help to optimise the machine or plant, save operating costs, and so on.
What potential does this knowledge hold for providers?
A simple example: A plant manufacturer has a digital twin of every plant it has ever built. This twin contains not only all the information about the plant, but also about all the components installed, as well as the plant's history, including master data, technical data, documentation and movement data such as running times, kilometres, switching operations per unit of time. This clone offers enormous potential for suppliers and customers to automate customer relationships. Not only can spare parts and services be delivered automatically, but downtime, delivery times and idle times can also be optimised proactively.
What is the basis for such a digital twin and where should one start?
As with catalogues, shops and configurators, the basis for a clean digital twin is product data – not just as a list of individual components, but as a complete system with precise plant-specific characteristics, supplemented by data on the life cycle of the original.
And where exactly is the digital twin located, technically or system-wise?
Basically, there are different systems at the supplier and at the customer that provide data and content for this purpose. However, from our point of view, the golden record of all products and their customer-specific characteristics in the form of applications, projects, objects, buildings and machines can be found in the PIM/MAM system of the manufacturer or plant engineer.
How can one imagine the use of a PIM system in more detail here?
Many people see PIM systems as merely a means of mapping a manufacturer's or retailer's product portfolio. But PIM systems can do much more than that. They can also map relationships between products. For a long time now, they have been able to display the user's perspective in addition to the manufacturer's or retailer's perspective, for example to produce solution-related catalogues. They also master interfaces to external systems. The latest generation of PIM systems has database-based query options. And what is a digital twin other than a solution consisting of individual products as components? This can be perfectly mapped in PIM, as can information on maintenance cycles and their start for a specific object. Automated analyses can then be run via the database. For example, we can assign the characteristic "maintenance cycle: six months" to an important component or subsystem, create relationships to the relevant consumables, and add the specific start date of use to the twin. The PIM system can then automatically trigger the dispatch of consumables one week before each maintenance date.
Is it also possible to establish a closer connection with the customer in this context?
Depending on the customer's situation, there are many possibilities here. For example, the customer provides transaction data for the object or informs the manufacturer or plant engineer about changes to the object so that it can be updated in the twin. This can be done manually or automatically via interfaces. In return, the customer gains access to their digital twins and can efficiently find and download or order all information, documentation, spare parts and other items relating to their machines and systems, for example via an after-sales portal or a web shop. In addition, many processes and services can be triggered automatically.
What are the challenges?
The first question is who owns which data and what information each participant in the value chain wants to make available to others. Manufacturers, retailers, system integrators and customers must learn that the game of "my data versus your data" does not lead to the desired goal, but rather stands in the way of a win-win situation for all involved. In addition, a digital twin must be maintained consistently. If this is neglected, the twin quickly loses its value and updating becomes costly. Automation is therefore very important here, which requires a high level of process and interface expertise on the part of the implementer.
And how can companies approach this issue?
As is so often the case, the motto here is: "Think big but start small." Pick out a few A-list customers and set up pilot projects for their most important properties. Building on this, you can then quickly convince other customers. We support you with consulting, experience and the right solutions.
Alexander Pircher
After completing his training as an automation engineer and studying business administration, Alexander Pircher entered the omnichannel e-commerce industry in 1999 as a consultant for technical marketing and product communication. In 2003, he founded INFOLOX GmbH. www.infolox.de, alexander.pircher@infolox.de
