Printed parts manuals become less and less relevant and useful with time. The static information offered by printed documentation was no longer good enough for a major global player like ACC. ACC needed a solution that would deliver updated versions of documents to their network immediately. The company wanted a dynamic system, which would not only display current inventory levels, but also provide customers with information regarding how products should be used. Atlas Copco Construction’s Needs • Offer customers real-time part and information updates • Provide customers a comprehensive parts lookup and search platform • Administer an eCommerce platform with shopping cart and ERP integration • Produce a multilingual site for parts ordering

Excel Industries, a leading outdoor power equipment manufacturer, was facing a significant challenge with their parts lookup and ordering system. The company was dependent on a third-party provider to make changes to their parts books and manuals, which was a time-consuming process that often took five to six months to implement. This delay resulted in dealers and distributors being unsure if they were ordering the right part or accessory, damaging the trust between the company and their network. The inaccurate parts data also began impacting Excel’s costs and bottom line, with one instance of a mislabeled transmission resulting in significant shipping costs and a 30-day delay to fix the error.

Before the implementation of Documoto, Paladin Attachments had a manual and time-consuming process for parts ordering and customer service. Customers had to call in to order parts and consumables, and the company relied on hard copy manuals and PDF catalogs for parts lookup. These documents were not regularly updated or maintained, leading to issues with part supersessions. Updates to these documents could take anywhere from 4-12 hours, and creating a new parts manual could take weeks. The company wanted to modernize its aftermarket sales and develop a better way of doing business online.

Atlas Copco Construction (ACC) is a global manufacturer of construction equipment with a geographically dispersed customer base. The company was facing challenges with its parts lookup and ordering system. The traditional, printed parts catalogs were becoming obsolete and were unable to keep up with the real-time updates. This was causing delays in the ordering process and was affecting the company's relationship with its customers. ACC needed a solution that would deliver updated versions of documents to their network immediately. The company wanted a dynamic system, which would not only display current inventory levels, but also provide customers with information regarding how products should be used. The goal was to make speed and accuracy a competitive differentiator, with product updates, technical information, and pricing available to end users as close to real-time as possible.

LA Metro, the operator of a system with 2,200 buses and over 270 rail cars, had an inefficient and outdated parts lookup and ordering system. Mechanics diagnosed vehicle problems, then created a parts list by viewing PDFs and manually writing down part numbers. Then they would open the EAM portal and enter the part numbers to create an order. However, obtaining accurate part information from manufacturers' PDFs remained slow and tedious, and submitting an incorrect part number could result in lengthy delays. One of the major sources of staff and vehicle downtime is order accuracy. Before implementing the new solution, technicians ordered an incorrect part on 25% of orders. Re-ordering the correct part involves at least a 30-minute delay before the right part arrives back at the service bay. With 2,000 mechanics losing a half hour of work on 25% of their jobs, fixing this problem was a major goal of Metro's maintenance division.

As Hiperbaric expanded its product base, they realized that their customer satisfaction goals required a more robust content solution for technical support. They needed a system where spare part information, service bulletins, and other technical documentation could be easily accessed by internal staff and machine owners. Traditional parts manuals were created and formatted using desktop publishing tools in a repetitive, mostly manual process. However, constant changes in parts information created a roadblock for time and efficiency, as each instance had to be manually updated and then redistributed in a timely fashion. Hiperbaric wanted to provide quick and accurate after-sales service, as even a brief stoppage in operation can shut down a food manufacturer’s production line and cause unacceptable impacts on output.

Viking Range, LLC, a pioneer in bringing commercial-quality technology and design to the residential market, needed an online solution to provide comprehensive product information in one location for both service people and consumers. The documentation includes use and care instructions, installation guides, service manuals and bulletins, and parts books. Viking was also motivated to increase efficiencies in their publishing department. Their previous system relied on an outside vendor to update the content via static PDFs and spreadsheet files. The process of updating a parts book took up to two weeks before it was available online because Viking had to send the change to the external service provider and wait for them to get the content updated on Viking’s online system.

Fecon, a manufacturer of premium products in the forestry industry, was facing challenges with its parts catalogs. The catalogs were dependent on a third-party vendor, who converted product information from the manufacturer into parts books and manuals. This process was time-consuming and costly, with each manual costing almost $10,000. The lengthy turnaround time meant parts catalogs were effectively obsolete as soon as they were published. There was no effective way to update manuals in response to engineering changes and product updates. This resulted in extensive phone time with Fecon customer service simply trying to identify the correct parts for a customer’s machine. Fecon wanted to improve dealer and customer communications by providing timely service bulletins, warranty notifications, sales promotions and other vital information for equipment owners.

Dragotec’s equipment is known for its durability, a necessity in agricultural working environments. However, the harsh conditions sometimes experienced during crop harvesting can lead to equipment damage. When this happens, dealers and equipment owners need product documentation that easily distinguishes what part requires repair or replacement. The challenge was ensuring that the manuals accurately depict the equipment parts. The printed books provided with their corn head attachments did not drill down into every part of the attachment, making illustrations with part numbers and specifications difficult to create and maintain. The outdated parts books were hard to read, making it difficult to provide sales and service support to dealers. The features they sought out in a solution were ease of use, improved publishing processes, improved publishing release timeframe, easy adoption rate with network, and enhanced dealer experience.

Oxbo International, a part of the Ploeger Oxbo Group, develops, manufactures, distributes, and supports mechanized solutions for agricultural niche markets worldwide. With several facilities and sister companies in Europe, the Ploeger Oxbo Group needed a solution to unify and host product information. The first challenge was finding a solution that could help them create and publish parts catalogs efficiently. The second was finding a solution that could connect to their fragmented technical documentation. Previous processes would take months to complete, making it challenging to provide sales and service support to the equipment owners seeking guidance on their machines.

Schramm, a manufacturer and global supplier to the hydraulic drilling industry, was facing challenges with their parts book processes. The company was producing generic parts books that were not customized to the customers' rigs. The process of creating these books was lengthy and time-consuming. Some illustrations were hand-drawn, out of date, or incorrect. If there were any engineering changes, they could not be easily added to the parts books in the field. This led to inefficiencies and difficulties in providing accurate and up-to-date information to their customers. The company needed a solution that could improve their publishing process, automate parts book publishing, and provide secure online access to parts information for their global network of customers and dealers.

MacLean, a company that designs, manufactures, and supports engineered solutions across the mining, municipal, and waste management sectors, faced challenges in unifying internal and external documentation. They needed a solution that could help them create and publish parts catalogs efficiently and improve their aftermarket customer experience by connecting their customers to their machine technical documentation. The previous processes were time-consuming and would take weeks to complete. They also lacked shopping cart capability for their customers.