With innovative servicing concepts and models, METTLER TOLEDO is catering for the way the modern generation of scales works. With InTouchTM Enabled Remote Services, shown at EuroCIS 2009 (10 - 12 February, Messe Düsseldorf), customers can save costs – thanks to an optimised level of servicing and benefit from an extended range of services from the manufacturer.
Information terminal for staff and customers, a platform for training and visual merchandising, an interface for data exchange and inventory management: modern retail scales offer much more than just weighing technology. They contain a great deal of high-tech for the efficient management of fresh goods – and more and more often nowadays technological progress is exemplified by the software. The replacement of defect mechanical components has long-since become the exception. The classic idea of maintenance and servicing is becoming less and less important. In practice, nowadays maintenance and servicing means: software updates and upgrades, integrating the scales into the network communication and into the inventory management. Changes that also make it necessary to adapt the servicing models and the range of services. Stephan Boch, Global Retail Service Manager at METTLER TOLEDO comments: “In line with the technologies and the opportunities offered by modern weighing systems, we are redefining our entire service portfolio. In future, the aim is to increasingly differentiate between services by introducing new service procedures and tools and at the same time by expanding our service portfolio around the field of inventory control.”
New remote service platform for proactive device management
METTLER TOLEDO customers will profit from this in two ways: first the new service concept will involve more customising of the scales while still in the factory, that means the configuration of the devices will increasingly be moved from the field, back to the manufacturing process. That speeds up the commissioning on the customer’s premises. In addition, the remote servicing is becoming significantly more important. Thanks to being able to dispense with journeys to the customer, it promises very short reaction times and at the same time an excellent price-performance ratio. Stephan Boch: “We are also going to develop service tools in order to automate servicing operations and set up a completely new and flexible service platform which will enable proactive device management. In practice that means that in the future a report providing important data and information, such as the expiry of the calibration period, the condition of the printer head or system error messages for example, will automatically be sent to us at the remote service platform.
InTouch™ Enabled Remote ServicesMETTLER TOLEDO has started initial test runs with the InTouchTM Remote Service Platform in Germany and France. The tests include remote diagnosis and device monitoring, the remote correction of malfunctions and error messages, inputting software updates, changing the configuration, altering the design of the touch screens and labels by means of remote connections as well as producing and evaluating the status data of the device. Particularly clever: the remote diagnosis and monitoring are effected without direct access to the scales. The scales send their status reports to a server which in turn communicates with the remote service applications. These are web-enabled and can thus be accessed from anywhere. The establishment of a direct connection with the scales is thus not necessary for the remote service. In case mal-functions have to be rectified or updates made, a secure connection between the scales and the METTLER TOLEDO Remote Service Centre can, if necessary, be established, via a special VPN tunnel controlled by the application and the server.
The visitor can expect more information about the METTLER TOLEDO InTouchTM Empowered Remote Services at the EuroCIS 2009 in 13, Stand D03.
Information terminal for staff and customers, a platform for training and visual merchandising, an interface for data exchange and inventory management: modern retail scales offer much more than just weighing technology. They contain a great deal of high-tech for the efficient management of fresh goods – and more and more often nowadays technological progress is exemplified by the software. The replacement of defect mechanical components has long-since become the exception. The classic idea of maintenance and servicing is becoming less and less important. In practice, nowadays maintenance and servicing means: software updates and upgrades, integrating the scales into the network communication and into the inventory management. Changes that also make it necessary to adapt the servicing models and the range of services. Stephan Boch, Global Retail Service Manager at METTLER TOLEDO comments: “In line with the technologies and the opportunities offered by modern weighing systems, we are redefining our entire service portfolio. In future, the aim is to increasingly differentiate between services by introducing new service procedures and tools and at the same time by expanding our service portfolio around the field of inventory control.”
New remote service platform for proactive device management
METTLER TOLEDO customers will profit from this in two ways: first the new service concept will involve more customising of the scales while still in the factory, that means the configuration of the devices will increasingly be moved from the field, back to the manufacturing process. That speeds up the commissioning on the customer’s premises. In addition, the remote servicing is becoming significantly more important. Thanks to being able to dispense with journeys to the customer, it promises very short reaction times and at the same time an excellent price-performance ratio. Stephan Boch: “We are also going to develop service tools in order to automate servicing operations and set up a completely new and flexible service platform which will enable proactive device management. In practice that means that in the future a report providing important data and information, such as the expiry of the calibration period, the condition of the printer head or system error messages for example, will automatically be sent to us at the remote service platform.
InTouch™ Enabled Remote ServicesMETTLER TOLEDO has started initial test runs with the InTouchTM Remote Service Platform in Germany and France. The tests include remote diagnosis and device monitoring, the remote correction of malfunctions and error messages, inputting software updates, changing the configuration, altering the design of the touch screens and labels by means of remote connections as well as producing and evaluating the status data of the device. Particularly clever: the remote diagnosis and monitoring are effected without direct access to the scales. The scales send their status reports to a server which in turn communicates with the remote service applications. These are web-enabled and can thus be accessed from anywhere. The establishment of a direct connection with the scales is thus not necessary for the remote service. In case mal-functions have to be rectified or updates made, a secure connection between the scales and the METTLER TOLEDO Remote Service Centre can, if necessary, be established, via a special VPN tunnel controlled by the application and the server.
The visitor can expect more information about the METTLER TOLEDO InTouchTM Empowered Remote Services at the EuroCIS 2009 in 13, Stand D03.
