Lenze’s logicline subsidiary has developed an asset management application that provides such a secure location. It creates an inventory of an entire machine, containing data not only on the components, but also information on lifecycles and maintenance intervals, and documentation such as handbooks, serial numbers and photos, to create a complete “digital profile” of the machine.

This will have advantages both for users (making it easier for them to find information about their machines) and for manufacturers, who, Lenze suggests, will be able to find new sources of revenue and new customers through an expanded set of services. “The bottom line is that the OEM will, in future, be selling his know-how together with his infrastructure,” says logicline’s managing director, Edgar Schüber. “And we are offering him all the basic tools he needs to be able to do that.”