ElringKlinger AG is a leading automotive supplier with headquarters in Germany. ElringKlinger delivers its products to almost all of the world’s vehicle and engine manufacturers as a worldwide development partner and original equipment supplier of cylinder-head and speciality gaskets, plastic housing modules, and shielding components for engine, transmission, exhaust systems and underbody. ElringKlinger also provides battery and fuel cell components.
ElringKlinger has been a TecDoc data supplier since 1994 for its ELRING brand. They have been continuously a “Certified Data Supplier” of TecDoc. As of the latest September ’21 evaluation, Elring has achieved the “Premier Data Supplier” status for its exceptional data quality. ElringKlinger uses DMM as their Data Maintenance System for all catalogue activities.
We spoke with Bernd-Martin Schuh, responsible for ElringKlinger Catalogue Data Management, including TecDoc DMM, Instant Data Processing and printed catalogues.
“Our focus is a much faster data transfer to the customer as weekly updates are not sufficient for some customers. They would like to see new information (i.e. new linkages, new articles) or corrections straight away via IDP. We work with different regions: Europe, South America, Africa and Asia – immediate response to customer needs with accurate, comprehensive, real-time data is vital for us.”
Bernd-Martin Schuh, Catalogue Data Management at ElringKlinger
What was your motivation to participate in the Instant Data Processing pilot project?
I have been working with DMM for 20 years. We have a solid, long-standing relationship with the DMM team. I am very interested in every new function DMM offers, and after discussions about IDP, we made the decision to participate in the pilot. We already update the catalogue data on a weekly basis. IDP will be beneficial when it comes to filling in missing information, updating documents, removing incorrect information and resolving customer complaints on the spot.
What has been your experience using the IDP functionality as a pilot customer? Is it easy to handle?
Well, first of all, I would like to mention that the implementation was quite simple so that no extra IT support was required. It is similar to DMM. We installed DMM with IDP functionality at the end of June 2021 and are now working with Beta Version 6.2.1. I can say that IDP is easy to use. I generally work with regular DMM and know it very well. With IDP in DMM, I am sure I will be able to learn all the possibilities it can offer.
Did you recognize any data gap regarding the transfer of data and the publishing in the catalogue?
In the beginning, we had some transfer problems, but these were solved as we continued working with IDP. We did not experience any gaps when using IDP in DMM. The reporting of the IDP processes is working fine now.
What advantages do you see in IDP?
We are customer-centric. Our focus is a much faster data transfer to the customer as weekly updates are not sufficient for some customers. They would like to see new information (i.e. new linkages, new articles) or corrections straight away via IDP. We work with different regions: Europe, South America, Africa and Asia – immediate response to customer needs with accurate, comprehensive, real-time data is vital for us.
Have there been any challenges for you during the pilot phase?
Since we still use the regular DMM for our data maintenance and delivery to TecDoc in parallel, the biggest challenge was to keep the test data separate from the productive DMM during the pilot phase. That is why we installed the DMM with IDP on a separate server.
Would you consider using this functionality in your regular business?
Yes, DMM with IDP will become a tool for daily use in our regular business. We are looking forward to the next steps with this product!
