It would hardly cross the mind of anyone driving a car
how dangerous it would be if they suddenly weren't able
to control their vehicle any more using the steering
wheel. The steering system is one component in an
automobile that must operate safely and reliably. A
steering system's safety is mainly determined by the
bearings it contains. One leading manufacturer of these
bearings is INA-Schaeffler KG, headquartered at
Herzogenaurach, in the Central Franconia region of
southern Germany. This conglomerate develops,
manufactures and sells at around 40 sites across all the
world's main industrial countries rolling and plain
bearings, linear guidance systems and components for
motor, transmission and chassis applications.
"We weren't just going to rely
on potential customers stumbling across INA by
chance on the Internet. But the chances are good of
someone accessing INA's website via the powerPARTS
portal; so, we've found the ideal distributor in
TraceParts."
Horst Dietmar Köhler,
Manager of the technical department in the Sales,
Industry and Commerce unit at INA-Schaeffler
Time-consuming in-house data maintenance and 3D model
programming
To be able to offer customers this service, INA already
converted its 2D component drawings to electronic format
a few years ago, and made them available on the
Internet. Going via the product selection and
information system known as medias, customers were able
to select the components they needed, produce
calculations for their product and download the relevant
drawing. But over time, there were increasingly more
frequent demands for 3D CAD data, which led to INA
programming 3D models too and supplying them for
download on its website. There was a huge response to
this, with between 6,000 and 7,000 requests every day.
"But the process of maintaining and converting data was very time-consuming,
so we decided to outsource this task to a specialist,"
explains Horst Dietmar Köhler. "The idea was to
supply all design-relevant information on a portal where
several manufacturers were represented. This type of
portal then allows customers to find the data they want
easily, without any problem, without them having to go
through countless CDs containing electronic product
catalogs from the individual manufacturers."
As part of an extensive evaluation process, INA analyzed
various offerings and carried out several benchmark
tests. The solution from the supplier they initially
decided on was not however very convincing in practice.
"There were significant errors in some areas, not to
mention the service not being satisfactory," recalls
Köhler. In their quest for a competent new partner, INA
then came across TraceParts, based in Amberg, German,
offering with its powerPARTS on Web web-hosting service
an easy-to-use solution for creating and publishing CAD
data.
"Thanks to PowerParts, we were able to
achieve our aim of offering a global service for our
products. We weren't just going to rely on potential
customers stumbling across INA by chance on the Internet.
But the chances are good of someone accessing INA's website
via the powerPARTS portal; so, we've found the ideal
distributor in TraceParts."
Horst Dietmar Köhler,
Manager of the technical department in the Sales,
Industry and Commerce unit at INA-Schaeffler
But the main focus at INA is not just on product sales.
Customer service is also very important to the company
as its components require a high degree of support in
terms of information. "We want to be able to offer
our customers every conceivable service for our
components, allowing them to use them quickly and
efficiently,"
explains Horst Dietmar Köhler, manager of the technical
department in INA-Schaeffler's unit for sales, industry
and commerce. "Designers nowadays basically produce
their designs in electronic format. This means that the
manufacturer of the machine components should provide
the drawings so that the designer can import them
directly into his CAD system, making it easy for him to
process them further." |
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Global marketing and direct insert function - key decision
criteria
INA had quite specific requirements of its new provider.
As a globally operating company, global marketing had an
especially important role. The powerPARTS portal is available in
a total of 4 languages so that INA can market its catalogs in
important markets like Japan, China and the US as well. Another
crucial factor in the decision was the direct2CAD direct insert
function. This can be used to import component drawings directly
into market-leading CAD systems such as Pro/ENGINEER, CATIA V5,
SolidWorks and AutoCAD, even without downloading them and
storing them temporarily on hard disk. Horst Dietmar Köhler
continues:
"With a lot of manufacturers, customers have to
request drawings by e-mail, which, of course, takes considerable
time."
 
The fact that TraceParts also provides its powerPARTS catalogs
on CD is also a major benefit in Köhler's view, as INA does not
market any CDs of its own. "We exactly wanted a partner that
was not only quick and flexible, but offered additional services
too, like a regularly updated CD. Another example of the great
service provided is the integration of our lubricant database in
powerPARTS, which went smoothly thanks to TraceParts, Other
crucial factors included not least powerPARTS on Web's quick and
easy use, its high level of reliability and global availability
24/7."
Another noteworthy feature of TraceParts is the
integration of a module allowing customers to perform important
calculations before placing an order. If a designer visits the
INA website via the powerPARTS portal he can automatically
access a bearing calculation application, create a direct link
with the selected component and then evaluate different bearing
solutions in a quick, uncomplicated manner.
 "We
wanted to work with a provider that is represented globally
and has an international cooperation partner. Global
recognition of the powerPARTS portal was a major factor in
our decision to opt for TraceParts."
Manager of the technical department in the Sales,
Industry and Commerce unit at INA-Schaeffler
About INA:
As a globally operating company, the global marketing of
its rolling and plain bearings, linear guidance systems and
motor components is of fundamental importance to INA-Schaeffler
KG. By integrating its 3D CAD data into TraceParts's powerPARTS
portal, these data are now available worldwide.
One particular service that the company can offer its
customers is to allow them to import data directly into their
own CAD system, making it easier for them to process these data
further.
The INA Group has around 28,000 employees, with about
7,000 based at the company's headquarters in Herzogenaurach,
Germany. It has 40 production sites across all the main
industrial countries. Its customer base includes high-profile
companies from the automotive and supplier industries, as well
as from the mechanical and systems engineering sectors. INA
established an international reputation in the early 1950s with
the development of the cage-guided needle roller bearing.
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