Ascertaining the operating status of products to help achieve systems that never stop

Co-creation with Lumada: Creating new value from product data

Providing the right maintenance services after products are shipped

Customers want to be able to continue using products without any problems and expect fast recovery if a problem, such as a product malfunction, does occur.

Slow responses to inquiries can significantly impact a customer’s business plans

Companies that provide post-shipment maintenance services in response to customer inquiries often receive repair requests only after the product malfunctions, and receive orders to replenish supplies only after they run out. Because the product manufacturer cannot ascertain the status of their products after shipment, when they receive an inquiry from a customer, the manufacturer might not be able to go immediately to the customer’s site, for example, if they do not have a maintenance site nearby or have a shortage of maintenance staff. Even after the manufacturer confirms the status on site, if they do not have the necessary maintenance parts on hand, it might take time to send for those parts.

If it takes time for maintenance staff to arrive and confirm the status or if the necessary parts or supplies are not available, problems cannot be resolved immediately. If recovery takes time, in addition to delays in the customer’s business operations, unexpected work (such as repair requests and schedule revisions) might arise, further impacting the customer’s business. If the customer cannot carry out their business operations according to schedule, their impression of the product manufacturer’s maintenance services might go down, possibly leading to the loss of contracts for the manufacturer.

Using failure prediction to reduce downtime

To resolve customer issues, the manufacturer must be able to ascertain the locations and statuses of shipped products. If the manufacturer can acquire data that allows them to confirm the operating statuses of products in real time, not only would they be able to know each product’s location and status, but they would also be able to analyze what has happened in the past as well as what is currently happening in order to predict when maintenance will become necessary. Based on these predictions, the manufacturer can suggest inspections and part replacements before a product malfunctions and replenish their supplies at the right time.

For example, if the manufacturer can anticipate situations such as when there is a risk that a product used by a customer will malfunction, the manufacturer can prepare by delivering the required number of replacement parts and dispatching the right maintenance staff to a maintenance site near the location where the product is being used. In this way, through their maintenance service that uses real-time data, not only can the manufacturer respond immediately to customer requests, but they can also carry out the right maintenance based on predictions.

Using mobile networks to collect data about products operating all over the world

By embedding a product with a communication device and a SIM (subscriber identity module) and using a mobile network, you can acquire operational data about the product in real time and without inconveniencing the customer. Even in the customer’s environment, where the addition of devices and external communication are restricted to ensure security, you can collect just the data needed for maintenance without using the customer’s network.

Data acquired from products operating all over the world is collected and accumulated in shared storage in a cloud, so you can access the data from any location. Based on the data, you can ascertain each product’s location and operating status and secure, in advance, the parts and supplies needed for maintenance, thus ensuring that you can replace parts and replenish supplies at the right time. In this way, you can provide maintenance services that match customer expectations, expanding the possibilities for creating new businesses that utilize data.

Supporting the expansion of IoT business on a global scale

Hitachi Global Data Integration

Hitachi Global Data Integration is a comprehensive IoT service that covers everything from the collection and central management of data about products operating all over the world, to the utilization of such data.

Services for collecting, centrally managing, and utilizing data

To help you expand your business in the global market, Hitachi Global Data Integration provides the following three services in a single package.

We provide support for everything you need to introduce this solution, from conducting investigations to carrying out procedures and constructing an environment. Not only is the solution easy to introduce, but because it is a subscription-based service, you can start small to minimize initial costs.
By using Hitachi Global Data Integration, you can adjust the way you currently dispatch maintenance staff and then focus your efforts on your high value-added, core businesses.

Other uses: Highly efficient transport that customers trust

The following is an example of introducing Hitachi Global Data Integration to visualize the status of products in transport.

Usually, there is no way to confirm the storage status of products that are being transported. For this reason, even if a product is damaged in transport, there is no way to identify the cause or to consider ways to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. This can lead to a loss of customer trust. Furthermore, if expensive equipment is used to transport, for example, advanced medical equipment, even if the shipment is lost, it cannot be tracked. As a result, additional costs are incurred, for example, in order to reship the medical equipment.

With Hitachi Global Data Integration, however, you can confirm data on the storage status of products and regularly check the storage status of products at each distribution site as well as that of products in transport. Even if a problem such as damage to or loss of a product occurs, you can swiftly and accurately track and identify the cause based on the data. This lets customers use your products with peace of mind and also helps you avoid unnecessary costs.

Future outlook for Hitachi Global Data Integration

Recently, to prevent the spread of COVID-19, we have seen dramatic changes in social activities, for example, in the form of travel restrictions. With the Hitachi Global Data Integration service, Hitachi supports our customers’ business environments under the new normal.
Furthermore, we are working on expanding and enhancing services that support the expansion of IoT businesses on a global scale. Such services include those that support the use of new types of data through 5G networks. We will also contribute to the creation of innovation through the use of various types of data.

For details about the solution, see the following.