thyssenkrupp Elevator rolls out HoloLinc - world’s first Industry 4.0 solution to transform measurement and delivery in the stairlift industry

thyssenkrupp Elevator is responding to the challenges of delivering customized mobility solutions by launching HoloLinc, a first of its kind, fully digitalized sales process for the stairlift industry. Developed in partnership with Zühlke and Microsoft, HoloLinc will be used by 120 sales representatives to significantly speed up the process, from measurement to delivery. Sales executives will receive a HoloLinc toolkit, comprising of Microsoft HoloLens, a tablet, portable printer, as well as other technical accessories.

After a pilot in the Netherlands with more than 300 successful installations to date, the solution is being rolled out in October in the UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, and France, with Norway and Japan to follow next year. The global roll-out marks a significant milestone in mass industrial innovation and brings together the expertise of leading companies. thyssenkrupp Elevator, Zühlke and Microsoft have collaborated to make this technology the new industry standard. As the first real example of mixed-reality to be applied in large-scale field services, HoloLinc delivers a completely new experience in engineering-to-order.

Delivery times up to four times quicker

The combination of mixed-reality and a cloud-based configurator allows for significantly accelerated delivery times as well as for an unparalleled customer experience. With the help of digital twins, customers will be able to see exactly what the product will look like in their own home and customize it to their specific requirements. They will also enjoy a much smoother, hassle-free and shorter ordering process – what usually takes around 40 to 70 days will now be reduced to just 14 days: making it up to four times quicker.

In a market where clients have an urgent need for mobility solutions, the radically shortened process has a serious impact. “The need for a stairlift can arise very suddenly. The customer may be in distress – and if we can deliver a solution quickly, this can provide enormous relief and comfort to enhance a customer’s quality of life. From this point of view, it’s an emotional matter, too,” explains Andreas Schierenbeck, CEO thyssenkrupp Elevator.

HoloLinc transforms the way space is digitized

HoloLinc enables a true transformation in the way space is measured and digitized, that allows sales executives to immediately trigger production. The accurate measurement during the first visit allows thyssenkrupp Elevator to factor in individual user ergonomics, and obstacles unique to that user’s home. The data captured is sent to Microsoft’s cloud platform Azure and is then used to configure the most suitable stairlift for the customer. This can be visualized, configured to customized preferences, as well as priced and quoted, in near real time. This ensures that the complete ordering process is done in a matter of hours.

By leveraging the HoloLinc solution, the innovation service provider Zühlke opens up a new dimension: For the first time it is possible to use Microsoft HoloLens as a measuring instrument with maximum precision. The digital data processing eliminates the risk of human error when measuring and forwarding the determined values.

Great example of cross-industry innovation

Fabrizio Ferrandina, CEO of the Zühlke Group explains: “Thanks to the good cooperation with thyssenkrupp and our joint agile development, we could transform this vision into a solution within only nine months. With HoloLinc, we push mixed reality to the next level. However, this is just the beginning and we have a lot of ideas, how to go even further.”

”Choosing trusted and powerful partners is a critical success factor for companies aiming to digitally transform their businesses. With HoloLinc thyssenkrupp Elevator has truly created a best practice for an end-to-end digital transformation story empowered by Microsoft’s cloud platform: They have built a digital value chain optimizing production and service processes and providing customers in their homes with the best possible sales experience at the same time,” says Thorsten Herrmann, General Manager Microsoft Germany.

By harnessing the power of IoT with solutions like HoloLinc, thyssenkrupp Elevator is able to step further into the digital era and transform the way it delivers mobility solutions. The quicker communication between sales executives, backend, and manufacturing teams through the immediate ERP integration between configuration, customer purchase, and production is a big leap forward as is the usage of mixed reality technology at a time when Industry 4.0 and VR mostly are visions of the (near) future. This is digital transformation in the most tangible and productive fashion – and it happens right now.

Press images
Press images of our new application are available for download here, general images of our chairlifts can be found here. (credit: thyssenkrupp Elevator). If you are interested in how our sales executives did the measuring before they got equipped with HoloLens, you can get an impression here.

Press videos
Video material for press use can be taken from these files (German and English). Please let us know the timestamps of the sequences needed, and we are happy to help.

Blog
http://www.urban-hub.com/technology/deane-simpson-planning-buildings-for-older-people/

About us:

thyssenkrupp Elevator
thyssenkrupp Elevator brings together the Group’s global activities in passenger transportation systems. With sales of €7.7 billion in fiscal 2016/2017 and customers in 150 countries, thyssenkrupp Elevator built its position as one of the world’s leading elevator companies from scratch in a mere 40 years’ time applying thyssenkrupp unique engineering capabilities. With more than 50,000 highly skilled employees, the company offers smart and innovative products and services designed to meet customers’ individual requirements. The portfolio includes passenger and freight elevators, escalators and moving walks, passenger boarding bridges, stair and platform lifts as well as tailored service solutions for all products. Over 1,000 locations around the world provide an extensive sales and service network to guarantee closeness to customers.

thyssenkrupp
thyssenkrupp is a diversified industrial group with a growing share of capital goods and service businesses and traditional strengths in materials. Over 158,000 employees in 79 countries work with passion and technological know-how to develop high-quality products and intelligent industrial processes and services for sustainable progress. Their skills and commitment are the basis of our success. In fiscal year 2016/2017 thyssenkrupp generated sales of €41.5 billion.

Together with our customers we develop competitive solutions for current and future challenges in their respective industries. With our engineering expertise we enable our customers to gain an edge in the global market and manufacture innovative products in a cost- and resource-friendly way. Our technologies and innovations are the key to meeting diverse customer and market requirements around the world, growing on the markets of the future, and generating strong and stable earnings, cash flows and value growth.

Zühlke Group
Zühlke is a service provider for innovation projects. By combining both business and technology expertise, the company creates solutions that satisfy its’ customers. Zühlke develops financially successful products, services and business models for today’s digital world - from coming up with the initial idea through to the implementation and operation. This is achieved by drawing on the experience of over 1000 in-house experts and of more than 10,000 successful projects.

The Zühlke Group has local teams in Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hongkong, Serbia, Switzerland, Singapore and the United Kingdom. In 2017, Zühlke generated EUR 138 million in revenue.