What do you find exciting about the task of further developing the TDM WebCatalog as a Solution Owner?
I am enthusiastic about well-designed products. And the TDM solutions in the area of tool management are simply outstanding. What I particularly like about my current role is that I can contribute to making the solution even more customer-friendly and sustainable. As a Solution Owner, I ensure that all participants, from sales through to software development, have a common vision of the direction of development. This is because successful products are achieved as a team and product development is therefore a team sport. And because I – like TDM Systems have demonstrated for many decades now – consider the customer the expert to whom we need to listen carefully so that we can offer added value, I also feel that this is the right place for me.
While we are on the topic of added value: How do customers benefit from the TDM WebCatalog?
Without tool data, a Tool Data Management system is simply worthless. It becomes valuable when the database is made up of consistent data and graphics. The TDM WebCatalog is our cloud-based database and our answer to the demand from users for simple data maintenance. It provides access to over 260,000 data records from various manufacturers. And this is always increasing – we are currently integrating the eighth manufacturer, Ingersoll. The be-all and end-all for the users is the quality of the data. Our specialists categorize this according to format and completeness. This is important because the data is also used via interfaces from other systems, e.g. CAM systems. We also attach great importance to continuously updating the data. What TDM also has going for it is the software tools for additional data maintenance. This means that the users can easily further process 2D and 3D tool graphics for the 2D/3D assembly. A mass import is also possible and the data is created directly in the TDM system. I think that the entire solution package that TDM offers for data generation and maintenance is highly user-oriented and valuable for the users. And the best part? For customers who have concluded a TDM Software Maintenance Contractplus, the WebCatalog is free to use.
What advice do you give to companies that do not have any resources to create a tool database and are therefore not taking steps towards digital tool management?
They should never dispense with a tool management solution. If you opt for TDM Systems, you can outsource the data processing to TDM Systems. We offer our data services especially for this purpose. After taking an inventory of the tools, our experts take on the job of creating the data and graphics for the customer. This is not only faster than when carried out by inexperienced users, but we also take on quality assurance and therefore ensure that all of the subsequent systems can process the data. A really useful service and the users can immediately go live with a valuable data inventory. TDM customers can conveniently bill this using Flex Care Credits. Especially when starting with TDM, this allows the user to become productive more quickly and to exploit the full benefits of their TDM Systems.
What are the benefits of the TDM WebCatalog when compared to other cloud catalogs?
TDM users work with data that has been specially prepared for TDM applications. We see data creation as a type of facilitator – as a task whereby we provide our customers with the best-possible support so that they can manufacture more quickly and more cost-effectively. And the data in our web catalog is therefore also compatible with a large number of CAM systems. Today, this is an absolute unique selling point and a huge advantage for the users. After all, the topic of tool data also involves networking, since, for many customers, the data flows into all of the planning and production systems.
What will the future bring? How do you want to further develop the TDM WebCatalog?
An extremely wide range of requirements exist for tool data. I see TDM as the established interface between different data sources and data consumers. We therefore ensure that the right data for the respective application is available at the right time and in the right form. To ensure that, despite increasing contents and formats, the system compatibility is maintained, we are continuously further developing our solution. I imagine, for example, that a software service will be established, with which the data that is created by the tool manufacturers and by us can be compared automatically. The benefit for the users: The range of available, up-to-date tool data is increased. I would also like to attract additional tool manufacturers for the TDM WebCatalog. From discussions with customers, we know that many machining companies now make the selection of their tool suppliers dependent on the availability and quality of the tool data. So, at the end of the day, tool manufacturers can strengthen their customer loyalty through us and TDM users therefore win since they have access to a comprehensive database.
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