Are your customers king yet?

Exclusive survey results reveal how you can provide your customers the best service with your 3D CAD models

For many component manufacturers, the premise „the customer is king” is on the top of the list because they already provide them 3D CAD models of their components as downloads through an Electronic Product Catalog. But to provide a comprehensive customer service and to support engineers and purchasing agents in the most optimal way possible, it’s necessary to supply them not only with pure geometrics but also with additional component information and meta data.

Exclusive survey with 122.200 CAD users

CADENAS has questioned engineers and purchasing agents to identifiy their needs: In a survey, 122.200 users were asked which information they require with their 3D CAD models. The polled participants are users receiving their CAD data through download portals, as well as employees of process oriented companies with PLM and ERP infrastructure. For the evaluation of the survey, 1.430 feedback forms from those engineers and purchasing agents were analyzed.

Which of your CAD information makes your customer king?

A selection of exclusive survey results:

Weights & centers of mass: 93% of the participants emphasize the need for information on weights and centers of mass in their catalog part data. Today, weight reduction plays an important role in many technological sectors. The total weight can only be optimized in the construction phase if the weight of every single component is known resp. this information is deposited within the CAD model.

Kinematics: 89% of the participants want their catalog part data to have information on kinematics. Details on movement sequences of individual components like direction and freedom of movement are needed by engineers to create error free products.

End of Life: 80% of the participants want information on end of life of catalog part data. It’s important for engineers to be well prepared for part discontinuation and not to awake to a nasty surprise. This makes protracted searches for alternatives and their possible incompatibility obsolete, as well as the resulting comprehensive construction changes later down the road.

In addition, the following information was deemed vital by the polled participants:

• Labeling of standard parts
• Material & substance
• Pictograms & translations
• Additional documentation & case studies

All results of this survey can be found in the CADENAS brochure „Smart Parts“:

Know how! – Pimp my catalog workshop

Do you need support with the selection and provision of your customer specific product information of you Electronic Product Catalog? CADENAS wants to help and show you with its "Pimp my Catalog" workshop, how to enhance your product catalog with intelligent information.

Let your catalog become even more valuable for engineers and purchasing agents while maximizing your sales potential.

Do you have questions on the topic of intelligent CAD models? Contact us by telephone at +49 (0) 821 2 58 58 0-0 or write an e-mail with the subject "Smart Parts" at Marketing@cadenas.de.