- Success Story
Transforming data into value
Success Story TRUMPF
How TRUMPF used a data integration platform to smooth the path to mechanical engineering 4.0
For nearly 100 years the name TRUMPF has stood for high quality tools and machines as well as innovative system solutions that are a boost to industrial companies in nearly every sector. Whether it is automotive, construction, medicine, knowledge, energy technology or aerospace – TRUMPF develops custom solutions and machines for highly capable production lines. The company, which is active in 70 countries worldwide, is a leader in the field of laser technology in particular.
As an innovation leader, in recent years TRUMPF has also paved the way to digital transformation – with the goal of optimizing internal processes as well as establishing new, data-based and customer-oriented business models. One central component of the successful transition from a pure mechanical engineering firm to a high-tech company and provider of digital industrial solutions is the cloud-based, scalable and highly performative data integration platform – the DIP.
The project to develop this was initiated in 2018. The ambitious goal: to centrally bundle internal and external data from diverse business applications, such as production, supply, sales and machine data, with the aim of utilizing digital services to generate added value for the customer and manage internal processes in a faster, more stable and more efficient manner.
The right step into the future
At MHP we have been supporting TRUMPF since 2019 in the continuous development of the platform, using technological expertise to assist design on the basis of new requirements and stabilize the system. In addition, we also apply methodological structure to the project – in particular via enterprise architecture management and agile SCRUM methodology. We are also lending decisive expertise to the project – with our architects, data scientists and use case owners, as well as technology scouts for new solutions.
For TRUMPF, the DIP is a key step towards the future: prior to its launch there was no central data platform capable of combining internal and external data and enabling smart business models. In addition, new solutions are needed to address the increasing requirements of data protection, IT security, performance and latency.
Challenges of the project
TRUMPF committed to the project at an early stage, with the investment in the DIP representing a bet on future circumstances – transforming a heterogeneous system landscape with individual on-premise solutions into a state-of-the-art data integration platform which, following a redesign, operates wholly within the Microsoft Azure cloud with cloud-native services. This presented a number of challenges that needed to be overcome: on the one hand, the requirements of the new platform were highly heterogeneous, on the other hand, intermediate solutions for key business processes needed to be initiated during the creative stage itself. Looking back, one game changer proved to be the designation of the DIP as a central solution within the context of data management in the reference architecture and the knowledge that this would be used by the specialist departments. This cleared the way for the next steps, including the agile implementation of innovative use cases from business and IIoT applications.
The central data hub
The DIP has since become an established platform at TRUMPF, enabling the development of customer-oriented digital use cases and more internal data governance, scalability, reliability and uniformity. At the same time, the new platform has led to a significant reduction in operating costs and a 100 percent increase in performance. All data are now compiled centrally, thereby increasing the speed and quality of the most important business processes.
The data integration platform also establishes a strong basis for further state-of-the-art services such as data science, machine learning, smart factory, closed loop manufacturing or predictive maintenance. In future, the DIP is to evolve into more of a data marketplace, in which business and machine data are provided proactively. With this, and aided by a uniform data basis, it will be possible to establish new business models and added value such as pay-per-part – an alternative to traditional machine purchasing. It also increases customer retention and sales throughout the entire machine life cycle.
We are delighted to have been able to support TRUMPF end-to-end on this pioneering project – with our breadth of technology and architecture know-how, expertise and methodical competence; Highly in keeping with our purpose: Enabling You To Shape A Better Tomorrow.
“Here at TRUMPF we were quick to acknowledge the need to invest in a big data platform such as the DIP to offer digital added value services to our employees and customers with the aid of data. The DIP is a central component in the TRUMPF digital architecture and elementary for our goal of becoming a provider of complete digital solutions. With its expertise and motivated consultants, our partner MHP has made a decisive contribution to the successful realization of the project. In particular, the ability to rapidly scale consultants in different areas helped make the project a success.”
Thomas Speck
CIO TRUMPF
