That can still be repaired!

An online spare-parts tool extends the life cycle of machines

With a history spanning more than 100 years, Holzmann Maschinen has long made a name for itself among construction professionals and DIY enthusiasts. Whether for woodworking or metalworking, anyone looking for high-quality equipment has for quite some time had no way around the company from Upper Austria.

As a long-established tool manufacturer, the company had a familiar dilemma in its sights as a constant thorn – the laborious procurement of spare parts. Machines often had to be disposed of entirely due to individual defective parts. Until now.

Syreta has developed an innovative concept with the machine manufacturer that enables customers to purchase the right spare part for any Holzmann machine.

To achieve this, all machines, together with all of their components, were digitally captured and cataloged on the basis of the design drawings.

If a device is defective, customers can now simply search for it on the website and immediately receive a precise design drawing for it. With a click on the defective part, it can then be added to the cart and repurchased in no time.

Gone are the days when devices had to be disposed of just because of a defective part. That is good for the environment and good for us.

Holzmann’s spare-parts tool is also a statement in the direction of sustainability – even if that was not yet stated so explicitly in 2019. Machines that can be repaired do not end up in the trash. That saves resources, saves the customer money, and strengthens trust in the brand: A manufacturer that supplies spare parts and actively supports the continued operation of its devices shows that it stands behind its products.

Technically, the implementation was complex: All machines had to be digitally captured on the basis of the design drawings and cataloged down to the component level. The result is a system that is intuitive for customers to use – and, in the background, is built on a solid data foundation.

Spare-parts e-commerce — technically more demanding than a classic webshop

What syreta developed for Holzmann Maschinen is not an ordinary online shop. The challenge lies in the data foundation: Hundreds of machines, each with dozens to hundreds of individual parts, must be digitally captured on the basis of design drawings, cataloged, and linked to existing items in the shop. This requires not only technical know-how, but also careful data preparation — because a spare part assigned to the wrong machine model is of no use to the customer and, in the worst case, generates returns and complaints. The interactive design drawings, on which customers can click directly on the defective part, are the real centerpiece of the solution: They make identifying the right spare part easy and intuitive even for non-technical users — and at the same time significantly reduce follow-up questions to Holzmann customer service.

Repair instead of throwing away — a contribution to sustainability

The Holzmann spare-parts tool is also noteworthy from a sustainability perspective. Machines that are disposed of because of a single defective component are a significant waste of resources — economically as well as ecologically. Anyone who can repair a table saw or a metal lathe for a fraction of the new price has no reason to throw it away.