From product innovations and tailor-made solutions for the daily repair shop routine to strategic digital campaigns: ZF Services is utilizing the 2014 Automechanika Frankfurt trade show taking place this week as a showcase to share experience with customers the innovations it’s developing. The company said it also hopes to engage in an industry dialogue about future requirements in the service business.

The company is exhibiting innovations in driveline, chassis and steering technology from its Sachs, Lemförder, ZF Lenksysteme, and ZF Parts product brands along with a corresponding service portfolio in Halls 3 and 9 as well as in the “Agora” outdoor display area at Automechanika this week.

At Automechanika 2014, the company is unveiling to the aftermarket a modularly designed shock absorber before it will also be used in volume production in the long-term. In addition, ZF Services will present its tailor-made service portfolio for motor vehicle businesses, including the ZF Services [pro]Tech workshop concept. The latter has already been successfully introduced in Germany, Great Britain, Austria and Switzerland, and its rollout in additional European countries is scheduled for the coming years.

Alois Ludwig, chairman of the board of directors of ZF Services, said, “We provide our workshop partners with demand-driven support and are thus an ideal partner for meeting current and future challenges.”

The company says its interactive presentations at Automechanika, such as the gesture-controlled ZF Services race, are obvious signs of its forward-looking orientation. “Connectivity” is the buzzword leading to new service potential that ZF Services says it would like to exploit for its own use and for the benefit of its customers.

The company is also staying on top of trends such as electronic vehicle service books. According to ZF, the industry needs to find solutions providing all workshops with access to the data. The intelligent networking of diagnosis systems, components, or tools will allows and in some cases also require new maintenance and repair procedures. Helmut Ernst, member of the board of directors of ZF Services, said, “Digital services will increase while becoming more individual and interactive. Already today, customers expect the use of current data exchange technologies and ZF Services offers corresponding solutions for the aftersales sector.”

Openmatics
Another trend, the open, manufacturer-independent telematics solution known as “Openmatics,” offers high value added to operators of commercial vehicle and bus fleets. With ZF’s Order+, another innovative application has now been created for forwarding companies: The app implemented together with software developer Spedion improves both vehicle utilization and order management.

“In the future, we will cooperate more intensively with the ZF Openmatics segment within an integrated business model to develop and distribute a greater number of suitable digital services for the aftermarket,” said Hurst.

With ZF Services’ participation at Automechanika, Ludwig said he wants to underline that ZF Services is consistently boosting its strengths at a global level, “with a comprehensive product portfolio from a single source and services that offer a clear value added to our customers and partners. Thus, they can continue to rely on ZF Services as a strong partner in the future.”