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CADshare (2024)
From seven days to seven minutes: automation speeds spare parts ordering
CADshare is a customizable and scalable remote customer support platform. It allows manufacturing companies to create an online portal where customers can identify and order spare parts and kits, connect with them for real-time customer support, and access product manuals and maintenance information.
The Challenge: Manual parts ordering process for mission-critical machines
Manual processes bog down spare parts ordering for machines that are mission-critical in agriculture, construction, factories, and other industrial settings. When a machine goes down, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) take emergency calls and emails from customers, rifle through dense product manuals and drawings, and eventually identify the required parts. This identification process can take a week or longer, delaying the OEMs’ customers from returning to business as usual. CADshare saw an opportunity to deploy the equipment model into an identification portal and bring the entire process online.
The APS Solution: Full automation of the parts ordering process
CADshare built a solution that fully automates the parts ordering process, from content creation through to order management. CADshare uses the Model Derivative API and Viewer SDK to visualize machine models from Autodesk and other design software. The solution enriches the model with details about equipment parts through integrations with Vault, other PLMs, and ERPs.
Now, OEMs can quickly access 3D models of their equipment and see up-to-date information about all the parts available for a specific machine. They can see live data about stock and price from multiple price lists and warehouses. When they publish this data in a full e-commerce solution like CADshare, the OEM’s customer can access their own specific data and place the order online, without picking up the phone. This fully automated process dramatically reduces the number of customer service calls to OEMs, reduces errors, and speeds parts delivery.
Business Outcomes: Faster parts ordering with fewer errors
- Part ordering time slashed from seven days to seven minutes
- Shipping errors reduced by 95%
- Time to create spare parts manuals reduced by 90%
“3D model parts manuals are far more intuitive. For non-technical people, it’s easy to spin the model around and pick the right part. It’s better customer service. By using Autodesk Platform Services, we can work with customers who are using any kind of CAD file, not just those in the Autodesk ecosystem. We can support any manufacturer, any OEM.” - Chris Acheson, Founder and CEO, CADshare
APIs and Services
Viewer
Model Derivative API
Autodesk Products
Vault