Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1481876
OCTOBER 2022 I PCB007 MAGAZINE 65 we see that our concept is working. is is not a big problem. Our DFS is strong in providing measurements through prediction and applying advanced analysis for things that cannot be measured. We built the equipment, we know that data, and we know how to make this transition. At one point, someone asked me why our customers cannot do this with their MES system, for instance. I told them that the MES is responsi- ble for ensuring that the produc- tion of the plant works accord- ing to the plan, but it cannot check and take care of the health of each piece of equipment. is is what our DFS does. It's a very complementary solution and they don't conflict in any way. Johnson: As we're talking, I'm realizing that every customer is different. Some will be par- ticularly easy to install and integrate, oth- ers have unique issues that create challenges. What's a typical integration process for a cus- tomer installing and moving to DFS? Stefanescu: You're right. Some customers are a bit more advanced in this topic. ey have hired people to work on digitalization, and they already know what problems they want to solve. What we are doing is looking at the kind of equipment they have and understand- ing how we can deploy the DFS into their IT structure. But we always start with the busi- ness needs; that's important. If it doesn't help solve some of their problems, then it doesn't bring a lot of value. For example, the options of condition mon- itoring are indefinite. You can create different dashboards for each company. Next, we look at the equipment that is needed because we need them to understand that our VCS was built to serve that equipment for control purposes. For some equipment that is quite old, we will probably update the soware, make sure there is full compatibility, and we get the right data from the VCS to the DFS. Finally, it's talking to the IT team and understanding how the DFS is integrated. We understand customers are sometimes reluctant because it's new, so we offer a trial phase. We are very open in helping our cus- tomers with some clear use cases that they wanted to have. We can have the deployment done relatively quickly so they can get hands-on practice, test it, and see how it works. We've seen as they do this, they start to get more ideas and to under- stand how it can help them. is trial approach is benefi- cial for both the Atotech team and the customer, because it helps us to understand how we can integrate into their ecosystem, and for the customer to understand how to make better use of our plat- form and solutions. It also further strength- ens relationships and trust with customers that we've had for years and that's important to us. Johnson: Yes, that's important. Stefanescu: I also wanted to mention that the DFS is 100% designed for our customers. is makes our introduction to the customer a bit easier because we don't have generic platforms or solutions. When we develop an Atotech product, we really speak the language of our customers, and their product needs. Johnson: Fantastic, thank you. is is a very informative and comprehensive look at the product. Stefanescu: I hope so. ank you for giving me the opportunity to speak about it. I hope we can sit here in a year and talk about the next levels of our product. Johnson: ank you, Stefan. PCB007