Perspectives
Our point of view on AI, manufacturing data and where the industrial parts aftermarket is going.
Essays on where the industrial aftermarket is heading.
The end of the product-line catalog
Parts catalogs were organized by product line because cataloging each machine cost too much. That's changing, and the next catalog is organized by unit.
The build record is the most underused asset an OEM owns
OEMs already hold the one record of exactly what each machine is made of. Most of it goes unused once the machine ships. Here's what it makes possible.
Identifying parts from a photo: what vision AI can and can’t do
Vision AI now beats people at recognizing objects on standard tests. For industrial parts, a photo is half the answer; the build record settles the rest.
Finding a part without the part number: what language models change
Most parts requests arrive without a part number. Language models now understand how people describe parts; the build record makes the answer right.
AI finally makes manufacturing data useful to the aftermarket
Every industrial machine ships with a complete record of its parts. AI has made reading it cheap enough to build a parts catalog for every unit.