Live-Demo Rework
Rework goes live!
Success story from America reaches Europe
It´s a real success story that started a good two years ago in the USA and has now reached Germany and Europe: the online rework demo! How did this happen? Demonstrations of our rework systems at American customers were always associated with high logistical effort and costs – until Todd DeZwarte, Sales Manager for Ersa Rework, Inspection and Tools, took charge and established the online rework demo. An offer that is increasingly in demand! “This year I have almost exclusively made online demos and customers love it,” is how Todd DeZwarte sums up his activities until June 2019. What is behind it? For customers and sales staff, demonstrating a rework system at the customer´s site involves a great deal of effort. The first step is to find a time window of at least four to six hours in which the customer´s employees are available – and a room with the appropriate infrastructure. In addition, there is the logistical effort for reception and dispatch. Ersa delivers the 100 kg rework system in advance on pallets and the employee travels to the customer – in the USA usually by plane!
From concept to trial
In addition, challenges arise in connection with customer applications: How is the assembly designed? How is it received in the rework system? Are there sensitive components? And what is the optimal soldering process? All this has to be recognized and decided on site in order to achieve the best repair result immediately. “At first it was an attempt that turned into a concept,” remembers DeZwarte. And he continues: “In the USA, the use of video conferencing tools has risen sharply in recent years with the expansion of the fast internet. This made it possible to demonstrate our systems to customers online at their workstations.”
Increasing quality of presentation
With the help of a high-quality webcam and corresponding software, online demos of HR 550 and HR 600/2 rework systems are now carried out faster and more efficiently than ever before. Customers follow the process on their own PCBs and can ask questions about the system or workflow at any time. “As a rule, we receive the boards a few days before the demo and can prepare ourselves accordingly,” says DeZwarte, “which increases the quality of the presentation.” After the demonstration, the repaired assemblies are returned to the customer. Contrary to expectations, many customers decided to purchase the Ersa system directly after the online demo. Only in isolated cases did customers want to see the system again before making a purchase decision.
CO2-friendly product presentation
In the meantime, customers in Germany and Europe are also using the time and cost-saving, CO2-friendly way of product presentation. Ersa offers the same presentation technology from the Application Center in Wertheim and has already completed several customer demonstrations online. “We are still on the learning curve here and are using the experience of our colleagues from the USA,” reports Jörg Nolte, responsible Product Manager at Ersa. And adds: “Especially for our HR 600 XL, this type of product presentation is ideal, because the device cannot be presented to the customer due to its size.” Of course, customers are still cordially invited to visit the Ersa Application Centers to see for themselves how the systems perform!
