From a static view to a 3D environment – Mantsinen Group

Mantsinen Group Ltd Oy is a global family-owned company that provides logistics services to its customers and manufactures material handling equipment. Together with Process Genius, Mantsinen developed a product configurator based on 3D modelling that allows the vendor to configure a dock crane or material handling machine to suit the customer’s environment in a single meeting.

The delivery of a machine is based on application images in which the machine required by the customer is modelled in its operating environment.

As input data, we need, for example, measurements of the port environment, information on sea water height and tidal variation, types of cargo ships, positioning of the machine on the quay, and so on. Our machines are a major strategic investment for customers, so they need to be designed for their operating environment and productivity.
Tapio Pirinen, Business Director, Mantsinen Group

From static images to functional 3D environments

In the past, vendors have provided the initial data from customers to an applications engineer, who has configured the machine to fit its real environment and created static models of the machine in its environment for the customer. Any additional information and corrections required have been clarified with the customer by email or phone, and the finished application images have been delivered to the customer as 2D images.

PGconfigurator allows the salesperson to 3D model the customer environment and configure the machine directly at the customer meeting. The 3D model can show the machine and its environment to the customer from all angles. You can change the configuration of the machine as you create it.

It used to take us a few days to two weeks to deliver the finished images to the client. With the new configurator, the same job can be done in a couple of hours.
Tapio Pirinen, Business Director, Mantsinen Group

PGconfigurator improved service performance and speeded up operations

PGconfigurator was initially implemented for the Mantsinen Group’s own sales organisation. In spring 2017, it was launched to a global distribution network. In the past, the application images to be delivered to the customer were made during Finnish office hours. The new configurator works around the clock and is globally available at any time of the day or night. Technical drawings can be sent to the customer as soon as the configuration is complete. “The application will improve our service capability and speed up our basic machinery sales process,” says Pirinen.

New features and machine models are constantly being added to the configurator. Language versions of documents will be developed to better serve different language areas and cultures. Pirinen hopes that in the future, simulator training for Mantsinen Group’s customers could replace standard machine models and general working environments with customers’ own machine models and working environments. The usage data from the machines could also be used to show the customer already at the configuration stage, for example, the length of service intervals. “The most important thing for us is that customers get information that is useful for their business. We will develop the solution accordingly,” Pirinen sums up.