In the German industry, there is a fundamental change in how value is created; from products to services. There is a demand for innovative business models which require German small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) to use and market their internal company-specific “service knowledge.”

The “service knowledge” required for industrial plants exceeds the knowledge of individual service technicians and also of companies. This, combined with the shortage of skilled workers, means that German SMEs will face the enormous challenge of securing their leading edge in the Service sector in the coming years.

In order to support these companies, Service-Meister is to develop an AI-based, cross-plant, cross-department, and cross-company service platform for German SMEs. An important subgoal is to enable less-qualified staff to offer complex services with the help of digital guides, such as AI-based ServiceBots and Smart Services.

A further subgoal is to provide digital service knowledge on a single platform, which will enable cross-company scalability of service. This will evolve into a service ecosystem which will counteract the skills shortage in Germany and will keep German SMEs competitive in the long-term.

Further information on the project idea can be found here.