instrumentation and test systems ›› BASICALLY, WE ARE WORKING TOWARD ESTABLISHING A LONG-TERM NETWORKING PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR CUSTOMERS, WHICH WILL MAKE US PART OF THEIR ROADMAP. ‹‹ How are you responding to this trend? ‹Hannes Schmüser›: With our customers we have indeed noticed that parts of the research and development activities are being moved from the headquarters to certain target markets, or that development departments 1 6 F O C U S are quite generally being operated across locations all over the world. Having a global structure, we at AVL are capable of supporting our customers locally, even in the emerging markets, allowing us to optimally respond to their needs and specific local conditions. Methods and development data have to be exchanged and utilized across the boundaries of locations. To this end, we not only provide the required products and systems but also the support services. We want to ensure the same high level of quality in our products and services at all our sites worldwide. ‹F›: As one of your main goals you mentioned the creation of ‘tangible added value’ for the customer. Could you describe this goal in further detail? ‹Hannes Schmüser›: Customer value is at the center of all activities, products and services at AVL. Tangible added value for our customers primarily involves enhanced development efficiency with regard to quality, costs and development time – our entire portfolio is geared to precisely this goal. We invest a great deal in the training and education of our employees, so that their expertise is at an excellent level across all areas – from sales, R&D, project management up to support services. Likewise, we invest heavily in methodology expertise and the advancement of our products. Understanding the processes and applications of our customers puts us in a position to provide the right advice and offer the best solution possible for their specific needs. ‹F›: The boundaries between simulation and testing on the test bed are becoming more and more blurred in the context of real-life testing. AVL combines both areas of expertise under a single ‘global roof.’ What are the benefits for the customers? ‹Hannes Schmüser›: Fewer and fewer systems and components are being tested individually with synthetic profiles. Instead they are tested in combination with real driving maneuvers. Depending on the development environment, real-life testing requires that any components that are not physically present are simulated. With our IODP strategy (Integrated and Open Development Platform), we enable the consistency and transferability of data and models between different development environments, allowing customers to incorporate their existing systems into the open platform. We apply this strategy consistently across the entire ITS portfolio. Together with our knowledge about system application and our engineering expertise, we are able to offer our customers
Focus_01_2015_e
To see the actual publication please follow the link above