Inventory-sharing solutions for industrial automation Automa.Net

INVENTORY-SHARING SOLUTIONS FOR

INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION

Poland's Automa.Net is an inventory-sharing platform connecting distributors and resellers of industrial automation from all over the world. The Rzeszow-based company and app allow its customers to search their stores and warehouses from one place, even parts that are difficult to access and discontinued.

Marcin Krzaczkowski - Managing Director

Automa.Net is a quite new name on the market, having been established in March 2021. However, the man behind that project, Marcin Krzaczkowski, has been around far longer.

Automa.Net’s founder graduated both from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore before making his strides in business and technology.

After successfully launching and running software house skydigo. com, he started a career in building products for industrial markets. In 2018, he co-founded FluidPowerNet, a platform for hydraulic and pneumatic companies that integrated hundreds of distributors and trade companies worldwide.

Having a team of people experienced in designing, developing and launching digital products, he decided to face another challenge on the market.

After many hours spent on meetings - his claims exceeding 100 - with industrial automation professionals, he decided to launch a platform that would help companies operating in this dynamic sector. Five months of hard work later and the platform launched with its official opening taking place on March 1 2021.

A platform for buyers and sellers

Automa.Net makes it easier to search through hundreds of warehouses and web storefronts with industrial products all in one place, with Krzaczkowski claiming that users "can get the information on what’s available now and ready to ship.”

"We also help our customers to sell their surplus and non-rotating stock," he added.

The platform is intended both for sellers and buyers: distributors, brokers, system integrators and dealers or for all those who need to resale industrial automation equipment. Users have access to the largest and richest directory of companies operating on the industrial automation market.

However, they do not currently cooperate with end customers. "Perhaps this could be our next step in the future," Krzaczkowski

DREAMland, spol. s r.o.

We sell

We sell new and refurbished spare parts from the industrial automation sector, primarily from names such as Siemens, Allen-Bradley, Omron, Mitsubishi, etc. A big advantage is our own warehouse with approximately 63,000 items, which we are able to ship 24/7/365 on the day of the customer order. If you are looking for new or refurbished parts at an affordable price, or parts that are no longer supplied by the manufacturer, visit our https://eshop.dreamland-plc.cz/ e-shop.

We repair

Our Company has its own repair centre, where we repair industrial automation components, especially those from the Siemens brand. The price of repair is always set in advance and usually ranges from 20 to 40% of the original price of the new product. Most routine repairs are performed within 2-4 weeks. In urgent cases, we offer express repair in a shorter period.

We buy

We buy any components from the industrial automation sector, both non-functional and mechanically damaged. We buy parts from liquidated warehouses, leftover spare parts from assembly work, and old parts following technological upgrades.

said, stating that, unlike eBay or Amazon, Automa.Net will give its distributors full control over the relationship with the end-user.

He added: "There are hundreds of companies from more than 30 countries, whose stock data is available on our platform. You just need to type the part number and send the RFQ directly from Automa.Net. You could also contact the company via email or phone as we make all the contact details information freely available”

The users always see parts available in stock on the top of the searches. Additionally, at the bottom of the search results screen, there are parts that are available on order.

If the supplier has provided the information, there is also the lead time for these parts. When it comes to the parts in stock, companies performing well are on availability criteria being ranked higher over time.

Automa.Net's inventory includes new parts as well as those from the aftermarket. In its database one can search through nearly 1. 5 million catalogue positions, which transforms into several hundred million industrial automation parts of different conditions: new, new surplus, used, refurbished, and hard-to-find parts.

There are, amongst other parts of such leading automation producers as Siemens (with more than 175 thousand parts in the database), Allen-Bradley (44 thousand parts) or Schneider Electric (almost 43 thousand parts).

Despite only being operational for a few months, the platform has gathered users from over 200 companies across the globe. Some of the businesses utilising the platform include Poland's Aserto, and Stercontrol; the UK's Radwell International and Northern Industrial; Czech Republic’s Dreamland; Italy's PLC-City; Netherland’s Maxodeals; Spain’s Quero Automation as well as various other key industry players worldwide. The site also provides a catalogue of over 10,000 companies from the industrial automation market, that everyone can browse freely without the need to sign up - there are filters available like ‘company type’ (distributors, system integrator, distributors group... ), country and brand.

To ensure data security and failure-free operation of the platform, Automa.Net works on two independent servers, one of which is located in Berlin and the other in Warsaw. There is also an encrypted SFTP protocol for companies uploading the stock as well as constant monitoring of the traffic and services.

Business grows despite the pandemic

Paradoxically, the difficulties related to the Covid-19 pandemic situation are conducive to the development of Automa.Net. Owing to various limitations, many companies have focused their search for parts on the Internet. The market is now experiencing a boom for industrial automation, seeing a roughly 8-10% growth year-on-year "We all find ourselves in a pandemic situation. As a result, many manufacturers had to shut down," Krzaczkowski said. "There are shortages in production. Many companies are having huge difficulties buying from their usual suppliers. This is where Automa.Net

comes in and helps its users expand their customer base and find new customers by showing their stock on our platform. "To be perfectly clear, no one can see all the parts you have loaded or download your database. Companies can only search for a part they need. We are not looking to disrupt the industry, only to help streamline some of the business processes and make searching for parts easier."

The platform's founder strongly emphasises that the company does not earn a commission on transactions. The accounts of distributors are free for the first three months. After this period, the cost of access to the app's database ranges anywhere from €500 to €3,000 a year, depending on the type of access.

A boost to your stock management system

Being part of Automa.Net gives a distributor access to features that will link part searches directly to its e-shop, creating an easier purchase experience for other users. The app also offers access to API, so a company can integrate Automa.Net’s data and experience with the existing company infrastructure.

API allows users to display search results data within their own ERP/stock management system. The purchasing team could simply use their existing system and in addition to their current company and its partners stock data see availability from companies connected to Automa.Net. In simple terms, this could create a more robust connection as more standardized data among many component suppliers globally. Systems like this are giving purchasing teams the confidence of what’s available for fast shipment from the stock and speeding up the business process of backordering or drop shipping. n

In 2022 Automa.Net is organing the first meeting for component companies, see more at the meeting.automa.net