Getting Started: A 90-Day Roadmap to Launch Your Pilot Managed Equipment Services
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Time to read 5 min
Summary Key Takeaways Getting Started: A 90-Day Roadmap to Launch Your Pilot Managed Equipment Service Days 1-30: The "Plan" Phase (Define & Select) Days 31-60: The "Build" Phase (Connect & Configure) Days 61-90: The "Launch" Phase (Prove & Refine) Conclusion: Momentum is Everything Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Summary
The difference between a successful managed equipment services program and a failed experiment is execution. This guide provides a concrete, week-by-week "90-Day Roadmap" for OEMs to launch their first pilot. We break down the process into three phases: Plan (Days 1-30), Build (Days 31-60), and Launch (Days 61-90). By following this structured approach—selecting the right "friendly" customers, defining clear KPIs, and deploying a scalable Industrial IoT Gateway platform—you can prove the value of your service model and secure the buy-in needed for a global rollout.
Key Takeaways
Start Small, Think Big: Don't try to connect every machine at once. Pick one machine model and three friendly customers for your managed equipment services pilot.
Phase 1 (Plan): Define your "Killer App." Is it uptime? Energy savings? Regulatory compliance? Choose the one metric that matters most to your customer.
Phase 2 (Build): Deploy a rugged IoT Gateway and configure your cloud platform (RCMS). Focus on getting reliable data, not building a perfect custom app.
Phase 3 (Launch): Go live. Monitor the assets, intervene proactively, and—most importantly—gather testimonials to prove the ROI.
Getting Started: A 90-Day Roadmap to Launch Your Pilot Managed Equipment Services
You have the strategy. You have the business case. You have the technology stack. Now, you have a blank calendar.
How do you go from "zero" to "revenue" without getting stuck in endless meetings?
The secret to launching managed equipment services is speed. You don't need a 2-year R&D project; you need a 90-day sprint. You need to get a connected machine into the field, prove the value, and get a customer to smile.
This is your execution playbook. We have broken down the launch into three 30-day sprints. If you follow this roadmap, you will have a live, revenue-generating pilot in one quarter.
Days 1-30: The "Plan" Phase (Define & Select)
The goal of the first month is focus. Most pilots fail because they try to do too much.
- Week 1: Select the "Friendly" Customers. Don't pick your toughest critic. Pick 3-5 customers who love you, trust you, and are willing to experiment. They are your "Beta Partners."
- Week 2: Define the "Killer Value." What is the one problem you will solve? Don't just offer "data." Offer "No Unplanned Downtime" or "Automated Consumable Ordering." Be specific.
- Week 3: Choose the Hardware. Don't reinvent the wheel. Select a proven Industrial IoT Gateway (like the Add One Product: R1520 Global ). It connects to almost anything (Modbus, CAN, Ethernet) and is ready to ship.
- Week 4: Define Success Metrics (KPIs). How will you know if the pilot worked? Define the target: "Reduce downtime by 20%" or "Identify 3 preventative repairs."
Milestone: You have 3 signed pilot agreements and hardware on order.
Days 31-60: The "Build" Phase (Connect & Configure)
Now, you build the infrastructure. Speed is key. Do not write custom code if you can avoid it.
- Week 5: Connectivity Setup. Receive your gateways. Use RCMS to create a "Configuration Template" for your managed equipment services. Configure the VPN and data reporting intervals.
- Week 6: The "Bench Test." Install a gateway on a machine in your own factory. Verify you can see the PLC tags. Verify you can remote in via RobustVPN. Iron out the bugs here, not at the customer site.
- Week 7: Dashboard Creation. Configure your cloud view. Keep it simple. A Red/Green status light and a timeline of key metrics (Temperature, Vibration, Error Codes) is enough for a pilot.
- Week 8: Installation. Ship the gateways to your 3 pilot customers. Use Zero-Touch Provisioning to get them online instantly.
Milestone: Your pilot machines are online, connected, and streaming live data to your dashboard.
Days 61-90: The "Launch" Phase (Prove & Refine)
The machines are talking. Now, you must prove the value of your managed equipment services.
- Week 9: The "Baseline" Week. Just watch. Establish what "normal" looks like for these machines.
- Week 10: Proactive Intervention. This is the moment of truth. When you see an alert (e.g., high temp), call the customer. Tell them, "We see an issue. We recommend checking the filter." When they find the dirty filter, you have won.
- Week 11: The "SLA Report." Generate a report for each customer showing their uptime and the issues you caught. Show them the "saves."
- Week 12: The Conversion. Meet with your pilot customers. Ask them: "Did this save you money?" If yes, transition them to a paid contract. Gather their testimonials.
Milestone: You have your first paying managed equipment services subscribers and a case study to sell to the rest of the market.
Conclusion: Momentum is Everything
The hardest part of managed equipment services is the first step.
By limiting your scope to 90 days and focusing on a small, friendly pilot, you remove the fear of failure. You trade "analysis paralysis" for real-world data.
Once you have that first success story—that first customer who says, "You saved my production run"—the internal resistance in your company will vanish. You will no longer be pushing a concept; you will be scaling a proven business.
Start your clock. Your 90 days begins now.
Frequently Asked Questions: About managed equipment services
Q1: How much should I charge for the pilot?
A1: Ideally, charge a nominal fee (e.g., 50% off standard pricing). Paying customers take the feedback process more seriously than "free" users. If you must do it for free, put a hard time limit on it (e.g., "Free for 90 days, then $200/month"). This sets the expectation that your managed equipment services have value.
Q2: What if the pilot fails and the machine breaks anyway?
A2: That is actually a good result for a pilot. It teaches you what data you missed. Use it as a learning opportunity. "We missed that failure because we weren't monitoring the vibration on the secondary motor. We are adding that sensor now." It shows you are committed to improving the service.
Q3: Do I need a dedicated team for this 90-day sprint?
A3: You don't need a large team, but you need a dedicated leader. Assign one "Pilot Owner" who wakes up every day thinking about these 3 customers. They will need support from Engineering and Service, but one person must own the success of the managed equipment services launch.
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