Knowledge · Comparison
CMMS, FSM or Industrial Service Network: which fits?
By Gerd Bart, Founder and Managing Director · Updated
The short answer
A CMMS plans and records maintenance in your own plant. An FSM system dispatches a machine builder's service technicians. An Industrial Service Network connects both sides with every manufacturer in a plant in one process. If you run machines from several manufacturers and need documents, parts and help from them, you need the third. Your CMMS and FSM stay.
The comparison at a glance
| CMMS | FSM | Industrial Service Network | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belongs to | a plant's maintenance team | a machine builder's service team | none of the companies involved |
| Who works in it | your own maintenance staff | your own technicians and dispatchers | maintenance, machine builders, material suppliers |
| Typical tasks | maintenance plans, work orders, spare parts stock | scheduling visits, dispatching technicians, reports | a record per machine, fault to resolution, ordering from the manufacturer |
| Manufacturers' documents and parts | entered by hand | only its own | provided by each manufacturer |
| The manufacturer in a service case | by phone and email | only its own | part of the same process |
| Stops at | the plant fence | the machine builder's company border | no company border |
What a CMMS does well
A CMMS (computerized maintenance management system) is the maintenance team's tool. It plans maintenance, manages work orders and spare parts stock, and records what was done on which machine. It is built for work inside your own plant.
It only knows the manufacturers' documents, parts and prices if someone enters them by hand. And the manufacturer is not part of the process: when the maintenance team needs them, it picks up the phone.
What an FSM system does well
An FSM system (field service management) is the machine builder's tool. It schedules visits, coordinates technicians and dispatchers and produces the reports. It organizes service inside one company.
At the customer's site, it only sees its own machines. But the maintenance team runs machines from many manufacturers, each with a different portal.
Where both stop
A CMMS and an FSM system each belong to one company and stop at its border. Yet service on a machine always involves several companies: the maintenance team that runs it, the manufacturer that knows it and the supplier that delivers the material.
An Industrial Service Network closes that gap. Your CMMS and FSM stay; the Industrial Service Network connects the companies in between.
What you need, depending on your situation
You maintain your machines with your own people and your own documents.
A CMMS is enough.
You are a machine builder and send technicians to your customers.
Your FSM system schedules the visits. So that your customer finds your parts and your service where they manage all their machines, you also join the Industrial Service Network.
Your plant runs machines from several manufacturers, and you need the manufacturer when something breaks.
Then you need an Industrial Service Network. Your maintenance system stays: the Transaction-Network Service Brain draws on its maintenance and fault history as an additional source.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Does Transaction-Network replace our CMMS?
No. Your system stays. Transaction-Network adds what it lacks: your manufacturers' documents, parts and prices, and the manufacturer in the process.
As a machine builder, do I still need my FSM system?
Yes, for your technicians' visits. Transaction-Network brings your parts and your service into the account where your customer manages all their machines, including other manufacturers'.
What does it cost for maintenance teams?
Machine records, maintenance, tickets, ordering and all users are free. The Service Brain costs €5 per machine per month, with no minimum term.
And for machine builders?
If a customer invited you, getting started is free: nothing for up to three customers, as long as you add the data yourself. Beyond that you pay a base fee of €2,000 per month and the modules you choose, per registered machine, for example Asset Management at €3.00. We work out what that means for your installed base with you in a demo.
Is there an alternative to a CMMS that brings the machine manufacturer into the service case?
Yes, an industrial service network. A CMMS knows your plant's work orders and stops at the plant boundary; the manufacturer is not part of the case. In an industrial service network, requests, orders and tickets go straight to the machine's manufacturer, and your CMMS can stay.
Demo
See your machines in one account.
In a demo we show you what your machine park looks like in one account: every manufacturer, every machine with its record, maintenance and the Service Brain.