Rutronik offers everything from parts procurement to technical advice and system development. How did the change from distributor to system partner come about?

Stephan Menze: As a distributor, we think about what the market needs and the importance that distribution has and will have in the future. This change also affects us. So we asked ourselves what further added value we can offer. As we work with many well-known manufacturers, we have good access to our partners' expertise and the latest components. We have already used this access in the past to offer our customers individual solutions consisting of various components. With Rutronik System Solutions, we are now going one step further. With our individual solutions, we can provide support in the pre-development phase in particular and accelerate the market launch process. This is how we came to the conclusion that by becoming a system partner, we are definitely creating additional added value that does not yet exist on the market in this form.

All development and research capacities are bundled under Rutronik System Solutions. What exactly do you offer?

Menze: We have split our activities into different support levels and visualized them using a pyramid. The base is our core business, component sales and support at component level and in the area of logistics. The further up the pyramid we go, the more support and scope of service we provide.

At level 2, we use our manufacturers' development boards and develop them further. For example, by combining them with other boards or software or thinking ahead to create new systems. Manufacturers are often top fit in the hardware area, but the software area is not their focus; this is where we provide support.

At Level 3, we develop and manufacture our own boards - naturally from the components of our manufacturers. Development boards are created in our labs, for example in Lithuania, and suitable software is developed if required. The boards are assembled by external manufacturing partners.

At level 4, the top of the pyramid, we combine our own boards and our own software with our own IP, i.e. our own patent. We have already applied for one patent and more are in the pipeline. The big difference between levels 3 and 4 is that we can offer our customers a patented hardware and software solution that combines various components from our manufacturers with our expertise.

If you develop tailor-made solutions for your customers from level 2, can you still rely on the expertise and technical support of the manufacturers or are you perceived as a competitor here?

Menze: The sector is still very young, but we have received consistently positive feedback from our manufacturers and receive unlimited support. The component manufacturers recognize the added value of our system concept and want to participate in it. The manufacturers' know-how is in the component, ours is in the system, so we are going down this path together.

Of course, a customer could also approach the manufacturer directly, but our advantage is that we can offer a solution made up of components from different manufacturers. Every company has its strengths and as a distributor we have the great advantage of being able to choose from the best components. A solution consists of many aspects and requires the right support. We can provide this.

We also work with colleges, universities and other development partners to offer our customers even more added value.

From component support to patent application

How can I imagine a development process?

Menze: If the customer has a specific problem, we naturally start with this topic and the first step is to see whether we already have an existing solution that we can adapt if necessary. If this is not the case, we have other options open to us - including the development of new boards. The solution is often easier in theory than in practice. Thanks to our storage capacities and good contacts with our manufacturers, we are able to create proof-of-concepts at short notice, even in times of allocation problems. If the problem turns out to be much more complex, we call in external development partners.

As already mentioned, we work together with colleges and universities from a wide range of research areas as well as other external partners. This has already resulted in a number of ideas and solutions that we are pushing forward and making available to industry. If we manage to turn the idea into our own patent, as we have already done with our hybrid energy storage system called HESS, for example, then it will be a great success for us. However, a patent application can sometimes take a while...

How do the approaches of colleges, universities and industry differ?

Menze: While universities are already clearly moving in the direction of applied technology, universities are more theoretical in their research. The incredible depth of theory in relation to physical principles is important when it comes to deciding whether new measurement principles are even possible. However, not everything that is theoretically possible is also practically feasible. In the end, the industry wants a solution that works. One example: a lot is possible in theory, especially in the field of robot automation, but in practice it often fails due to space, resolution or legal requirements.

Basic research at universities shows theoretical possibilities. In cooperation with universities and industry, new approaches can be found to put these into practice.

What role does software play in the development process and in the finished systems?

Menze: Component manufacturers are usually absolute hardware specialists and of course experts in their own products. However, the software plays a decisive role, as it ultimately makes the difference in the system. Sensor Fusion is a good example of this: A great many physical variables can now be recorded very accurately and very well, but in the end, added value must be drawn from this information. And this can only be achieved using software. This also applies to automation: if I want to automate things, I have to take a wide variety of variables into account, combine them and coordinate them with each other. The software takes care of the whole thing in the end.

Many customers are increasingly looking at intelligent applications for the smart factory or smart home. However, they still lack the know-how in the area of software. This is where we can help: We offer software models for our proof-of-concepts that can be individually adapted to the respective applications of our customers.

More app stores are emerging in the industry. These allow companies to publish applications for platforms in a similar way to Google and Apple. How do you see this trend and will there also be an app store from Rutronik?

Menze: I think this will definitely become the most accessible market for end users. However, we are not yet moving in this direction. We currently offer our software together with the boards in the corresponding download area. At the moment, our software is very individually tailored to microcontrollers and boards. In the course of the coronavirus pandemic, we have already developed an app called "Lisa-Test" and would naturally also like to use this expertise for Rutronik System Solutions. We will therefore continue to monitor the market and analyze the needs of our customers. Let me put it this way: if we see the benefits, we won't be the last to join the group.

What trends do you see for automation in the future?

Menze : We have defined various future markets for ourselves, with automation playing a key role. Topics such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and sensor fusion in particular play a major role in automation. We are receiving more and more inquiries about automated quality inspection, for example using robotic systems. Image processing and machine learning clearly play a role in this area: Intelligent vision systems can be used to automatically recognize various objects and patterns. This will take production to another level. That is why we have defined automation as a future market and will also invest in this area.