STARTING POINT
Technical parameters are in the data sheet. Variants are maintained in PLM. Certificates are with quality management. Customer requirements are with sales. Experience is with engineering and product management.
DECOTA connects this information around the product.
The question of which product fulfills a specific requirement is essentially a data question. Today it is answered through searching, asking around, and the experience of individual employees.
Features, data sheets, and certificates are spread across spreadsheets, folders, and inboxes. The most reliable source is not documented but tied to individuals.
Days pass before a reliable product statement is available. In that time, the competition answers the same requirement.
By 2034, around 296,000 employees will leave the workforce in mechanical engineering alone, with 118,000 joining. Product knowledge tied to individuals leaves with them.
Source: IW Köln / Impuls-Stiftung
Product data in Excel, features in another sheet, certificates as PDFs somewhere in the file system. Whoever wants to know which product has which certification searches instead of answering.
A customer asks for a product recommendation. But the only colleague who really knows the product line is unavailable for two weeks. The inquiry waits, the customer does not.
Product A has a new certification, but the information is stuck in an email. Three inquiries continue with an outdated compliance status. It will only be noticed at the audit.
HOW IT WORKS
From scattered product knowledge to an evidenced answer.
Products, features, documents, and compliance status live in one structured knowledge base. Maintained centrally instead of scattered across heads and folders.
Every requirement of a customer inquiry is matched against your portfolio. Coverage, gaps, and rationale are visible immediately, even with thousands of requirements.
Sales answers product questions directly from the knowledge base. Experts are involved only in genuine special cases. Seconds instead of days to a reliable answer.
DECOTA matches requirements against the stored product information and capabilities. Your team sees which solutions are candidates and where a closer review is needed.
The matching shows which requirements are covered by the stored information and where gaps exist. This lets you distinguish missing evidence from actual need for adaptation.
DECOTA helps you find similar requirements and previous assessments. Your team can use proven results as a starting point and check whether they also apply to the new inquiry.
No. The comparison also takes similarities in content into account. This means suitable information can be found even when customers use different terms or wording.
The results support preselection and assessment. Whether a product actually meets the specific requirement is still confirmed by the responsible experts.