Installed Bases 

Definition

An installed base can be described as a multilevel structure of installed base components for managing objects that are installed (or are going to be installed) on-site at the customer's site, such as devices, machines, or software. An installed base can be the reference basis for services.

An installed base describes the hierarchical structure of these objects and their individual parts (components).

Use

Installed bases are suitable for storing your customer structures and the service-relevant objects installed at the customer site.

Service contracts can be agreed to and service processes created with reference to installed bases or installed base components.

Interaction Center (IC) employees can search for and display installed base components during customer contact using partner, address or object data, or using the installed base (IBase) number. Installed base components can be transferred to a list within the IC, from which installed base components can be copied as reference objects to a service process.

Before going to the customer site, or while on-site, field service representatives or service employees can display and change installed base data on mobile devices (such as laptops) and create new installed bases.

The customer’s employees can create installed bases or access existing ones using Internet Customer Self-Service (ICSS). They can also enter complaints and service requests for installed base components.

There are two basic scenarios for creating and maintaining installed bases:

●      One installed base for x objects

You group all objects for a customer in one installed base. This option is particularly useful when substructures for the individual objects are less important.

The complete data processing installed base at your customer’s site is managed as an installed base with several components. You are focusing on PCs and other items being installed and assigned to rooms or persons, for example. The detailed structure of individual devices is not relevant.

●      Installed base for one object

You create an installed base for each installed object (that is, for each device, each machine, all software and so on) that is relevant for service. This option is especially useful if the substructure of individual objects is also important to you, for example, for service part orders for large machines.

Every computer, monitor, and printer for your customer’s data processing system is managed as a separate installed base and described there in detail. In the installed base, you can assign the service-relevant parts of a PC (memory bank, hard drive, cards, and so on) to a PC as components.

Both scenarios can be combined. The structuring of installed objects should be planned in advance to create a clearly-organized installed base with no redundancy. For more information, see the "Prerequisites" section in Creating Installed Bases.

Structure

An installed base is displayed as a tree structure.

An installed base always has an internal ID number assigned by the system. You can also enter an External ID and a Description.

An installed base consists of several parts:

●      The installed base itself is a grouping unit, under which all of the parts (components) are grouped in a structure.

The term installed base refers to the entire installed base and all assigned objects. An installed base can itself also be a component of another installed base.

●      The installed base components are parts within the installed base.

Validity intervals are formed when changes to the structure and components are made, so that a previous status can always be reconstructed.

Example

An installed base could be a kitchen appliance, an elevator in a building, or all elevators in the buildings of company xy.

An installed base can also include a complex object, for example, an airplane with all service-relevant parts or an airplane that has not yet been constructed, whose parts should be managed as related parts from the planning and construction phase onwards.

An installed base can also include two wings, which should be integrated in the higher-level installed base Airplane after fabrication.

The installed base for a data processing installed base could be organized as in the following diagram, for example.