Luminovo is the fastest-growing software provider for the electronics industry. With their software suite, Luminovo prevents million-dollar and time-consuming product design mistakes and accelerate time-to-market for electronics products. Their solutions reshape value chain processes through digitization, automation and a new approach to collaboration to be sustainable, data-driven, and more profitable.
In the decade to come, most of the innovations that will guide technological progress will not be purely software driven, but will increasingly rely on us building better electronics hardware faster and cheaper. Unfortunately, while software development has changed dramatically over the last few years, the process of going from an idea to a market-ready electronic product has not seen a lot of innovation. People are working with legacy tools in data silos, often on rather repetitive tasks. Luminovo thinks it is time to digitize, unify, and rethink this process, which is why they are building the leading software suite for the whole electronics value chain.
Interview with Sebastian Schaal, Co-Founder and MD of Luminovo.
Easy Engineering: What are the main areas of activity of the company?
Sebastian Schaal: We’re currently having the most impact on companies from the industrial, medical and automotive sector.
We’re working with all players within the electronics value chain (OEM, Electronics Manufacturing Services, PCB suppliers, distributors, component manufacturers).
OEM: Luminovo supports in making the right decisions before it’s too late and costly. We provide engineering and procurement with component and design information which helps them to design products first time right.
EMS: Luminovo simplifies and automates the process of checking prices and availabilities of components and calculating the manufacturing costs of the assembly, so they get their quotations done after days instead of weeks.
PCB suppliers: Also here, Luminovo simplifies, digitizes and automates the quoting process and makes it much faster and more efficient.
Distris/component manufacturers: Luminovo provides access to their upstream customers.
Our main contacts are experts from engineering, procurement, sales, value chain management and other departments within the different companies.
E.E: What’s the news about new products?
S.S: We’re expanding our offering for OEMs. With new modules specifically developed for OEMs we will support them even better in getting the right information right at the time they make design decisions to avoid costly redesigns, meaning we’re moving towards first time right approaches. Additionally, we will support the collaboration between engineering and procurement departments at OEMs with a shared space to manage their parts, align alternatives and discuss issues on a design and component level.
E.E: What are the ranges of products?
S.S: Luminovo is currently offering solutions for EMS, PCB suppliers and OEMs.
For electronics manufacturing services, Luminovo’s software brings together and reorganizes the currently fragmented quoting process – including material and manufacturing costing – in one cloud-based tool. By also connecting customers and suppliers to the software, Luminovo automates many repetitive, manual processes, like the search for alternative parts. When certain parts on the customer BOM aren’t available or only available for a too short period, the software automatically finds similar parts from other suppliers, based on recognizing part numbers and specifications, and offers these suggestions within seconds together with a sourcing option. Based on cost drivers in the BOM and project information, Luminovo’s tool also automatically calculates the manufacturing costing for users. This allows manufacturers to use their time for more complex steps that need collaboration.
Luminovo’s solution for PCB manufacturers brings together the visualization, analysis and adoption of PCBs in one workflow, decreasing quoting time and increasing efficiency. Gerber files can be uploaded to the tool which will analyse and convert them to an innovative format (digital twin) that helps determine relevant details of the design like clearance or trace width within a few seconds. On top of that, the software supports with creating even complex layerstacks and its innovative PCB pricing module enables calculating precise prices automatically.
Luminovo’s software also benefits original equipment manufacturers. It gives users relevant component information (lifecycle, availability, lead time, price and compliance of parts) in real-time and before prototypes are built and money is invested. This minimizes the risk of re-designs on the way to production and the risk of shortages throughout the product lifecycle.
By uniting processes and connecting project data in one tool, the Luminovo software suite simplifies and improves communication between experts from engineering, procurement, sales, value chain management and others. Together, these features combine to cut the time and cost to market in half and help reduce the environmental burden of bringing products to market.
E.E: At what stage is the market where you are currently active?
S.S: The electronics market has been the driver of innovation and progress for our worldwide society since the first electronic products were invented. Now, in a much more advanced and globalized setting, close to everyone is most likely in touch with some kind of electronic product on a daily basis.
The market, however, is still dominated by legacy tools. Cloud solutions are rarely used, which hampers stakeholders to really collaborate and break through the existing silos of data. New software solutions are transforming this into collaboration-focused processes.
E.E: What can you tell us about market trends?
S.S: The “electrification of the world” is increasing demand for electronic products in all areas of our lives, while the industry is already at a consistently high capacity utilization level.
Forecasts are expecting double-digit growth:
In the meantime, many different factors are continually or repeatedly putting pressure on a supply chain, for example:
- Skilled labour shortage
- The Russian war in Europe
- Growingly noticeable climate change (e.g. the low water level of the Rhine as an important trade route due to a persistent drought)
- Lockdowns in China due to COVID-19
Since the supply chain is still widely operating on outdated processes, these become the bottleneck for technological progress. Because of manual operations, most data sits in silos and prevents proactive and informed decision making, which is especially relevant in uncertain times as described above.
Luminovo’s approach:
E.E: What are the most innovative products marketed?
S.S: Luminovo is currently the most innovative software suite that covers and connects processes across the whole electronics value chain. We have an extremely modern and state-of-the-art approach manifesting itself in the following attributes of our software:
- Cloud-based software with regular, seamless updates based on customer feedback
- AI-based BOM processing with an intelligent importing module
- Real-time market data based on many partners integrated via API
- Top-notch user interface to allow fast and simple user onboarding as well as easy and independent usage of the software
E.E: What estimations do you have for 2022?
S.S: The electronics demand will continue to grow.
The supply chain disruptions will continue to challenge companies within the electronics value chain.
Real-time data and good collaboration are more important than ever for companies to stay flexible and keep delivering on projects.