Why OEMs and Fleet Owners Should Make Technical Data Access a Buying Requirement
Introduction
If you’ve ever struggled to get basic technical information about a component—whether you’re an OEM building machines or a fleet owner trying to maintain them—you’re not alone.
Many equipment manufacturers and their suppliers still treat essential product data like a privilege rather than a standard part of the buying process. CAD files, exploded views, service BOMs, and technical manuals are often withheld unless you’re a top-tier customer or negotiate for them specifically.
This creates unnecessary friction, slows down projects, increases maintenance costs, and limits your ability to support the equipment you own or sell.
The good news?
You can change this dynamic.
Why Is Technical Information So Hard to Access?
Many component suppliers still operate with outdated assumptions:
- They treat detailed technical data as something to guard closely.
- They fear exposing intellectual property or losing revenue downstream.
- They only provide information to large customers who have leverage to demand it.
Unfortunately, this creates significant challenges for the rest of the supply chain:
- Engineers can’t design in components without CAD data.
- Tech Pubs teams can’t create accurate manuals without exploded views and service BOMs.
- Field technicians waste time chasing missing documentation.
This friction hurts both the OEMs buying components and the fleet owners maintaining the equipment.
What Can You Do About It?
You don’t have to passively accept this status quo.
There are clear, proactive steps you can take to ensure you get the information you need—upfront and ongoing.
Here’s how to start:
1) Include Information Requirements in Your Procurement Process
When sourcing new components, equipment, or working with new suppliers, make information deliverables a contractual requirement.
This is the most effective way to avoid future friction.
Specifically, request the supplier provide:
- CAD Integration Data (fit-assurance models, interface specifications)
- Exploded Views & Service BOMs
- Technical Support Manuals & Documentation
If your organization uses formal RFI or RFP processes, include these requirements in your documentation.
For fleet owners, ensure they’re part of your procurement terms.
For OEMs, embed these expectations into supplier qualification criteria.
You can also request that this information is maintained and updated over the life of the product—not just at initial delivery.
2) Require Documentation as Part of Maintenance & Support Agreements
Even if you didn’t request this information at purchase, you can still negotiate access as part of ongoing maintenance contracts or service agreements.
For fleet owners, this could include:
- Access to a digital portal with all service documentation
- Parts catalogs and technical manuals delivered alongside new equipment
- SLAs around documentation updates and accuracy
For OEMs, it could mean:
- Supplier commitments to provide ongoing CAD and technical content as components evolve
- Clear documentation deliverables tied to support contracts
If you don’t include information access in your service agreements, you’ll likely be chasing it later.
3) Push Information Access Upstream to Engineering
One of the most overlooked ways to prevent documentation gaps is to address this issue early in the product lifecycle.
If your Engineering teams can’t access CAD models and technical data when selecting components, your downstream teams—Technical Publications, Field Services, Fleet Maintenance—won’t have access either.
That’s why it’s critical to make information deliverables part of:
- Component selection criteria
- Vendor onboarding processes
- Supplier performance reviews
The earlier you build information requirements into your supply chain, the fewer downstream challenges you’ll face.
Final Thoughts
In an industry as complex as equipment manufacturing and maintenance, seamless information access is essential—not optional.
If you want to reduce friction, improve product support, and avoid costly delays:
Make technical content access a requirement, not an afterthought.
Component suppliers may not offer this information by default.
But when OEMs and fleet owners make it part of procurement and support contracts, the supply chain improves for everyone.
Better information means better business.
