The Challenge of Production Management

For a manufacturing company, high productivity is indispensable. Production in the classic west European locations is finding itself under increasing pressure. For example, companies have to face the following pressures:

• Deadline and cost pressure
• High market transparency
• High complexity
• Short product life cycles and an increasing number of variants
• New economic areas
• Changed procurement structures

Our Solutions

With our customers we eliminate shifting bottlenecks and instead create friction-free flows of materials. Through foresighted production program planning oriented toward not only the outlet market but also manufacturing capacities, we bring about measured capacity utilization in the production chain. We look at the plants and machines, the raw- and auxiliary materials and the managerial and organizational processes. It is for this reason that we pursue solutions in way that takes into account the complete picture.

Our solutions fall in the areas:

• Strategy
  A comprehensive optimization of your production begins with Strategy Development. Firstly, you need to be bring into alignment your markets, products, technolgies and production techniques. Only then does it make sense to optimize your production in detail.
  
  
• Culture and Management
  Deficits in the area of production are often to be ascribed to the company and management culture. High levels of efficiency in production are not reached because the motivation and willingness to achieve these levels are missing. Many employees find themselves in the "comfort zone“ and demotivate and assert pressure on enthusiastic colleagues. In these cases it is necessary to establish instruments to lift management and incentivize employees and thereby to bring about a change to a culture of achievement.
  
  
• Organization and Personnel
  In mature organizations frictional losses often occur on account of unclear lines of responsibility and vague job descriptions and task areas. Often informal shadow structures form that interfere with one another and hinder progress. The exact definition of tasks, competencies and lines of responsibility is the first step toward building a more efficient and productive organization.
  
  
• Procurement
  Procurement is a critical element in the production process. Insufficiently precise plans and lax inventory management often influence the availability of components. Badly qualified suppliers and inefficient stock-intake controls can bdly effect productivity. The goal of measures taken in the area of production optimization is the seamless integration of all elements of the supply chain.
  
  
• Production: Plant Installation and Optimization
  Changing markets and high cost-pressure in high-wage countries necessitate the introduction of new production techniques. This calls in part for expensive and time-critical construction work. What is essential here is to minimize downtime and to get things running or restarted again quickly in order to achieve swift ROI and retain market share.
  
  
• Production: Planning, Management and Controlling
  The factors that relate to the planning and management of production are numerous and no always appreciated in their entirety in day-to-day business. Planning therefore often follows "gut feelings" and takes place within well-known but not optimal paraneters. The goal here is to introduce structured methods und precise controlling in order to find the optimum balance in the area of production.
  
  
• Production: Digital Factory
  The compatibility of processes, information and IT systems across development, production and suppliers is often unsatisfactory. The goal is to use the methods of the Digital Factory to shorten planning times and production processes and to reduce the costs that arise from planning mistakes and changes.
  
  
• Maintenance
  The high availability and robustness of production plants is an  essential success factor for efficient and reliable production. Maintenance is therefore extremely important in the context of production optimization. The goal is to minimize downtime by effectively planning and in some cases obviating maintenance activities.
  
  
• Logistics
  The expansion of production capacities and increases in efficiency in production often bump up against their limits in the downstream area of logistics. The optimization of processes and methods in the packaging, delivery and shipment of manufactured goods therefore carries the same high significance as efficiency increases at production plants.
  
  
• Process Management
  In most companies there exits officially documented processes. These are often changed or bypassed in everyday dealings on account of operational pressure, old habits or difficulties. The goal of efficient Process Management is to mold existing processes so that they are more systematic and in tune with everyday practice and to sweep away current difficulties.
  
  
• IT Management and IT Landscape
  The use of IT systems in order processing, product development, production and logistics is today entirely uncontroversial. Nevertheless, it is still possible to come across isolated IT solutions and incompatible or out-dated applications. The goal of business-oriented IT Management is to increase the compatibility and efficiency of existing IT systems.

Order Processing OptimizationDevelopment Management

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