Issue
N° 12 / 2024
Just Get Started!
Transformation must be considered and implemented holistically. Whether modular factory, demand management or supply chain. The main thing is to get started!
Dear Readers,
We’re living in a rapidly changing world that constantly confronts us with new challenges. Transformation has turned into a never-ending story that needs to be shaped. However, for many companies, transformation is still a massive hurdle that ties up capacities and frequently threatens to end in failure. We believe that transformation must be imagined and implemented holistically, but where should companies start? Concepts and methods are usually the first spontaneous response, but that – alone – is no longer enough. A critical look at processes is a significant success factor for getting changes off the ground and implementing them for the long haul. More than anything else, though, transformation calls for the courage to just get started.
In this issue of Ingenics Magazine, we take a closer look at exactly those three aspects based on the topics of “Modular Factory,” “Sales & Operations Planning,” and “Global Supply Chain.” The interviews with various experts show that transformation has to do with mutability and flexibility, which must be reflected in the concepts, in the tools, and in the processes. All experts agreed that there’s merit in just getting started.
With Ingenics Magazine, we aim to share some forward thinking, provide ideas and inspiration, and, above all, bring the right things together. I hope you find this issue to be an enjoyable read, encouraging constructive exchanges with your colleagues, business partners, and with us as well. We look forward to your suggestions and feedback.
Andreas Hoberg
Managing Partner, Ingenics Consulting
We’re living in a rapidly changing world that constantly confronts us with new challenges. Transformation has turned into a never-ending story that needs to be shaped. However, for many companies, transformation is still a massive hurdle that ties up capacities and frequently threatens to end in failure. We believe that transformation must be imagined and implemented holistically, but where should companies start? Concepts and methods are usually the first spontaneous response, but that – alone – is no longer enough. A critical look at processes is a significant success factor for getting changes off the ground and implementing them for the long haul. More than anything else, though, transformation calls for the courage to just get started.
In this issue of Ingenics Magazine, we take a closer look at exactly those three aspects based on the topics of “Modular Factory,” “Sales & Operations Planning,” and “Global Supply Chain.” The interviews with various experts show that transformation has to do with mutability and flexibility, which must be reflected in the concepts, in the tools, and in the processes. All experts agreed that there’s merit in just getting started.
With Ingenics Magazine, we aim to share some forward thinking, provide ideas and inspiration, and, above all, bring the right things together. I hope you find this issue to be an enjoyable read, encouraging constructive exchanges with your colleagues, business partners, and with us as well. We look forward to your suggestions and feedback.
Andreas Hoberg
Managing Partner, Ingenics Consulting
Our key themes in this issue
The Modular Factory – “Factories must be mutable”
Dr. Julia Arlinghaus, Professor of Production Systems and Automation at Otto von Guericke University and Director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation IFF, about efficiency, resilience, and sustainability
Page
14
Operations Planning – The Right Way to Manage Demand and Capacities
Insights from the Catena-X network regarding demand and capacity management with statements from BMW, BASF, and Henkel
Page
30
Global Supply Chain – Reinforcing Supply Chain Resilience
Using a resilience check to initiate a sustainable transformation process of supply chain management and strengthening the supply chains
Page
36
The following articles may also be part of this issue
06
The Modular Factory – Focus on Mutability
A commentary by Simon F. Schäfer, EngD, Director Factory Design & Simulation at Ingenics Consulting
10
How to Revolutionize Factory Design
10 questions and answers about the Industrial Metaverse
18
3 Questions for …
Valeria Meissauer, Head of Factory Planning and Digital Factory Planning at Schaeffler AG, about modularity as a game changer
20
Maximum Energy Flexibility on the Factory Floor
An interview with Elias Küpper, co-founder and CEO of software developer RIZM
22
The Future of Factory Planning Lies in the Virtual Space
Simulative factory planning using the digital solutions from Hololight
28
“Breaking up silo thinking and thinking holistically”
A commentary by Heiko Kramer, Partner at Ingenics Consulting, about the requirements to be met by modern demand and capacity management
38
“We’ve become more flexible”
David Williams, President and CEO of Caplugs, in an interview about handling supply chain challenges
42
“Not feasible without digital solutions”
A conversation with Dr. Andreas Hucht, Business Development and Partner Management, PSIglobal, and Ulf Venne, Vice President Enablement, Everstream Analytics, about modern supply chain risk management
46
“Trade is suffering from excessive regulation”
Dr. Galina Kolev-Schaefer, Professor of Economics at TH Cologne, about Germany as a business location and challenges confronting international supply chains