Factory Consulting

Strategic Consulting
Factory Planning
Process Planning
Industry 4.0

Implement changes successfully

Targets for a factory´s strategic direction are usually defined clearly and categorically:

Cost reduction / increase in efficiency,
growing product variety with simultaneous smaller batch sizes and / or
shorter delivery times with higher on-time delivery.

However, measures necessary for achieving these targets are diverse. These can range from integrating international supply chains, to a simple automation by a human-robot-collaboration up until complete digitalization and utilisation of Predictive Analytics. A successful implementation of these measures assumes an essential prerequisite: versatility. „Nothing is as constant as change.“ For factories it is crucial to react with agility to constantly changing conditions and to adapt steadily to requirements of customers, of competitiona and to the organisation itself.

As factory consultants we can support you in the event of change. We will provide advice on trend-setting strategies for production and logistics, develop new ideas and creative concepts in cooperation with you, and eventually we assume responsibilty for realising your projects. In order to ensure sustainability, we will consider your factory´s versatility in relation to all of our activities and ensure an active involvement with both people and the organisation.

We are sure that you will be convinced by our strong emphasis on process orientation and our proven methodical and structured approach. More than 100 enthusiastic customers can attest.

We increase your efficiency

Wolfgang Simonis, Dr. Jörn E. Fischer, Eugen Ihl, Nils Ballhausen

Strategic Consulting

Pre-existing strategies for business, production and supply chain form the basis for an efficient and targeted planning for factories, output or supply chains. Factory consulting assists you in formulating your company´s expectations with regard to changing parameters such as customer requirements, and technologies in production and supply chain.

We will collaborate with you to dicuss the pros and cons of different strategic alignments, and subsequently we provide support in documenting your strategy for the purpose of informing staff and customers.

After completion of the strategy ("Who you are") follows the derivation of tactics ("What you should do about it"). We will check your short, medium and long-term investment planning with regard to strategic conformity. We then jointly set up measures for adaptation or even realignment of your factory, your production and your supply chain. As a result of the strategic advice provided by factory consulting several medium-sized companies have already applied a clearly defined strategy with corresponding planning.

We expand pioneering ideas into operational solutions

Factory Planning

Master planning, factory planning, plant planning, plant development planning...: versatile notions but yet, the contents need to be clearly defined, according to VDI5200 guideline. Factory consulting will advise and support you in the factory planning and factory equipment.

Top Down: On the basis of your respective corporate strategy we generate innovative and economical concept variants for efficient plants, production and supply chains.

Solution-oriented: Following a qualitative and quantitative assessment we will jointly decide upon the preferred option which we will continue to refine up until implementation planning.

Goal-achieving: We ensure that quality, scheduling and cost requirements will be met during the realisation phase, and support a smooth run-up, always focusing on sustainability of our solutions.

Processes are the foundation of planning

PROCESS PLANNING

Production and logistics

Processes ensure that your factory planning is converted into an efficient factory operation and that set goals are achieved. Together, we will examine which processes are effective. Using value stream analysis, we can clearly show you which processes are value-added. This applies to your manufacturing, assembly, logistics and supply chain processes.

Thereafter, factory consulting will cooperate with to analyse the efficiency and thus the question of the correct execution of the processes. To ensure optimum use of the required resources, factory consulting will support you in defining your processes. For this purpose we use the methodology „Input – Process – Output“ (IPO) in addition to internal and external customer and supplier relationships.

Together we will examine and define the following issues:

Individual tasks,
connections and correlations,
communication lines and contents and
process-responsibilities.

Our systematic and comprehensive approach leads to a high level of transparency and acceptance of the developed process among managers and employees.

Industry 4.0

The whole world speaks of industry 4.0 (I4.0): facilities and machines communicate with each other independently and directly via the "Internet of Things" (IoT). The requirement for I4.0 in a factory is the digitalisation of production and supply chain processes. Idealised, this idea corresponds to the „digital twin“, complete transparency of internal and external processes along the entire supply chain through 1:1 mapping of the real process in the IT systems.

Factory consulting supports you during the digitalisation of your factory processes.

Whether you need migration of ERP systems or selection / implementation of warehouse management systems, transport control systems / forklift control systems or manufacturing execution systems, we create „digital transparency“. Using real-time information ensures you have the opportunity to react first via manual intervention and later through (decentralised) self-steering. After the potential of your own sphere of influence has been increased, you will need to create networks beyond company boundaries and map the entire supply chain digitally.