// Projects / Project and Change Management

Implementation of SAP S/4 Hana for the production of electric vehicles and batteries

The transformation from combustion engine to the battery-powered electric motor poses major challenges for the automotive industry. In the course of this, numerous new production sites are being built for the manufacture of e-vehicles.

A trend-setting decision in this context is the IT system design of such a new plant. To identify the optimal system, BLSG supported a German premium OEM in the selection of the ERP for production & logistics. In addition to FIT/GAP analyses based on master process lists, various scenarios were evaluated and compared based on specific criteria (e.g. costs, resources, opportunities, risks, etc.).

The final scenario, which is technically feasible and meets the requirements, is based on SAP S4 Hana. The approval process for the budget as well as the required resources was supported by BLSG through various committees up to board level.

Lean implementation at a special machine manufacturer

What do you do when you see a need for optimization in many areas of an organization?

One good option is a comprehensive Lean Assessment by BLSG to make deficits transparent and to launch tailored improvement initiatives: We look at all areas, from lean leadership & culture to lean processes (shopfloor and administration), customer orientation and lean organization. Therefore we conduct interviews on all hierarchy levels, work out weak points with the process experts and determine and interpret relevant key performance indicators.

At a special machine manufacturer, the assessment revealed important areas for action in the project management standards, in the lack of transparency regarding deadlines and other performance KPIs, and in a lack of error and improvement culture. In an optimization project lasting several months, we were able to work together with the employees of the organization to not only solve the biggest operational problems, but also to achieve a positive change in the mood and culture of cooperation.

OEE improvement by the help of agile project management

When is agile project management particularly useful?

When the goal is clear, but the way to get there is unclear!

And: when many different specialist functions are needed to achieve the goal!

A large plant of an automotive supplier regularly faces such challenges – for example, when performance KPIs such as OEE (Overall Equipment Efficiency) are not meeting the target. In that case, an iterative approach like Scrum helps an interdisciplinary team maintain focus and work step by step to solve the challenge in a way that delivers results.

But an organization does not always have the necessary experience. BLSG provides the ideal start-up support for this kind of situation: from the initial qualification of the project team and convincing important stakeholders, to the project setup, to accompanying the project in the role of Scrum Master. Of course, the BLSG consultants also contribute their expertise in the operations environment and thus help the team to meet the challenge.

The result is not only a sustainable solution to the problem, but also the experience gained with the agile approach – which can be used in the future for new challenges even without external support.

KPI-board connected supply chain at a leading freight forwarding company

An international freight forwarding company was selected by an OEM as a pilot freight forwarder for a project called “Connected Supply Chain”. The aim of this project was to provide the OEM with an ETA (estimated time of arrival) of the delivering trucks every 5 minutes based on GPS data. The OEM divided the project into three phases, the hypercare phase, stabilisation phase and series operation, which lasted a total of 16 weeks. To ensure process and data quality, approx. 30 key performance indicators (KPIs) were defined for these phases, e.g. each status message transmitted by a truck should contain a geo-location. To do so, BLSG’s experts developed a KPI board in cooperation with the client. The data recorded by the trucks was accessed by means of various SQL queries. To be able to influence the KPIs, one or more reports were created for each KPI. These reports provided detailed information that was used to derive subsequent measures.

Redesign of order processing at a medical technology manufacturer

How can order lead time from initial customer enquiry to delivery be radically reduced? In a heterogeneous portfolio ranging from series products to custom-made products, it is essential to establish clear standards in both administrative and value-adding processes. BLSG’s experts documented the target processes in detail and introduced comprehensive key figure reporting. In the end, their accurate implementation support and intensive transformation management resulted in a customer order process with improved lead times.