André Krings
Interim Executive Manager
Investments. Competitiveness. Manufacturing Companies. Not Self-Sustaining.
Clearly: Investments in state-of-the-art production technologies are essential for companies in the wage and energy-intensive location of Germany to increase productivity and efficiency. So far, so good, and theoretically a clear path to ensuring competitiveness – but in practice, it turns out: Many investments remain ineffective.
Why is that?
Because they are viewed too isolatedly. A new machine, system, or automation alone is not enough if the rest of the value chain doesn’t keep up, isn’t interconnected.
Typical mistakes in practice:
- Investment decisions in production are made selectively and in isolation, without considering upstream and downstream processes.
- Individual production areas are innovatively automated, while adjacent areas remain in their original state. The result: The investment is ineffective.
- Changed or shorter cycle times of the investment are not in line with the remaining processes of the value chain. Bottlenecks and delays occur.
- Intralogistics, often the heartbeat of many manufacturing companies, is completely left out of consideration – with fatal consequences such as material shortages and production downtimes.
- Employees are not sufficiently trained in handling or operating the new technology; underestimated complexity leads to downtimes and production losses.
The solution: Put on the 360° glasses.
Those who want to benefit sustainably from investments must consider the entire value chain. Ask yourself these questions:
- Look at the entire value stream! Do the upstream and downstream processes also benefit from the investment and automation? Are they interconnected?
- Are the upstream and downstream processes able to accommodate the shorter or optimized throughput times as well?
- Can intralogistics implement the required new cycle and ensure the increase in productivity?
- Are the employees sufficiently trained in the new technology? Are they able to resolve malfunctions? Do they master the system?
Conclusion
Investments in modern technologies are not self-sustaining. Without a holistic view of the value streams or interconnected processes, the effect fizzles out. Only the networked, balanced integration into the overall process landscape leads to success and an increase in competitiveness.
André Krings
I am available for an exchange of experiences with an operational focus! As an Interim Manager, I bring leadership strength, strategic competence, and a goal-oriented, hands-on approach.
My focus is on increasing process efficiency and profitability through pragmatic Lean Management. I am a value-oriented, empathetic leader with strong communication skills, social competence, and intercultural experience.
- +49 176 2202 4416
- interim@andrekrings.de
- www.andrekrings.de