Autor: Frank Bertagnolli

With the advent of digitalization, prevailing paradigms – such as product centricity, face-to-face collaboration and hierarchical structures – are giving way to the vision of data-driven business models, digital, collaborative ecosystems and an agile, holacratic way of working in flat hierarchies and self-managing teams. Collaboration is made possible through the use of software solutions. In addition to adapted management concepts, the digital space also requires a digital cultural understanding on part of the companies involved. Lean empowerment is a pioneering approach to collaboration based on cultural values. In expert workshops, ideas were developed to explore how these values can be lived in a digital culture and thus in terms of global digital collaboration. This article presents concrete solutions from which requirements for digital collaboration and for implementation within IT structures and software solutions in particular can be derived.

In order to realize future improvements in circular product properties such as lifespan extension, continued use or high-quality recycling, industrial product development and design processes must take the entire ecological and economic life cycle of products into account. This article uses a company example to explain how such processes can be captured and analyzed using the Makigami method to support a comprehensive “Design for Circularity” concept. The chosen approach facilitates the identification of the application points of circular design decisions and the implementation of validated circular economy principles.

In lean management implementations, processes are improved and causes of problems are sustainably eliminated. However, in areas with a lot of data, such as logistics, root cause analysis on the shopfloor becomes confusing and complicated. Supporting application systems can help with analysis and shopfloor management. Using the example of supply logistics in the automotive industry, a simple digital solution is demonstrated that creates transparency, saves time and contributes to sustainable problem solving.