Benchmarking

As Industry 4.0 Technologies are swiftly spreading in global economy and enterprises are cooperating in supply chain networks, the question arises how fit these networks are for the imminent challenges. The contribution presents a method which allows to evaluate the industry 4.0-readiness for the example of an automotive network. As a first part, a qualitative analysis is carried out by means of an Industry 4.0-compass. Subsequently, a performance indicator based quantitative analysis is used to assess the industry 4.0-readiness of the automotive network.

Many companies have difficulties in generating sustainable success through the introduction of a production system, especially because of the systemic and cultural change process. During his time as head coach Klinsmann changed the DFB from old structures to a modern system and initiated a sustainable development. By comparing the Klinsmann Project with the findings of a benchmarking survey about the successful introduction of production systems conducted by the Laboratory for Machine Tools and Production Engineering of RWTH Aachen University, clear parallels can be pointed out and hence control levers for a successful change can be identified.

Latest publications in journals and newspapers tend to draw a cheerless future for companies producing in Western Europe. This is reason enough to analyze the companies still competing successfully in high cost countries. What kinds of success factors have these companies in common? Based on a benchmarking project, 48 companies have been identified, which, in comparison to their competitors, stand out with a superior development of their market share, sales and margin. Out of these, the four most successful companies have been chosen to gain a better understanding of the success factors of producing in high cost countries.