Bark beetles become modern pavers

It wasn't all that long ago that I was sitting in a customer meeting. I wanted to arrange a follow-up appointment with my counterpart, a mechanical engineer with a doctorate. I took my smartphone out of my pocket, the Dr.-Ing. reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper folded to A6. He unfolded it to A3. It was his desktop calendar that he had printed out. He noticed that I was looking a bit puzzled.

Preempting my question, he said: "Not that you're surprised. My nickname at the company is Bark Beetle." He immediately sensed that I could do even less with it. "Well"he responded to my questioning look, "I'm known in the company for printing out everything. Even things that might be better done on the computer and online. It's a well-known fact that printing out damages the forest. Or to put it another way: the bark beetle damages the forest. I damage the forest with my passion for printed paper. Hence the bark beetle."

I had to smile. At the same time, the event made me reflect. Because one experience for me as a partner for digitization is this: many manufacturing companies in the metal industry are still suspiciously close to the bark beetle today. With the quantities of paper that are printed for an order, I sometimes wonder whether this is matched by a corresponding quantity of manufacturing products.

The Corona crisis additionally highlights where many manufacturing companies still stand today. While many grandparents are now embracing modern technologies because of distance rules, because they may only be able to talk to their children and grandchildren face-to-face if they have the appropriate apps installed on their smartphones, many companies are still relying on paper and barcodes. Instead of recognizing and exploiting the advantages of digitization, they print paper - and thus perpetuate the disadvantages of this outdated technology into their operational future.

But this has nothing to do with the future in the true sense of the word. Because anyone who relies on printed paper for their processes has already gambled away the future. Of course, you can also print out a stock list (when will which goods arrive?) on paper.

However, at the moment when the list leaves the printer, it is often already out of date. Where is a production order? To find out, I have to go to production - in many companies today, there's not even a phone there! Reason: With the volume levels, telephone communication would be difficult anyway.

Sophisticated and innovative:
No contradiction!

Digitization means always having all the necessary information available in a fully data-integrated process. An integrated solution without media breaks (between ERP, PPS, MES, BDE, LVS and Excel) offers a transparent logistics chain from the quotation to the order and production to delivery and invoicing, which makes it possible to see where each order - and thus the company - stands at the push of a button.

Such solutions exist. And they also work in many companies in productive operation. The important thing here is to rely on the right partners. A software provider who ensures that the investment in digitization is also secured for the future. And a partner for implementation who knows the special challenges of manufacturing companies.

But technology is only one aspect of implementation. If you only look at the technical aspects, you can quickly get lost. To fully exploit digital potential, you need a holistic strategy and the support of all employees. And a solution that is both mature and innovative. There is.