By Jonas van Thiel and Christopher Martin, EFESO

Chatbots that assist with plant maintenance, digital twins as process accelerators or AI as quality inspectors – the availability of technologies cannot be the reason why the digital transformation is not progressing. The success of industrial digitalization is largely determined by its starting point: a well thought-out, sustainable, and flexible strategy for this "journey".

The discussion of such a strategic orientation can quickly fall short if the focus is on individual digitalization initiatives or-programs that address different processes and departments within the company. This sometimes distracts companies from dealing with essential questions:

• Which technological and methodological elements are critical to success on which timelines?
• What are the digitization measures that are actually relevant to value creation?
• Are existing technologies already being used in the best way? If so, how can they be scaled correctly?

Turning challenges into opportunities – and opportunities into profits

Industrial companies have been shaping transformation processes with us for many years, whether with a focus on Industry 4.0, OPEX / WCOM™* or on the operations footprint. They are pursuing different objectives – such as developing factories into a future factory or achieving digital excellence in their operations processes.

The following guidelines are helpful when developing a strategy for digital transformation. They create the basis for ensuring that digitalization does not get bogged down in wrong turns and dead ends, but instead transforms challenges into opportunities and these into measurable results.

Have the courage to change your original strategy!

A digital transformation usually pursues specific goals. The challenge is to identify and correctly evaluate all the necessary elements and their interaction from the outset. The pursuit of a strategy should therefore be seen as a continuous process that needs to be constantly reassessed – both in terms of the objectives and the means used.

Stay focused on the core of your work processes!

The results of a digital transformation are decided in daily work processes. You should therefore carefully check the processes and conditions at working level. It is not enough to use digital tools - the greatest asset is to become a digital company yourself.

Don't think in terms of individual solutions!

In rare cases, digitalization solutions that work well locally can be transferred one-to-one to other locations. As a rule, every production of each plant has specific requirements, so the solution should offer a certain degree of flexibility. To achieve this goal, a solid technical infrastructure is crucial. At the same time, not every problem has to be solved with an IT application – and relevant added value does not result from a single solution, but from the interaction of several solutions.

"It is not enough to use digital tools – the greatest asset is to become a digital company yourself." 

Using best practice strategies for orientation

Some companies, that are already systematically developing the maturity level of their entire organization towards excellence with OPEX programs, are using digitalization as a driver in this process. They have recognized that flexibility is more likely to lead to success than dogmatism when implementing digitalization strategies. In line with new technological developments and market conditions, they regularly adjust the course of their digital transformation, for example in terms of principles, methods, and roles. This is characterized in particular by five elements of successful strategies:

Multidimensional target picture

Based on the operational requirements for the digital transformation, the target picture outlines its direction and scope. It also serves as a point of reference for cross-departmental initiatives and creates a common understanding of the objective among the stakeholders in the company.

Community principle

Building internal "communities" is the best way to hand over core topics, roles and responsibilities to experts. They manage the (cultural) change process and coordinate the empowerment of employees.

Cross-factory perspective

Digitalization pioneers determine the appropriate methodological tool set for subsequent implementation as early as the strategy phase. They usually do not limit this to a pilot factory, but also think beyond the plant boundaries – e.g., by naming the framework conditions that support the local and global success of the transformation.

IT architecture and technology radar

The more flexible and scalable the IT architecture is designed, the more flexibly the company can realign or customize its digitalization strategy. A modular approach should therefore be considered when designing the IT architecture. In order to achieve and maintain an innovative edge, a "technology radar" with scouting and evaluation of suitable solutions is helpful.

Strategy cycle

For most companies, market / competitive conditions change regularly. The tool of a continuously tracked "strategy cycle" makes these changes visible and easier to calculate – and the strategy for digital transformation can be developed accordingly.

* Operational Excellence / World Class Operations Management

See how industrial companies develop and implement their digitalization strategy with EFESO:

WCOM as the starting point for digital transformation >

Development of a group-wide digitalization strategy >

Target image for the transformation to a smart factory >

Authors

Jonas van Thiel, Partner, ROI-EFESO 

Jonas van Thiel's consulting focus is on digital transformation and the organisation of international companies, Industry 4.0 projects and the Future Factory, as well as classic OPEX optimisation and the development of production strategies and production systems.

Christopher Martin, Senior Manager, EFESO

Christopher Martin deals with issues relating to the factory of the future and is a sought-after contact for its realisation, from planning to ramp-up. For more than ten years, he has also been supporting companies in overcoming demanding challenges in production. His aim is to use pragmatic approaches to identify the best solution.