"quality time"

With distributed production sites and global supplier relationships, complex supply chains have emerged in almost all industries. Even the slightest disruption or deviation in the material flow can lead to costly downtimes. thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe has developed "Pacemaker", an AI-based software that ensures a smooth material flow and lower resource consumption. The name "Pacemaker" describes the function of the software: among other things, the aim is to increase supply security, reduce inventories and thus increase production output. The algorithm is already being used by some suppliers in the automotive industry in the Portuguese industrial park Autoeuropa.

To ensure efficient production, the parts for the production lines must be delivered just-in-time and material jams must be avoided. "An important component of an ideally functioning supply chain is intelligent material management that can react flexibly to deviations and disruptions in production. Pacemaker helps us here as a visualization and forecasting tool," says António Novais, Managing Director of Palmetal, the Portuguese site of thyssenkrupp Materials Processing Europe.

thyssenkrupp Aerospace has signed a 15-year contract with Rolls-Royce to manage the storage and logistics of all finished parts for its engine manufacturing and assembly operations in Indianapolis, Ind. The third-party logistics (3PL) contract includes inventory management, as well as kitting, inspection, and transportation services. thyssenkrupp Aerospace already provides vendor-managed inventory services for a portion of Rolls-Royce’s supply chain. This expanded contract will be in full operation in 2022 when a new 330,000 square-foot facility is completed in the Indianapolis area.

 The new contract consolidates the warehousing and logistics services of what was previously multiple 3PL providers working with Rolls-Royce. In addition to becoming the sole service provider of inventory management, thyssenkrupp Aerospace will also facilitate a next-generation warehouse management system that seamlessly integrates with Rolls-Royce’s business systems, build a state-of-the-art warehouse facility to optimize storage, and provide an integrated transportation solution between manufacturing sites.

To expand their range of solutions for the digitalization of industrial production, thyssenkrupp Materials IoT and nexpro.digital have concluded a cooperation agreement. While thyssenkrupp Materials IoT contributes the combination of industrial expertise and software development, nexpro.digital contributes extensive smart factory know-how and training expertise.

As a result of the cooperation, holistic smart factory solutions become possible. The range of services for customers includes the technology required in each case, such as hardware and software, effective tools for implementation and for monitoring and controlling production. Added to this are practice-oriented training offers and courses for employees, which have proven to be a key success factor and are indispensable in most cases.

With the IIoT platform toii®, thyssenkrupp Materials IoT offers the necessary technology for production digitization, the aim of which can be to create transparency in production, depending on requirements. Based on this, the semi- and full automation of production processes up to a completely paperless smart factory is possible. "Thanks to the modular structure of the platform, our customers can flexibly adapt the degree of digitalization and automation to their individual needs," says Sebastian Lang, Managing Director of thyssenkrupp Materials IoT GmbH.

nexpro.digital specializes in the practical support and empowerment of customer organizations on their way to the digital factory. Its expertise includes vision concepts for a smart factory, support for implementation projects in industry, and the systematic empowerment of employees through standardized or customized training. As a joint venture between the Chair of Production Systems at the Ruhr University in Bochum and the Düsseldorf-based management consultancy LMX Business Consulting GmbH, nexpro.digital draws on both scientific methodology and successful practical examples from industry.

thyssenkrupp Materials IoT GmbH was founded in September 2019 as a spin-off from thyssenkrupp Materials Services. The team includes Industry 4.0 expertise built up over 15 years at thyssenkrupp in production digitization. As part of the strategic development of "Materials as a Service", the materials trader and service provider is systematically expanding its supply chain service business. This includes the development of innovative, data-driven business models such as toii®. thyssenkrupp Materials IoT supports its customers on their way to Industry 4.0 throughout the entire process: from consulting and implementation of IIoT technologies to support throughout the lifecycle of the solutions and operation of the underlying platform.

The digital spin-off thyssenkrupp Materials IoT presents the "Paperless" app, based on the IIoT platform toii®, for use in industrial shop floor and warehouse management. With the help of the app, employees can view and manage orders at any time from their tablet or smartphone, identify the relevant material, process it in production, and commission the products. Media breaks are avoided; use of paper is significantly reduced. The data is available digitally and can be processed, for example via ERP systems. These efficiency gains through optimized production and intralogistics control directly benefit customers, whose orders are processed faster and more effectively without paper.