Industrial Goods

Mechanical engineering and electronics companies that do project-based business need to handle sharply fluctuating levels of incoming orders. Until the turn of the millennium, they were able to cushion this with high inventory levels and lengthy delivery times. Customers today, however, are no longer willing to accept long waiting periods. The time between order and delivery has shrunk dramatically, from 12 to 18 months to around 12 weeks, and delivering on this mandate requires effective coordination of all of the processes involved. Porsche Consulting does this by adjusting key levers. In supplier management alone, this can cut procurement times nearly in half, but we’ve found that the greatest results come from increasing the performance of all of a company’s processes.

Companies that fail to innovate won’t be around tomorrow. Manufacturers have a long tradition of introducing products while keeping customers’ wants and needs at the forefront. Along the way, the mechanics, electronics and software involved in product creation have become increasingly complex. The automobile industry can serve as a model here in terms of speed, transparency and efficiency; one example is the agile development methods based on simulation and digitalization used throughout the industry.

In the industrial goods industry, where manufacturers operate within tightly defined boundaries, customers demand individual solutions. The formula for success is as follows: Develop solutions that are as standardized as necessary and as individualized as possible. A modular principle saves money through economies of scale that are otherwise only possible in production systems with high unit numbers. In our work with leading industrial goods organizations, we’ve been able to use shared components to achieve up to 60 percent standardization, which in turn has led to cost reductions of 20 to 30% and significant improvements in KPIs for quality and delivery reliability.

The first machine is sold by the sales department; the second, by the service department. After-sales has a major influence on customer satisfaction, and field technicians offer a reliable source of information that can help drive continuous product improvement. At Porsche Consulting, we’ve helped medium-sized companies set up new after-sales strategies that enable them to serve customers around the world better and more quickly. We’ve also helped large companies continue to grow their global footprint through after-sales strategies that encompass not only machine startup and maintenance but also comprehensive service packages with strong digital support.

The Porsche sports car company’s use of mixed production lines has enabled it to respond to country-specific demands – a car model, for example, that can have the steering wheel on the right or on the left. Producers of machines and electronic devices also handle country-specific variants, such as special regulations or traditional operating formats, and often have workforces with differing qualifications. We partner with clients to lay a solid foundation for healthy growth in promising markets. With intercultural backgrounds and deep insight into local practices, our consultants help shape the right strategies for new markets. We also provide support when products need to be adapted to different market conditions.