Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is relying on partnership to digitalize its core production processes. Over the next five years, the mechanical engineering company will move its mechanical production processes into the cloud with T-Systems and introduce a new Manufacturing Execution System (MES). For HEIDELBERG, digitalizing production is an important part of aligning itself for future markets and related value creation. The strategic partner for this project is T-Systems. In December 2022, the two companies agreed on a far-reaching collaboration.
With modern technologies and innovative business ideas, the company is driving progress and change in the printing industry and is also establishing itself in new business areas, such as charging technology for electric vehicles.
“Digitalization of production plays an important role for us in realizing our business strategy,” explains Axel Hofer, Head of IT for Operations and R&D. With the modern Manufacturing Execution System for production control of the manufacturing sites, the company wants to put its operations on a new footing – and was looking for an experienced partner with specialist and process know-how in the manufacturing environment, including technology expertise, who could accompany the digital transformation.
T-Systems’ concept convinced us. As part of the project, we are consistently thinking about and implementing our new IT landscape from the perspective of future business requirements.
In the future, HEIDELBERG will use SAP’s Digital Manufacturing Cloud (DMC) to control its production processes. DMC experts from T-Systems and SYSTEMA are supporting the introduction. It goes hand in hand with the use of SmartUnifier from Amorph Systems. This serves as a new standard that links the existing production machines and systems to SAP DMC and other IT systems via a uniform interface. This simplifies the management of the production landscape and makes it significantly more efficient. T-Systems is managing the overall project over the entire transformation period.
“However, digititalization is only 50 percent technology,” explains Wolfgang Weyand, Expert Sales Manager at T-Systems, “process know-how, industry expertise, but also cultural rethinking are important components of a successful digitalization project – we cover all of this with our plan. We are pleased to be able to accompany this groundbreaking project and to position HEIDELBERG for the future.”
