Baseline

New vehicle concepts, digital service offerings, and agile product realization on a virtual basis had to be mastered by introducing a technical reference, which would define the status of the total vehicle in a mandatory and up-to-date manner.

The new processes, IT support and data structures needed for this project had to be defined and implemented in a space of just nine months.

Responsibilities

Consec was given the mandate to set up and structure the interdisciplinary project team, integrate it in the organization and equip it with the required authorization. As an Agile Master, we ensured that the project goal was achieved and that the new processes were rolled out.

Success

This fundamental change in the agile vehicle development process has been adopted as a new way of doing things: the development teams are independently and adaptively aligning their activities with the technical reference “total vehicle”, the validity of which follows a fixed pulse. As a mandatory basis for development and production, the newly defined reference is effective as the business’s “pulse of product data”.

Baseline

During the implementation of a product data management solution the consistency of the product information had to be guaranteed across all stages from early development to mass production.

The goal: across vehicle development everyone should talk about the same vehicle – a single version of the truth. Overcoming the reservations in the organization against the resulting transparency across all processes was one of the key challenges. The new processes were a prerequisite for the production of new vehicle models.

Responsibilities

Consec was given the mandate to own the overall project plan and to establish the new processes across all car projects. This included the process for the commonality management, the change management processes, the release process and the configuration of experimental vehicles.

Consecs responsibilities included the timely introduction of the new processes and the automated conversion of the product data from development to the bill of materials in the production.

Consec reported to the internal project manager and provisioned authoritative project reports to both the departmental managers and the project team.

Success

Taking responsibility across processes and IT and a strict change-management in the project were key success factors. Consec defined and implemented a rollout process which systematically embedded the new procedures along the value chain from development to production.

A team of over 200 members in 14 sub-projects achieved the goals as previously agreed.

Baseline

For the production of a premium model by a third party manufacturer the IT of the Dutch manufacturer had to be integrated with the production network of the German automaker.

Existing processes and the underlying IT-solutions had to be redefined and harmonized to create a seamless integration of the manufacturer. Within 18 months a stable solution to support peak production capacity had to be introduced.

Responsibilities

Consec was given the mandate by the automaker to provide the required IT-infrastructure on both sides to enable the manufacturing process. This not only included the technical integration but also parts of the supply chain, the financial accounting, and the process chains »parts« and »vehicle«.

Consec governed the integration process and provided continuous updates on the project status. The timely provision of the IT solutions and a start of production in line with the targets were defined as key goals.

Consec reported to the executive management of the automaker and the plant manager.

Success

Thanks to our vast experience Consec identified process and IT risks early in the project and initiated the preventative actions. A full-blown integration test process across both involved parties was an essential element for the success of the project. The multinational team of 21 IT leads and 32 business leads reached the goals in time and without losing a single car in the process – »no unit lost«.