The digitization of factories promises great potential benefits. The implementation of the various technologies for the smart factory is extremely complex, requires new competencies and necessitates significant investments. The question is: How can an industrial company successfully manage this transformation? For this purpose, more than 500 published use cases were screened. These could be categorized into 44 relevant use cases, which we describe in detail in the book. Our research has al...

The increasing importance of industrial services and rapid digitalization towards smart and remote services pose opportunities as well as challenges to the manufacturing sector. This book provides a holistic understanding of industrial service management and guides companies into building capabilities and management practices for smart and remote services. By combining insights from research and practice, it offers a unique perspective on the core and enabling activities of manufacturing c...

Using site-specific optimization approaches in international manufacturing networks is increasingly proving insufficient. To solve this problem, several holistic and integrated alternatives have been developed to reflect a global perspective. This book presents advances in the St. Gallen Global Manufacturing Network Model and its application in numerous industry-, benchmarking- and research projects. The contents combine data-driven solutions with qualitative management frameworks for the ...

The preceding process of globalization and the continuously rising competitive pressure on manufacturing companies in more developed economies unveiled the limits of classical site-focused optimization approaches. The focus of network optimization shifts ever more towards an integrative view of manufacturing networks, striving for a harmonization of the strategy-, configuration- and coordination levels. This book presents such an integrative approach to the strategic management of manufact...

Achieving operational excellence is a challenge for the pharmaceutical industry, with many companies setting successful examples time and again. This book presents such leading practices for managing operational excellence throughout the pharmaceutical industry. Based on the St.Gallen OPEX Model the authors describe the current status of OPEX and the future challenges that have to be dealt with. The ample theoretical background is complemented hand-in-hand by case studies contributed by au...

“The Business Process Improvement methodology established by Dr. H. James Harrington and his group brings revolutionary improvement not only in quality of products and services, but also in the business processes.”—Professor Yoshio KondoThe Book That Goes Beyond Six Sigma and Lean . . . The Next Evolutionary Step in Business Process Management“Don’t design for Six Sigma—design for maximum performance.”H. James...

It is no secret that Lean Six Sigma (LSS) is not as popular with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as it is with larger ones. However, many SMEs are suppliers to larger entities who are pushing for superior quality and world-class process efficiencies from suppliers.Lean Six Sigma for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises: A Practical Guide provides a roadmap for the successful implementation and deployment of LSS in SMEs. It includes five real-world case studi...

Knowledge management (KM) - or the practice of using information and collaboration technologies and processes to capture organizational learning and thereby improve business performance - is becoming one of the key disciplines in management, especially in large companies. Many books, magazines, conferences, vendors, consultancies, Web sites, online communities and email lists have been formed around this concept. This practical book focuses on the vast offerings of KM solutions—technology,...

This book is published under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license. The editors present essential methods and tools to support a holistic approach to the challenge of system upgrades and innovation in the context of high-value products and services. The approach presented here is based on three main pillars: an adaptation mechanism based on a broad understanding of system dependencies; efficient use of system knowledge through involvement of actors throughout the process; and technological solutions to e...

This book introduces fundamental, advanced, and future-oriented scientific quality management methods for the engineering and manufacturing industries. It presents new knowledge and experiences in the manufacturing industry with real world case studies. It introduces Quality 4.0 with Industry 4.0, including quality engineering tools for software quality and offers lean quality management methods for lean manufacturing. It also bridges the gap between quality management and quality engineer...

The digital transformation is in full swing and fundamentally changes how we live, work, and communicate with each other. From retail to finance, many industries see an inflow of new technologies, disruption through innovative platform business models, and employees struggling to cope with the significant shifts occurring. This Fourth Industrial Revolution is predicted to also transform Logistics and Supply Chain Management, with delivery systems becoming automated, smart networks created ...

Quality 4.0 is for all industries, and this book is for anyone who wants to learn how Industry 4.0 and Quality 4.0 can help improve quality and performance in their team or company. This comprehensive guide is the culmination of 25 years of research and practice-exploring, implementing, and critically examining the quality and performance improvement aspects of Industry 4.0 technologies. Navigate the connected, intelligent, and automated ecosystems of infrastructure, people, objects, machi...