How Artifical Intelligence makes companies competitive

The breakfast event at Staufen.Inova took place recently. Together we showed what Next Level Transparency means and how AI makes companies more competitive.

Google, Meta, Amazon ...

These are data-driven companies. These companies generate high profits with user data. Manufacturing companies also generate large amounts of data. However, they are usually unaware of the treasure they are sitting on. Companies can make considerable cost savings by adopting a data-driven approach.

The data treasure

In a similar way, manufacturing companies are also sitting on a treasure trove of data: many products are digitally mapped in a 3D CAD system and visualized in 2D drawings.
and visualized in 2D drawings. Other data sources in the company are the ERP system, customer relationship management, product data management and, last but not least, Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents. Despite this diversity, data is used far too little in day-to-day business. Unused data is the reason why, for example, machine manufacturers generally do not know which supplier is the most suitable for which article specification. Keyword: Automated supplier selection.

Breakfast Event at Staufen.Inova in Zurich

Picture: Full house at the breakfast event on “Next Level Transparency” at Staufen.Inova AG

The first step towards using internal data more systematically is to process heterogeneous data in terms of quality, consistency and usability. At the premises of our partner Staufen.Inova AG, we explained the procedure and showed how our Data-Driven Engine can be used to transform existing, product-describing data in just a few days and make it usable for AI. The generated data can be used directly and not only provides information on the relationship between technical characteristics and, for example, component prices, but also provides initial information on:

• How many similar items the company has purchased in comparable quantities from different suppliers at different prices.
• How high the savings potential is in product groups and for individual items.
  
• What influence specific parameters (e.g. shape and position tolerances) have on the price.
• Which system suppliers use for pricing.

30'000 articles for Lemken GmbH & Co. KG

The example of agricultural machinery manufacturer LEMKEN GmbH & Co. KG shows that data transparency can lead to savings in a short space of time. A total of 30,000 articles were analyzed in a joint project. “By using the software, we received answers to questions that were previously beyond our scope”, says Stefan Zimpelmann, Head of Purchasing at Lemken. LEMKEN provided the necessary input data for the analysis, such as 3D CAD models and 2D drawings. The results were available within 2 weeks. Among other things, the analysis showed which suppliers offered potential for savings and which items should be renegotiated.

Automated, reliable data

Lemken is not the only example of successful data utilization. At Binder GmbH the data transformed by shouldcosting GmbH was used to automatically analyze the number of variants and part complexity. This led to a significant reduction in the variety of parts within a few weeks. Experience shows that between 12 and 20 percent savings can be identified and realized through the consistent and systematic use of company data (Data-Driven Company). Our clients use the new data transparency not only in procurement. This data is also highly beneficial in product development and in the sales and aftersales process. Start using your own company data today. You will recognize ... Data-driven is a game changer.