One of the main reasons for the previous inadequate on-time delivery was identified as the uncoordinated planning of individual team capacities - the bottleneck shifts depending on the order situation. Workshops and discussions have shown that future planning must be based on reliable, up-to-date data to reduce delays. Even simple methods of capacity planning have already led to fewer schedule overruns, at least in the planning phase.

Schmid Elektronik AG develops and produces electronic components for a wide range of customers and markets. The product variety is very high, and the quantities to be produced are tailored to the customers and usually small. Despite some adjustments and improvements at various workplaces and in the production process, the persistent inadequate on-time delivery has not significantly improved. The reasons for this seem to be very fundamental in nature: the product portfolio, the current process planning (process design), the low real-time traceability of products in the production process (Industry 4.0), and the ongoing fluctuations in the availability of components from suppliers all contribute to the need to reschedule delivery dates for customers at short notice during order processing.

To better understand the relationships between the product mix, current production release and process planning, as well as the impact of changeover times, and to accurately predict completion times as early as possible when processing customer orders, a digital planning twin is being created. This digital twin is intended to be able to forecast production capacities and workloads at individual key workstations over several weeks.