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Digitalise production control

From 200 manual processes to fully automated production

09. September 2025
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Science fiction or reality? A production order comes in, and within seconds every machine, every tool and every workstation knows exactly what to do. No manual entries, no queries, no errors. What sounds like science fiction has already become reality at a leading automation group with 6.2 billion euros in annual revenue.

The starting point: complexity as a daily challenge

This international industrial group, with more than 30,000 employees worldwide and a presence in more than 30 countries, faced an enormous challenge: in modern manufacturing, countless product variants in different configurations have to be produced every day. The product portfolio spans eleven different areas, from assembly technology and electric drives through to mobile robotics.
Every order required individual adjustments, from selecting the right tools to configuring complex manufacturing parameters for NC machines or assembly robots. The problem was not just the sheer complexity, but the high level of manual work-preparation effort. With every product change, documents and data in work preparation had to be updated manually, a time-consuming and error-prone process that severely limited the company’s agility.
Particularly challenging: every single customer order needs an individual configuration before the product can be manufactured. Variant-rich products in small quantities demand the highest levels of flexibility and precision.

"The company was looking for a solution to configure manufacturing parameters based on the data from product configuration and classification. The solution we developed together, and mapped in PPG, is based on a master template that can be used for any process step in production. It mirrors the structure of the SAP DM system. Within the specific structure for a production line, the relevant configuration rules are then stored for each individual workstation. Through these structures and the processing of the production order data, every production order receives a complete data package containing the detailed information needed for its execution."

Dr.-Ing. Helmuth Oehler /
Senior SAP Consultant, BDF EXPERTS

The turning point: three years of development lead to the solution

After three years of internal project development, the company chose SAP Product and Process Governance (PPG) as the optimal solution. The goal was ambitious: a fully automated process was to take complete charge of program selection, parameter configuration and the transmission of work instructions.

For the “factory of the future”, digital manufacturing is the key element in delivering personalised, customer-specific configured products.

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The solution: an intelligent five-component system

The solution implemented by BDF EXPERTS seamlessly connects five core components:

1. SAP ERP – the central data basis for all production orders
2. SAP PPG – intelligent configuration logic with relationship knowledge
3. SAP BTP / Production Data Management Connector – system integration
4. SAP DM – production control and shop-floor connection
5. Shop-floor components – direct machine connection (tool selection, NC controllers, inspection stations, etc.)

Three-phase implementation with expert knowledge

The project was delivered in three distinct phases:

Phase 1: requirements gathering and analysis
All requirements were gathered, analysed and categorised by importance.
Phase 2: prototype development
A prototype platform was developed to determine the optimal approach by reviewing existing options and to consolidate the actual requirements.
Phase 3: detailed optimisation and go-live
Based on the insights gained, detailed optimisations were carried out. The go-live took place first in a pilot application with full PPG-DM integration.

Controlling complex production lines automatically: the technical implementation in detail

Up to 300 production orders are processed every day on the production lines, in which broadly similar end products are configured differently in each individual case. A typical production line consists of a large number of individual work steps at several interconnected stations. Although SAP ERP manages the entire line as a single work centre, SAP PPG enables the detailed data preparation of each individual work step and the handover of the results in line with the organisation of production order processing in the SAP DM system.
The system automatically generates Set Point Groups (configurations) and Work Instructions for each work step. In the first part of the program flow, various configurations are generated fully automatically on the PPG side from a production order, in line with the number of individual work steps (= PDP = Production Data Package), and transmitted to the production line via a data file in JSON format that SAP DM can process automatically.
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Production Operator Dashboard: a focus on usability

The Production Operator Dashboard makes the complexity manageable for shop-floor workers and supports different user groups:

For production managers:

  • Manage and release orders
  • Comprehensive reports and real-time analyses
  • Monitoring of all production lines

For production employees:

  • Manage SFCs (Shop Floor Control) – identifiers for material instances in the manufacturing process
  • Intuitive process control (start, pause, complete)
  • Digital work instructions in the form of documents, videos or 3D animations
  • Automatic error messages and data capture
  • Four clear dashboard areas with all the relevant information

Central data management revolutionises the way you work

By using SAP PPG, all parameters are managed and documented in one central location in the ERP system. Changes no longer have to be made manually across different departments: everyone works from the same data and system foundation. When a change is made, it automatically becomes visible to all.
This relationship knowledge and its central representation make it possible for the correct configuration to be generated automatically and transmitted to the DM as soon as a particular product version is to be manufactured.

Future readiness through digitalisation

This project is a prime example of how Industry 4.0 works in practice. With 40 locations worldwide, a third of them in Germany and sales and service partners in 80 countries, the automation group has not only mastered its current challenges but also positioned itself optimally for future requirements.
The central management of all manufacturing parameters makes it possible to respond quickly and flexibly to market changes. The production data management system makes personalised, customer-specific configured products of the highest quality economically viable.
Intelligent manufacturing control is more than just a technical innovation: it is the key to sustainable competitiveness in an increasingly digitalised industrial world.

The breakthrough: measurable success

  • A drastic reduction in error rates through validated configurations
  • A significant increase in process reliability through automated parameter transfer
  • A considerable reduction in work-preparation effort across all departments
  • Improved responsiveness to product changes through central data management
  • Automatic generation of work instructions in various formats

More about BDF EXPERTS

BDF EXPERTS is the brand of bdf consultants GmbH, a leading SAP Silver/SolEx partner with comprehensive end-to-end expertise in Digital Supply Chain and Corporate Finance & Treasury. For more than 25 years, BDF EXPERTS has been helping companies achieve measurable value creation through fully digitalised processes on the basis of SAP ERP and S/4HANA.

In the area of Digital Supply Chain, BDF EXPERTS has developed particular expertise in holistic data management. With SAP PPG (Product and Process Governance), BDF EXPERTS offers an innovative solution for the central management of all product and process data in SAP, thereby creating the foundation for data-driven business models.

Its customers range from innovative mid-sized companies such as Groz-Beckert and Thermofin to global corporations such as Schüco, Haniel, Hilti, Bitburger, thyssenkrupp and many more. The company employs 65 people at its Düsseldorf and Munich locations.

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Any questions? We would be glad to help you in person.

Would you like to learn more about implementing SAP PPG in your company? Our experts will be happy to advise you individually.

Contact us for a no-obligation initial consultation.

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The BDF EXPERTS Insights platform is aimed at decision-makers and specialists working with SAP, supply chain and corporate finance. It offers well-founded expert articles, practical insights and strategic perspectives on process harmonisation, digitalisation and technological developments.

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