PressClub Latin America, Caribbean · Article.
Successful go-live of new production IT at BMW Group in cooperation with SAP SE
Wed Sep 20 18:02:00 CEST 2023 Press Release
+++ Processes and systems become faster, more efficient and more transparent +++ BMW Group MINI Plant Oxford as forerunner +++
Press Contact.
Juan Bernardo Vazquez Mellado
BMW Group
Tel: +52-55-91402-357
send an e-mail
Munich / Oxford. Another step in the digitalization
of BMW Group production has been taken: in August, the new
standardized BMW IT solution for production plants went live for the
first time worldwide at the MINI Plant Oxford. Based on modern,
private cloud-based software and SAP S/4 HANA, the BMW Group and SAP
SE are further developing the process and tool landscape for the
entire automotive industry, thereby establishing state-of-the-art
technology in the industry.
First successful SAP S/4 HANA go-live in automotive
production. With the implementation at the Oxford plant, the
two companies have created a blueprint for process digalitization of
(automotive) plants of the future. The simultaneous rollout of the new
global logistics, finance and customs process solutions is the basis
for future global standardization with SAP S/4 HANA, SAP Analytics
Cloud and SAP GTS. The standardization enables mutual plant support,
flexible employee deployment and synergy effects in support and
training. It also forms the basis for future innovations and a faster
rollout of new solutions in the production network and enables data
consistency and transparency along the entire value chain. By linking
relevant product, process, quality, financial and cost data using data
analytics and AI, the BMW Group is taking plant management to a new level.
"The go-live at the Oxford plant is an important milestone
in the digitalization process of our production. It is further
evidence of the transformation that is anchored in the BMW iFACTORY.
It is the starting point of one of the largest change projects in the
history of our production network. The new IT standards will be
implemented successively at our BMW Group production sites," says
Michael Nikolaides, Head of Production Network, Logistics at the BMW Group.
With the BMW iFACTORY, the BMW Group is defining the future
orientation of its plants and manufacturing
technologies. Alongside the aspects of LEAN and GREEN, the
digitization of production is the central element of the
transformation. Digitalization and innovative technologies already
have an impact along the entire BMW Group production value chain and
are being driven forward in the following technology clusters: Smart
Data Analytics, Smart Logistics, Innovative Automation &
Assistance Systems and Additive Manufacturing. Especially in the area
of BMW Group Logistics, Customs and Controlling, the introduction of
the new production IT standards will further increase the level of
speed, quality and flexibility.
"IT is business and business is IT. As one team, we have
successfully implemented a highly complex project. As part of our
digitization and harmonization strategy, with this new solution we are
now able to link relevant product, process, quality and cost data,
enabling data consistency and transparency across the entire
production chain. We are proud to be the innovation leader in the
standardization of business processes and systems in the automotive
industry," says Alexander Buresch, CIO and SVP Group IT at BMW Group.
With this go-live, Oxford is the hub of the process
digitalization and harmonization strategy. The MINI Plant
in Oxford is the first of the BMW Group's networked factories to be
converted to the cloud architecture over the next few years. Future
innovations can thus be rolled out much faster across all plants.
Co-innovation of two German pioneers: BMW Group and SAP SE
define new standards for automotive industry. More than
1,000 colleagues from both companies were involved in the project. In
it, SAP SE and BMW AG further developed the functionalities of S/4HANA
for use in the automotive industry. Both companies can look back on a
strategic partnership spanning more than 30 years, during which
numerous co-innovation projects have already been successfully implemented.