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Making E-Mobility Industrialization Work

Munich, November 2022

Making E-Mobility Industrialization Work

Munich, November 2022
F

ive success principles from concept to execution

The launch of new products, new plants and new production lines has always been a critical challenge for auto companies and their suppliers. For e-mobility production, where product and process complexity are greater, this challenge becomes even more acute. So, how can companies bake in success?

At Berylls we have hands-on e-mobility production experience all the way from concept to wheels on the road. As always, we think holistically and help manufacturers to do the same, developing infrastructure and deploying both teams and capital machinery with an end-to-end worldview.

But this is the real world and things can and will go wrong. We have learned that beginning with an understanding of the most common points of failure in an e-mobility manufacturing project means success becomes the likely outcome. Experience tells us that there are five common pitfalls in e-mobility manufacturing development that can be turned into success factors.

Authors
Dr. Ralf Walker

Partner

Fritz Metzger

Associate Partner

Peter Trögel

Associate Partner

FACTOR ONE: Design for Production Complexity

E-mobility production is characterized by high complexity. Compared to conventional automotive manufacturing, any one value stream will comprise more components and more process steps. This means the production blueprint needs to be defined in exhaustive detail. Machine specifications and capabilities are critical: quality demands are exceptionally high. And process resilience needs to be designed in, so the production chain can be de-coupled when needed without freezing the entire production process.

  • You have one shot at success, right at the start.

FACTOR TWO: E-mobility is Hyper-Sensitive to ‘Technical Cleanliness’ 

Technical cleanliness is a measure of particulate and other potential contaminants in the production process, usually as defined by the VDA 19 process standard. It sounds routine and that is why it can be underrated. But you cannot afford to underestimate it in e-mobility production. Manufacturers must understand customer demands and cleanliness standards and run them all the way back through the supply chain. Every team member must develop this quality awareness and testing technology must be fully enabled.

  • There is no endpoint for technical cleanliness: improvement must be continuous.

FACTOR THREE: Step Up Project and Partner Management

Pre-determined KPIs for machine performance do not self-actuate: they must be tracked continuously and rolling performance communicated with all stakeholders including suppliers and users. Teams must be KPI-aware and empowered to intervene immediately whenever necessary.

  • Missed KPIs mean delayed launches and spiraling costs.

FACTOR FOUR: Feedback is Critical

Operational readiness is not a fixed quality: it depends on rapid feedback from the shop floor and rapid response from decision-makers. That means active involvement from executive managers onsite, from day one. Daily alignment meetings based on feedback as close as possible to real-time are necessary.

  • Feedback has a short half-life: don’t let it decay.

FACTOR FIVE: Integrate the Customer

In e-mobility customer requirements can evolve fast. Responding fast means a common understanding of technical feasibilities that allow all stakeholders to understand – but also challenge – requirements as needed. Involving the customer from the beginning and communicating transparently is key here.

  • More than before, be customer-centric from shop floor to boardroom

KEY ELEMENTES FOR A SAFE CELL LAUNCH

A successful and safe cell launch consists of several elements – Technical Cleanliness is just one ingredient.
Cell suppliers need to “juggle all balls” at the same time while facing ambitious capacity expansions.

The advantage of end-to-end is clear: get it right at the beginning and you are set to get it right all the way through.

This means following a holistic framework from the conceptual basics, to identifying the best possible plant location and defining the production blueprint, and on to building the required capabilities for a successful launch. Whether you are a newcomer to the automotive industry (and in e-mobility there are many) or an established automaker, the end-to-end mindset is key to successful collaboration with stakeholders through every stage of product and process development.

It may seem obvious to say it, but the foundation for successful execution is a strong project management office tasked with coordination: that means coordinating risk analysis and mitigation, time planning, and KPI and measure tracking across all workstreams.

This is end-to-end in practice. From shop floor to the boardroom and back again.

Fritz Metzger

Fritz Metzger (1986) joined Berylls by AlixPartners (formerly Berylls Strategy Advisors), an international strategy consultancy specializing in the automotive industry, in February 2021. He is an expert on automotive operations.

Since 2011, his focus has been on strategic alignment and operational efficiency improvement of automotive manufacturers and suppliers. He also advises top management in critical situations, including R&D and industrialization task forces and relocation and restructuring initiatives of plants and complete suppliers. The challenges of e-mobility are always in focus.

Before joining Berylls, he was a director at international strategy consultants PwC Strategy&, as well as a sales and project manager at a medium-sized supplier and mechanical engineering company.

Fritz Metzger is a trained industrial engineer with a degree from ESB Business School Reutlingen. He also holds an MBA from the University of Salzburg.

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Dr. Ralf Walker

Dr Ralf Walker (1969) has been a partner at Berylls by AlixPartners (formerly Berylls Strategy Advisors), an international strategy consultancy specialising in the automotive industry, since September 2021. His expertise lies in the areas of operations and task forces.
He has been advising automotive manufacturers and suppliers in a global context since 2008. He also has in-depth expertise in the areas of launch & ramp-up management, turnaround management, production & supply chain optimisation, lean management and strategy development & footprint optimisation.
Before joining Berylls Strategy Advisors, he spent 18 years at PwC Strategy&, Booz & Co, Management Engineers and the Fraunhofer IPT, as well as 5 years at GKN as head of the European team and member of the global team for the introduction of lean and business excellence principles, production manager and head of industrial engineering.
He studied mechanical engineering at RWTH Aachen University and completed his doctorate at the Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen.

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