Aachen, May 17, 2021 – In view of increasingly occurring crises and disruptions, intelligent production planning is more important than ever. At the same time, a survey significantly supported by the WGP (Scientific Society for Production Engineering) has shown that two thirds of companies are not satisfied with production planning.

On June 17, 2021, at a hybrid expert forum in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, specialists and managers will learn how to guide their companies through troubled waters with the help of automated production planning and control (PPC). “The Corona crisis showed that companies with robust PPS processes and supply chains had significantly fewer problems and came through the crisis more successfully than their competitors,” states Prof. Günther Schuh, a member of the Board of Directors of the Machine Tool Laboratory (WZL) at RWTH Aachen University and one of the speakers. “At our forum, entrepreneurs learn about new trends in PPS and how to run their processes more efficiently.” Schuh is not only the holder of the Chair of Production Systems, but also the founder of e.GO Mobile SE and the Schuh & Co. Group of Companies, both in Aachen.

“Production today is so complex that cross-domain and largely automated information logistics are fundamental to the daily challenges,” he cautions. But how can digital twins and energy efficiency be used profitably? How can supply chains be made robust, and what are the levers for contract manufacturing? Professors from IFA Hannover, WZL Aachen, IPMT Hamburg and Fraunhofer IGCV, Augsburg, will answer these and other questions at the 2nd PPS Expert Forum. High-ranking industry representatives from Henkel AG and SMS Group GmbH will also report on their experiences and success factors in times of digitalization. They will present best practices and talk about how companies can use automated PPS to bridge the gap between efficient, customer-oriented and at the same time robust production.

However, the forum not only offers presentations, but is also a platform for discussions. “The exchange with PPS experts is the greatest help on the way to future-proof a company,” Schuh knows. Therefore, in addition to the input from science and practice, discussion rounds and networking breaks are planned for the participants. Just like the lectures, they will take place on site and digitally at the same time. Questions and comments can therefore also be submitted via the Internet.

The target groups of the event are operational management as well as specialists and executives from the areas of production management, plant and production management, supply chain management, and production planning and control.

2nd PPS Expert Forum

June 17, 2021, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Frankfurt/M (Radisson Blu Hotel) and as a web conference.

PROGRAM

9.00 a.m. Get-together and welcome address

9.30 a.m. Robust supply chain design (Prof. Peter Nyhuis)

10.15 a.m. Holistic Planning in the Metals Industry (Prof. Katja Windt, SMS Group GmbH)

11.00 Breakout session & break

11.30 a.m. Energy-oriented PPS (Prof. Johannes Schilp, Fraunhofer IGCV)

12.15 Lunch

13.15 Digital Shadow in PPS (Prof. Günther Schuh, WZL Aachen)

14.00 Digital Transformation of Henkel’s Supply Operations (Dr. Rawina Varandani, Henkel AG)

14.45 Breakout session & break

15.15 The critical levers of contract manufacturing (Prof. Hermann Lödding,

IPMT Hamburg)

4.00 p.m. Closing discussion

5.00 p.m. Wrap-up & farewell