Production Management

Prof. Thomas Friedli

Our Vision

We support industrial organizations in multiple sectors and regions in their strategic planning and implementation of improvement initiatives.

The division of Production Management offers industrial organizations both industry and functional expertise, consulting and benchmarking competencies, and academic research from a single source. In close cooperation with each client, our experienced team of managers, consultants, and academics produces tangible and positive results. Find out how you can benefit most from our services below and follow us on LinkedIn for updates.

News

Find all news articles in our archive.

News

03 APR 2023

We kicked off our Innosuisse-funded Research Project on Ecosystem-Bases steering of Global Production Networks

On the 22nd of March 2023 we, together with our partners, kicked off our next Innosuisse-funded project Ecosystem Based Steering of Global Production Networks. By that, we continue our efforts of our successfully completed Innosuisse-project Intelligence-based manufacturing networks.

News

30 MAR 2023

Kickoff of the Global Production Academy 2023 at the wbk-KIT

We are going into the second round!
After the great success in 2022 we started our Global Production Academy this year in Karlsruhe with a visit of the research factory at the Institute of Production Science of the KIT.

News

13 MAR 2023

Benchmarking: Artificial Intelligence in Operations

The final conference on the 1st of March in Aachen was the last get-together in our Consortium Benchmarking Artificial Intelligence in Operations.

News

19 DEC 2022

Benchmarking: Global Production Strategies

The final conference closed the consortium benchmarking global productions strategies 2022. Prof. Dr. Thomas Friedli and Prof. Dr. Klaus Möller gave insights from research with their keynote speeches. Also, the five visits at Dätwyler, Festo, IMS:Gear, Schott and Kuka were summarized and discussed.

Our Focus Areas

Global Production

Jens Kaiser | Fabian Specht | Benedikt Saretz | Karl Schalm

Managing global production is more than optimizing single sites. It is about unlocking the potentials of the whole production network. Our integrated approach supports production companies in aligning their network configuration and coordination with their global production strategy. We offer a wide range of tools and methods ranging from a free production network quick-check to individual assessments, benchmarks, and optimization projects.

Contact: J ens Kaiser

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Smart Manufacturing & Services

Growing product commoditization, more complex customer needs and digitalization drive manufacturing companies to increasingly shift to service-oriented business models. Our research activities and industry collaborations provide new and actionable insights on how to leverage smart services that are based on digitalized products and production processes.

Contact: Christoph Tienken

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Operational Excellence

Mark Grothkopp | Matteo Bernasconi| Gian-Andri Steiger | Lorenzo Pirrone | Fabian Klinkner

Research and industry projects in over 10 years enabled us to build an extensive knowledge base on how to support companies on their journey to Operational Excellence. We have the world’s largest independent Operational Excellence Pharma benchmarking database. The close collaboration with our industry partners leads to customised solutions and actionable project outcomes. Join us at our workshops to get the latest insights or read about the results of our FDA Quality Metrics Research.

Contact: Matteo Bernasconi

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Swiss Manufacturing Survey and Award

Prof. Dr. Thomas Friedli | Fabian Specht | Moritz Häussler

In 2017 we launched our annual survey for the first time to analyze the prevailing situation of the Swiss manufacturing sector. Since then, each edition has added more insights into structural changes in the manufacturing landscape. Moreover, each version has shown challenges and opportunities for manufacturing in Switzerland as well as how they develop in the long run. In 2019 we additionally launched the Swiss Manufacturing Award to honor one company, which has outstandingly contributed to manufacturing in Switzerland, every year.

Contact: Moritz Häussler

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St. Gallen Production Management Conference

Prof. Dr. Thomas Friedli | Benedikt Saretz | Fabian Klinkner

Please note, the main conference language is German.

The topic of the 2023 conference is "The Future of Global Manufacturing and the Role of Europe: Pathways to Sustainable Competitiveness".

The target group of the conference are managing directors, plant and production managers as well as managers from production-related areas of industrial companies. The conference will take place on 17^th and 18^th October 2023 at the Hotel Einstein Congress in St. Gallen.

Contact: Benedikt Saretz

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CAS Production Management

In the course of increasing digitalization, production faces new opportunities and challenges. New skills and methods must complement existing experience. This CAS (Certificate of Advanced Studies) transports the latest findings in the field of production management into operational practice. The course is held in collaboration with HSR Rapperswil. Course language is German.

Team

Prof. Dr. Thomas Friedli

Professor of Production Management

Director ITEM

Division Production Management

Michael Vejmola

Personal Assistant to Prof. Dr. Thomas Friedli

Dr. Lukas Budde

Project Leader