2025 – Further Development of Technology
- Roll-out at additional plants
- Implementation of further functions
The Future of Manufacturing
Digital Manufacturing Platform for Optimized Processes
Central Cloud Solution
In order to make processes in the plants faster, more transparent and more uniform, ZF has developed the “Digital Manufacturing Platform” (DMP). Instead of installing software separately at each plant and operating it on local servers, the DMP relies on a central cloud solution. The digital transformation requires seamless integration of operational technology at all locations worldwide. AI tools enable the company to implement measures to minimize unplanned downtime such as condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. In addition, departments can take advantage of savings potential that only becomes apparent once the data has been evaluated.
Increase Efficiency; Reduce Costs
The cross-plant integration and easy scalability of the DMPs make ZF independent of local infrastructure. They help to reduce production costs and make optimal use of warehouse stock. In the long term this should increase production output and quality, and the workforce should be deployed more efficiently.
DMP supports the following application areas:
- Real-time insights from the machine to the plant level
- Traceability of the production processes
- Analyzing and forecasting production performance
- Optimization of maintenance work
The platform is making a decisive contribution to the group's goal of making mobility sustainable and affordable. The end-to-end digitization of production offers a decisive competitive advantage: in times of fluctuating demand and strained supply chains, it is essential to be able to quickly adapt production. The cloud-based availability of data also makes it easier for ZF to respond to these challenges.
Central cloud solution for a decisive competitive advantage: The DMP
Customer Benefits
Customer Benefits
ZF has already connected more than 120 plants with over 15,000 machines to the DMP and successfully rolled out over 15 applications. The platform ensures fast and reliable production processes and increases flexibility. This enables the company to process orders faster, respond more quickly to market developments, and meet individual customer requirements more precisely.
Efficient Production Processes
Furthermore, the DMP is characterized by an end-to-end data platform. Master data, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) data, and machine data are centrally managed and made available to all applications. This enables the optimization of production processes, the reduction of maintenance costs, the prediction of equipment failures, and the improvement of material availability across large parts of the internal supply chain.
In addition, the central data platform enables production processes to be analyzed in near real time. Advanced algorithms and closed-loop control systems identify bottlenecks and improvement opportunities at an early stage. This allows production operations to be continuously optimized.
All ZF plants should be connected to the DMP by the end of 2026.
Vision for the Future
By 2026, all plants are to be connected to the DMP, significantly improving processes. However, this marks only the achievement of the first objective: establishing a unified foundation for smart manufacturing and securing a leading position in international comparison.
The platform is continuously evolving from a technological perspective. This includes the standardization of data communication as well as the growing adoption of AI applications directly at the data source within the plan.
“We receive more and more positive results from our factories. Just have a look at the multiple success stories our plants published –
having DMP and ist solutions in daily use.”
