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Regardless of whether OEM, system supplier or supplier to industry – costs are being cut everywhere in the automobile industry right now. In addition to numerous jobs, at many companies, programs to enhance management culture are also being curtailed, as Staufen AG’s market analyses show. This is a risky game: for it’s precisely now that entirely different manager types and management qualities are needed than in previous years.

Almost every fourth German industrial company now classifies the probability of its business model being affected by a disruptive attacker within the next two years as “high” or even “very high.” For comparison: Just a year ago, only 16 percent of companies could imagine such a short-term attack. This has been illustrated by the “German Industry 4.0 Index” from business consultancy Staufen. For the study, the experts from Staufen Digital Neonex surveyed around 450 industrial companies in Germany.

According to the German Industry 4.0 Index, Industry 4.0 and the use of industrial Internet platforms have become a essential aspect for every other company. However, medium-sized companies, in particular, continue to insufficiently exploit the potential of these platforms. It is often dominated by individual solutions and simple technical exercises. For the German Industry 4.0 Index, business consultancy Staufen together with experts from Staufen Digital Neonex surveyed around 450 industrial companies in Germany.

Staufen AG can look back on a successful year in 2018 with sales growth of 16%. Meanwhile, 320 employees work for the consulting company. With its international offices, digital subsidiary Neonex and Staufen Academy, the consultancy offers a wide range of support to customers in industry and many other sectors in times of great change.

Large, orange and sitting behind a protective barrier – Germans’ idea of robots in the realm of work has not changed for years. Because of this, 71 percent of employees still see robots’ field of application, especially in industry, is for dangerous or physically demanding work. However, only 41 percent could imagine robots as service providers or service personnel, while only 14 percent could see them being used in nursing care applications. These are the results of a representative survey of more than 1,000 employees in Germany conducted by business consultancy Staufen.

German industry primarily uses big data for quality management. Approximately seven out of ten companies with Industry 4.0 applications evaluate the data they generate during production in order to monitor the quality of their products. As the 2018 German Industry 4.0 Index from business consultancy Staufen shows, the electrical industry is leading the way. However, companies are far from really fully exploiting the potential of big data. Despite evaluating data, companies’ analyses have so far failed to trace the causes of quality problems, as a joint research project by Staufen and TU Darmstadt has demonstrated.

Three quarters of German industrial companies are not convinced about predictive maintenance. Their performance capability is not sufficient or, at least still upgradeable. Only 6 percent currently see applying predictive maintenance on the basis of process and machine data as being highly beneficial. These are the results of what is now the fourth German Industry 4.0 Index. Approximately 400 German industrial companies were surveyed on behalf of Staufen Consultancy.

This year, Staufen AG has once again been recognized as one of the best workplaces in Germany. For the third time, the Great Place to Work® Institute recognized the consultancy as one of the 100 leading companies in the 50 to 500 employees category. Furthermore, Staufen AG, with more than 260 employees worldwide, was awarded “Best Workplace in Baden-Württemberg”.