Mercedes-Benz and Siemens Partner for Sustainable Automotive Production

Mercedes-Benz and Siemens recently announced to expand their long-standing cooperation in sustainable and efficient automotive production. Aiming to digitize its production process, Mercedes-Benz plans to transform the Berlin-Marienfelde site in Berlin, Germany into a competence center for digitalization.

As the technological and digital nucleus for its production network, the Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus hopes to roll out the latest tested developments to Mercedes-Benz plants worldwide. 

According to the announcement, Mercedes-Benz is confident their partnership with Siemens will drive digitalization and sustainable future technologies. 

 

Mercedes-Benz Digitizes the Production Process   

For future vehicle production at Mercedes-Benz, the digital production ecosystem—Mercedes-Benz Cars Operations 360 (MO360)—enables the fully digitized and paperless process. MO360 is designed to connect all production data for the first time and ensures higher product quality and greater efficiency.

 

Mercedes-Benz digitalized production line. Image used courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

 

In the paperless factory, the needs-based information management system locates the production line vehicles with absolute precision. The workers receive information for each work step directly at their workplace and confirm their activities digitally. Integrated into the factory's local network, IoT tools monitor if all the steps have been fully and properly completed.

The production digitizing and the design of MO360 heavily relies on “state-of-the-art” IT technologies and procedures, including reusable application programming interface (API), scalable cloud solutions, as well as free and open-source software (FOSS). 

 

Siemens Helps Mercedes-Benz Achieve its Digitization Goal

As a leading industrial manufacturing company, Siemens contributes its technologies and expertise in automation and digitalization to the partnership with Mercedes-Benz.

 

Mercedes-Benz paperless factory. Image used courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

 

Siemens uses its automation and software solutions to establish the basis for automotive production digitalization. Combining the OT and IT tools, including the IoT application, helps make the production process more sustainable and efficient, and opens new opportunities for data gathering, analyzing, and using in engineering and production.

The innovative solutions provided by Siemens and the experience from the Werner-von-Siemens Centre for Industry and Science in the Siemensstadt will be incorporated into the partnership. 

 

Introducing the MO360

The 360 in MO360 represents a 360-degree perspective on production processes.

A couple of years ago, Mercedes-Benz launched automotive production digitalization but hopes to set new benchmarks with the MO360. For example, MO360 functions as a quality processes support and a digital communication tool in the shop floor management. 

 

Operations 360 (MO360) digital production. Image used courtesy of Mercedes-Benz

 

In addition, MO360 enables “cutting-edge” big-data analytics and AI implementation in automotive manufacturing. At Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, it covers the core production processes using data from the vehicles, robots, processes, and all other technical components, which is why MO360 is called an ecosystem.

“Quality Live,” the quality management system at Mercedes-Benz, is fully integrated into MO360. Jörg Burzer, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz AG responsible for Production and Supply Chain Management, explained, “thanks to improved processes, comprehensive data available in our MO360 data lake, and fast decisions based on real-time data, we will be able to increase production efficiency by more than 15 percent by 2022. We are ensuring the complete digital support of each member of the production staff.”

Besides the production process, digitalization opens up possibilities to build and strengthen customer relationships in these challenging times. Customers have been able to contact Mercedes-Benz on diverse channels around the clock along the conversion funnel.

The cooperation between these two companies leads to the synergies of the Siemensstadt2 and the Mercedes-Benz Digital Factory Campus Berlin transforming into digital sites.