The Future Belongs to the Digital Twin – How Mercedes-Benz Creates the Digital Twins in an Agile Mode

Authors

H. Petzold, O. Markovic, Mercedes-Benz AG, Sindelfingen

Year

2020

Print Info

Fortschritt-Berichte VDI, Reihe 12, Nr. 813

Summary

The strategic Mercedes-Benz program called Program PDM2020 was started in January 2017. The aim of this program is to make the vision of the Digital Twin a reality by the end of 2020. In concrete terms, this means that all the production and development processes, products and services will be represented as digital models, in parallel to the physical world. The Digital Twin connects all the systems with each other, overcomes internal borders ultimately links the areas of research and development, Production, Marketing, Sales and After Sales with each other. It enables the exchange of data over the entire life cycle of the products. Through this transition from the physical to the virtual world, value creation chains can be transformed, and new business models can be created– both internally as well as externally.
For the implementation to succeed, end to end optimization of processes is carried out together with the technical divisions and the necessary systems and tools are modified, keeping in mind future challenges. Experts from all divisions are involved directly in an agile mode of working, and this is done right from the outset. PDM2020 is understood and practiced seen as a Change Project. The program structure has always envisaged, right from the beginning, Change Management roles that are meant to support and manage the change processes, and involve the customer areas. Consequently, digitalization has come to mean, more than anything, the connection of people, processes and systems in the program PDM2020.