Industries > Mechanical engineering and manufacturing

Mechanical engineering and manufacturing industry:
Making complexity manageable, securing margins

In mechanical engineering and the manufacturing industry, complex products, a high degree of product variety, and established IT and process landscapes meet increasing demands for transparency and speed.

Dategro helps you align your IT, data, and processes so that your organization remains manageable, margins stabilize, and digital business models and AI applications are built on a reliable foundation.

We combine strategy, operational processes and technology into a picture that you as management can truly use to set priorities and make changes feasible.

Which companies in mechanical engineering and manufacturing do we work for?

This page is aimed at companies that

Typically, these are medium-sized and larger industrial companies, often with multiple locations, international sales, and a mix of series, variant, and project manufacturing.

Typical challenges in mechanical engineering and manufacturing

Many of our customers in mechanical engineering and manufacturing face similar issues:

Processes have evolved over the years and function well, but are difficult to change and difficult to explain.
IT systems were added as needed and not planned as an overall architecture.
KPIs are created in Excel, discussed in meetings, but not consistently used.
Data quality is hindering initiatives towards digitalization and AI.
The organization operates more “heroically” than in stable, repeatable processes.

This is precisely where our work begins.

What we do specifically for mechanical engineering and the manufacturing industry

Our goal is to enable your organization to actively manage delivery and quality performance across plants, customers, and products.
To achieve this, we combine components from the Dategro service catalog into an automotive-specific approach.

Readiness check for processes, IT and data

Together we consider

the core processes from sales and project planning through design and manufacturing to service.
the IT and application landscape along these processes.
data quality in relevant domains such as master data, production data, and quality data.
today's key performance indicators (KPIs) for on-time delivery, lead times, capacity utilization and quality.

You will receive a basis for decision-making that will help you to prioritize investments and changes in a targeted manner.

A shared, fact-based picture of the current maturity and the most important levers.

Service S1 Readiness Check (Gap & Roadmap), supplemented if required by S5 Performance Cockpit & KPI control and S7 Evidence Pack & Capability Profile.

Process excellence in manufacturing

We support you in this

to record end-to-end processes and to make bottlenecks, loops and media breaks visible.
to clarify responsibilities and reduce unnecessary coordination loops.
defining target processes that fit your organization and IT landscape
to set up control loops that address deviations early on.

This creates the basis for demonstrably improving delivery capability, quality and productivity.

To make processes from order acceptance to delivery more stable, streamlined and controllable.

Service S2 Process Excellence in manufacturing, combined with selected modules from S1 Readiness Check and S5 Performance Cockpit & KPI control.

Consolidate IT and application landscape

We are here to assist you

to make all applications and interfaces used transparent
identifying redundancies, shadow solutions, and critical dependencies
to define a pragmatic target architecture that can grow with your business model.
to establish clear governance rules for systems, interfaces, and changes.

This creates an IT foundation that connects projects, locations and functions, instead of separating them.

Create an IT landscape that supports your value creation, rather than fragmenting it.

Service S3 IT and application consolidation / application retirement, supplemented if required by S8 data integration, if provided for in your catalog.

Data foundation and traceability

We support you in this

to clearly define key data objects such as articles, bills of materials, work plans, customer, supplier and quality data.
to define responsibilities for data quality and maintenance
to design a data model that maps and makes your core processes analyzable
translating traceability and reporting requirements into a realistic concept

This makes reports, analyses and evidence faster, more consistent and more reliable.

Structure data in such a way that it supports decisions, evidence, and automation.

S4 Data Foundation & Traceability service, optionally combined with S8 data integration.

Performance cockpits and controls

We work with you on this

to define key performance indicators such as adherence to deadlines, lead times, capacity utilization, scrap and complaints in a uniform manner.
to technically connect data sources in such a way that key performance indicators are generated automatically and verifiably.
designing dashboards for different target groups, from the shop floor to top management.
to establish routines in which key performance indicators (KPIs) are not only reported but also used.

This creates a control system that makes decisions faster and more informed.

Manage your organization with a few, clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs).

Service S5 Performance Cockpit & KPI control, linked with S1 Readiness Check and S4 Data Foundation & Traceability

AI Readiness for mechanical engineering and manufacturing

We are here to assist you

to identify meaningful AI use cases, for example in quality, maintenance, planning or bid calculation.
realistically assess data and process maturity for each use case
to develop a prioritized roadmap that starts with fundamentals and doesn't end with flagship projects
defining governance, roles and responsibilities around AI

This way, AI becomes a building block of your value creation and not a one-off experiment.

Establish AI applications where they make a clear economic contribution.

Service S6 AI Readiness & Use-Case-Roadmap, aligned with S3 IT and Application Consolidation and S4 Data Foundation & Traceability.

Evidence Pack and management visibility

We bundle for you

This provides you with documents that can be used in management committees, at banks, partners and customers.

Make results and capabilities transparent to internal and external stakeholders.

Service S7 Evidence Pack & Capability Profile, supplemented by the results from the aforementioned services.

What companies in mechanical engineering and manufacturing gain from a collaboration with Dategro

Following a collaboration with Dategro, companies in the mechanical engineering and manufacturing sectors typically

a clear picture of how well processes, IT and data are really positioned today
a prioritized roadmap that combines economic leverage with organizational feasibility
a significantly more transparent IT and data landscape
Key performance indicators and dashboards simplify daily management and strategic decisions
Documents that allow them to convincingly demonstrate their capabilities both internally and externally.

This is how a typical project starts

1. Initial consultation

Together we clarify the target vision, the starting point and the specific framework conditions in your company.

2. Readiness Check

In a focused assessment, we analyze processes, IT, data and key figures and summarize the findings in a scorecard.

3. Joint prioritization

Based on this, we jointly determine which services from the Dategro service catalog have the greatest impact for you and in what order they will be implemented.

4. Implementation in stages

We work in clearly defined steps, document results in a way that allows them to be reused, and ensure that your organization can keep pace with the changes.

FAQ for mechanical engineering and the manufacturing industry

How deeply do you delve into our technical details?

We work at the level of end-to-end processes, IT architecture, data models, and control systems. We integrate technical depth in design or specialized processes through your specialist departments or partners. This allows us to maintain control without getting bogged down in the details.

Can you work with our existing ERP or MES solution?

Yes. Our focus is on understanding your existing landscape, simplifying it in a meaningful way, and utilizing it more effectively. We are not bound to any specific system and only replace components when it makes economic and strategic sense.

How quickly will we see initial results?

The readiness check typically delivers a clear picture and concrete quick wins within a few weeks. The first noticeable effects often result from improvements in transparency, responsibilities, and data quality, even before larger IT projects are launched.

What distinguishes you from traditional process or IT consultancies?

We integrate process perspective, IT architecture, data foundation, and control into a holistic view, always considering the economic leverage. Our goal is not the perfect model, but a solution that your management can utilize and that works within your organization.

Do you prefer working with individual locations or with the entire corporate group?

Both are possible. We often start with a pilot site to test and refine approaches, and then scale up to other plants or countries. The crucial factor is that the pilot project and the target vision align.

How does all this fit in with our existing strategy and digitalization initiatives?

We deliberately build upon existing strategies and programs. Dategro's service catalog is modularly structured so that it can be integrated into existing initiatives, rather than running in parallel.

If you would like to assess how well your company is positioned in mechanical engineering or manufacturing today, we can start with a brief, structured readiness discussion.

In this discussion, we will clarify where you stand, what goals you are pursuing, and which components from our service catalog will have the greatest impact for you.

Book a Call

Dategro partners with deal teams to conduct targeted technical due diligence that identifies hidden IT risks, quantifies their impact on valuation, and creates clear remediation roadmaps—all within standard deal timelines.

COMPANY

dategro IT GmbH & Co. KG
In der Gelpe 79
42349 Wuppertal
Germany

E-Mail:
[email protected]

Telefon:
0202 430 427 20

Language

deutsch

english