Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe is driving the digital transformation of the company forward and enabling its customers to get involved more closely with the production process . A smartphone app allows them to place orders themselves for the production of medium-wide strip in the hot rolling mill in Hohenlimburg near Hagen – with a notice period of 72 hours. Up to just a few hours before rolling, there is still the opportunity to alter the material properties of the product. The app also includes status tracking of the order and a one-click function for re-ordering material.

With its innovative smart factory approach, Thyssenkrupp came second in the Handelsblatt Diamond Start Awards 2019 . But the company is already thinking ahead with its Industry 4.0 strategy: “Commercial, administrative and technical data are being exchanged and linked together intelligently,” says Ulrich Schneppe, Head of Information Technology and Project Manager in Hohenlimburg. “As a result, we have created a reliable database for business intelligence, digital twins, production apps and much more.”