On the fast track to becoming a digital company

Digitalisation and the use of tools such as AI is not just a means to an end at ZF, but the key to its strategic goals. ZF wants to make next generation mobility possible. People today expect future-proof mobility that is electric, intelligent, connected, sustainable, safe and autonomous while also remaining affordable. In order to be able to offer the relevant technologies worldwide, ZF needs to ‘become a digital company’ explains Dr René Deist, Chief Digital Officer.

Where is ZF on this journey?

Dr René Deist: ‘Digitalisation requires each and every one of us to demonstrate willingness to change. It’s like giving up smoking or changing your diet: your attitude needs to change. And it is here, in terms of this oft-quoted ‘mindset’ and speed, that we have made significant progress in recent years.

Which areas are you specifically focusing on?

Dr René Deist: ‘Firstly production, secondly our entire process world from the purchase and the entire value and goods flow through to the back office – and thirdly our products, including technology development. One example: with the digital manufacturing platform, we are bringing all data that is generated in our factories into our ZF cloud. Here, we can evaluate the data in the background using AI tools. In this way, we can utilise the potential available to us through condition monitoring and predictive maintenance. As this minimises unplanned downtime, it means there is great potential for savings’.

So is it mainly about savings?

Dr René Deist: ‘Not just that. But if we want to ensure that futureproof mobility is affordable for everyone, we need to always keep an eye on the costs. But it’s about more than that. Our expertise in industrialisation is now an important competitive factor. In an era of strained supply chains and volatile demand trends, it is important to be able to scale our production quickly’.

What is changing in product development?

Dr René Deist: ‘Digital tools make agile development processes easier. We can apply our expertise across disciplines much more easily now than in the past. If vehicles are going to be more strongly defined by software in future, we will be also be able to play a part in this. Our aim is to remain a development partner for manufacturers, but also position ourselves as a provider of new digital products and services that will win over end customers’.