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Global crises pose major challenges for production companies: Rising material and energy costs, supply bottlenecks and the lack of planning certainty due to the dynamics of a pandemic or war weaken the planning stability. In this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambivalent environment (VUCA world), companies need responsible employees who recognise the individual need for action and initiate concrete measures early to increase a company's resilience. These measures affect multiple divisions. For example, disruptions in the supply chain are mitigated by various configuration elements such as expanding the supplier network or increasing stock in the company's own production. Therefore, measures encompass every element of the value network, whether in production or logistics. The example also shows that measures to increase resilience can influence other target characteristics of a company: Inventory increases can buy resilience at the expense of resource efficiency. Thus, measures must be defined for each design element depending on individual requirements in terms of resilience and must consider the scope for action of the respective company. This poses a great challenge, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Here, decision-making is done by generalists who often do not have the detailed knowledge for this specific problem or the capacity for this additional task. The danger is that SMEs will take insufficient measures that do not secure their future viability in a VUCA world. In this paper, a solution approach for a methodology is presented, that allows to derive influences on production companies from the developments in a VUCA world and measures to increase resilience can be identified depending on individual company characteristics. Furthermore, a possible conceptualisation of the methodology in an AI-based software product is presented, which supports SMEs in the outlined complex problem by enabling them to apply the methodology. Both will be realised in a research project.

As an interdisciplinary task, factory planning represents a key factor for logistics, supply chain and ultimately, the economic success of companies in the manufacturing sector. In factory planning projects, the focus is on the early planning phase, where costs and the associated misinvestments can still be significantly influenced. The challenge lies in the early valid dimensioning of the planned factory despite fuzzy data to provide decision-making support regarding the investment costs. In this context, this article presents the development of a digital service and planning tool based on a scientific procedure model. For this purpose, the research needs are first derived, reference is made to a scientific procedure model and the requirements analysis for the tool is presented. The tool developed on this basis aims to dimension and economically assess planned factories at an early planning stage. In this way, decision-makers in companies will be provided with data-based results to make future-oriented decisions between different project scenarios.

Additional file 1: Supplementary Information and Figures.

Additional file 2: Supplementary Methods.

Additional file 4. Review history.

Produzierende Unternehmen sind aufgrund der zunehmenden Bedeutung von Industrie 4.0 mit großen technologischen Veränderungen konfrontiert. Diese Veränderungen beeinflussen den gesamten Wettbewerb. Volatile Märkte, die Fokussierung auf Kundenwünsche sowie die Reduzierung der Fertigungstiefe zwingen Unternehmen ihre Prozesse kontinuierlich anzupassen, um sich klar gegenüber den Wettbewerbern im Markt zu positionieren. Die Digitalisierung in allen Unternehmensbereichen ist ein entscheidendes Mittel für Unternehmen, um unter solch schwierigen Bedingungen langfristig erfolgreich am Markt agieren zu können. Besonders kleine und mittlere Unternehmen (KMU) haben durch ihre limitierten Möglichkeiten Schwierigkeiten, den digitalen Wandel ganzheitlich im Unternehmen voranzutreiben. Mittels einer internetbasierten Plattform können dem Nutzer niedrigschwellig Informationen und Erläuterungen zu Maßnahmen für eine individuelle und zukunftsorientierte Ausrichtung der Geschäftsprozesse bereitgestellt werden. Entscheidend ist hier insbesondere die didaktische Aufbereitung der Plattforminhalte, sodass dessen Nutzung mit keinem großen Aufwand verbunden ist und gleichzeitig vom Nutzer keine besondere Expertise verlangt wird. Dieser Artikel gibt eine kurze Zusammenfassung über die entwickelten Inhalte einer solchen Projektplattform mit dem Namen ‚Industrie 4.0-Projektplattform zur Einführung für KMU (I4PE)‘. Basierend auf dem wissenschaftlichen Ansatz wird zudem eine Methodik vorgestellt, mit der die Digitalisierungsmaßnahmen dem jeweiligen Entwicklungsstand und den strategischen Entwicklungszielen eines Unternehmens zugewiesen werden.

Der VDl-Fachausschuss "Fabrikplanung" befasst sich als Gremium der VDI-Gesellschaft "Produktion und Logistik" mit der Erarbeitung fabrikplanerischer Themen, die im Hinblick auf den Wissenstransfer in die verarbeitende Industrie anwendungsorientiert aufbereitet werden. Als ein wesentliches Ergebnis der Fachausschussaktivitäten der vergangenen Jahre ist 2009 die VDI-Richtlinie "Fabrikplanung" (5200) entstanden. Um in dem zunehmend turbulenten und globalen Umfeld Zukunftsthemen der Fabrikplanung zu identifizieren, wurde eine Umfrage unter VDI-Mitgliedern durchgeführt. Die vorliegende Veröffentlichung gibt die zentralen Ergebnisse der Umfrage wieder.

Background: Random mutations in natural populations are the genetic basis of adaptive evolution. In particular, it is thought that mutations in cis-regulatory regions of genes are important targets for positive selection. Wild populations of house mouse subspecies (Mus musculus) are a convenient model to study molecular mechanisms of adaptation. The two subspecies Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus form a zone of secondary contact in middle Europe. In this contact zone hybrid formation as well as hybrid infertility have been documented. Therefore testis genes are an interesting subject for investigating ongoing speciation and adaptation processes in both subspecies. Surveys to compare expression signatures in both subspecies and to find adaptive trait genes were performed previously. Mitogen activated protein kinase kinase 7 (Mkk7) and the orphan gene LP10, were identified as adaptive trait genes differentially expressed in testis of Mus musculus musculus and Mus musculus domesticus. The work presented here describes a molecular genetic analysis of both genes as part of a long term approach to provide experimental evidence for natural selection. Approach: RACE, Northern blot and qRT-PCR experiments were performed to resolve the details of the complex expression pattern of different isoforms of Mkk7 in wild mice. Testis expression of Mkk7 in M. m. musculus and M. m. domesticus was examined by situ hybridization. Genomic sequencing of both subspecies identified mutations possibly contributing to cis regulatory differences. A luciferase expression system was developed for testing expression strength of Mkk7 promoter variants. Western blot experiments were performed to follow consequences of Mkk7 expression changes at the protein level. LP10 expression in different mouse species was assessed in Northern blot experiments to track the origin of the gene in the mouse lineage. A LP10 conditional knock-out mouse line was established to study LP10 function in testis. The male reproductive organs and spermatozoa of LP10 knock-out mice were phenotyped. Testis expression of knock-out mice and wild-type mice was compared by microarray analysis. Results: The Mkk7α1 transcript is an isoform specifically expressed in late spermatids in M. m. domesticus. It does not occur in M. m. musculus and is driven by an alternative promoter. A single proximal mutation in this promoter was identified as a possible cause of expression differences in cell culture reporter gene experiments. A potential insulator sequence was found that represses expression in non-testis cells. Evidence for a so far unknown function of Mkk7 in testis is deduced from protein analysis. The translation of a novel peptide is postulated. It appears that LP10 has evolved de novo from a non-coding sequence in the mouse lineage. An orthologous region is present in other mammals, but is not transcribed. This result show that even a locus with multiple exons can form de novo, without any gene duplications involved. The knockout of LP10 in testis does not lead to infertility, but the preliminary results suggest an effect on testis weight and sperm motility. The microarray analysis suggests that a small number of other genes are affected in LP10 knockout mice.