+++ Award in the category "Supplier" for outstanding interaction of lean management, digitalization, and innovative power +++ Martin Frensch, Senior Vice President of Body, Exterior Trim and Interior in the purchasing and supplier network at BMW Group: "Lean before Digital is our guiding principle for efficient and forwardlooking production." +++
Landshut/Wackersdorf. The cockpit production at the BMW Group plants in Landshut and Wackersdorf will be awarded with the Automotive Lean Production Award in the category "Supplier". The jury was impressed by the outstanding ensemble of lean management, digitalization, and innovation in the interior components production at the BMW Group. The award will be presented at the 19th Automotive Lean Production Congress on November 25 and 26, 2025, in Poznań, Poland.
Smart production of cockpits: increased flexibility and efficiency in the production and supply chain.
With highest precision, employees at the BMW Group plants in Landshut and Wackersdorf manufacture interior components for the BMW 1 Series, 2 Series, 3 Series, 4 Series, 5 Series, and 7 Series, as well as the BMW iX. Every day, several thousand instrument panels and glove boxes leave the two component plants. "Technological know-how, highly automated production processes, AI-supported quality controls as well as lean value streams form the foundation for efficient work in this field of production," explains Wolf Duwenkamp, Vice President Purchasing, Quality, Production Cockpit and Door Panels at the BMW Group plants in Landshut and Wackersdorf.
Excellent processes, digital transformation and highest quality standards.
The production process at the cockpit production of the BMW Group plants Landshut and Wackersdorf is based on the PULL principle. The workstations where sequencing begins are optimally supplied through self-regulating control loops, ensuring a smooth material flow. The digital transformation of employee roles, such as the mobile operator, demonstrates the close collaboration between humans and machines and brings out additional benefits. Automated end-of-line inspections using AI-supported camera systems, allow an early detection and elimination of potential sources of error.
“Lean before Digital is our guiding principle for an efficient and forward-looking production in the component manufacturing. The combination of excellent processes, digital transformation, and the highest quality standards forms the foundation of our success. By sharing our knowledge, we actively contribute to the global supplier qualification, ensuring robust industrialization of all partners,” explains Martin Frensch, Senior Vice President of Body, Exterior Trim and Interior in the purchasing and supplier network at BMW Group. “To remain competitive, we must continuously question and develope ourselves. The Automotive Lean Production Award shows that we are benchmark, which is something to be proud of,” Frensch adds.
About Automotive Lean Production – Award & Study.
The goal of the joint project by AUTOMOBIL PRODUKTION and Agamus Consult is to demonstrate how the European automotive industry leverages the potentials of lean and digitalization. For 19 years, companies – both OEMs and suppliers – have been participating in a benchmark study, facing international competition for the prestigious Automotive Lean Production Awards with the guiding principle “Learning from the best!”.
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