Cloudbased Apps for higher Efficiency in Operations

Factory digitization in just a few hours is no problem for Berlin-based 5thIndustry GmbH, as the chemical startup has been developing software apps to digitize industrial production since its founding in 2019. 

At the same time, their cloud-based apps in the 5i.Manufacturing Excellence Cloud are revolutionizing factory work by enabling direct data exchange between all levels of the company and transparent collaboration between all employees in the factory.

Hereby, 5thIndustry stands for a new way of working in the factory, as the apps in the 5i.Manufacturing Excellence Cloud are designed to be flexible and make factory collaboration fully digital and integrated.

In an interview with 5-HT, Dr. Jan-Marc Lischka, Managing Director Customer Engagement, provides insights into the startup's work and how their software application leaves more time for creativity and innovation instead of routine tasks. 

How would you explain your solution in three sentences to a professional colleague from the industrial sector? 

"We solve the big challenge of digitization in production: getting employees on the store floor to work digitally quickly and easily. To do this, we offer best-practice apps for the essential tasks on the store floor: from order management to maintenance. The highlight is a very simple onboarding and integration process of our Connected Worker solution."

What problem motivated you to start the company?  

"My co-founders and I come from a manufacturing background. I myself was responsible for manufacturing sites at home and abroad. In the process, we learned how fast digitization can go if you approach it the right way. The key is to involve the employees and easily adapt it to the operational processes on site. However, we have also seen many plants where digitization is a dead end and employees work out of time. As a result, a lot of productive time is wasted and potential for improvement is not exploited. Employees and managers are often frustrated by this. This is where we step in and overcome these hurdles."

How do you convince an industrial group to set up a pilot project with you? 

"The key point is that digitization in factories can be done quickly with us, without major risks, and usually much more cost-effectively than is possible with traditional IT providers. Thanks to the particularly user-friendly design of our best-practice apps, employees on the store floor adopt them without the need for lengthy training sessions. This is how a quick ROI becomes apparent. The special feature of our Connected Worker Platform is its rapid integration into existing processes and networking with the existing IT landscape.

Particularly in a corporate group, it is important to be able to quickly scale solutions globally. This is enabled by the powerful cloud technologies of our technology partners. Of course, cybersecurity is also a key criterion. Various groups already trust our IT security management, which we have built up on the basis of ISO 27001 and VDA ISA and regularly have externally audited."

Who are your current customers (groups) and who do you want your potential customers to be?

"From the very beginning, it was important to us to support both corporations and medium-sized companies in their digitalization efforts. Both segments benefit from each other's experience and best practices. Even though there is still a lot to do in Germany, we are already successful in other countries with a strong manufacturing sector, for example Hungary and Portugal. Our next target markets are CEE and Southwest Europe."

Where do you see yourselves in 3 years and how can 5-HT support you?

"We are one of the leading European providers for digital transformation on the store floor. Working with 5-HT is valuable for us as it gives us a lot of inspiration, access to experts and great exchange formats with the industry."