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Process optimization

In many factories, high inventories, long travel, search or lead times are a major cost factor, which at the same time massively reduces production efficiency. This is where we come in: Benefit from our well-founded, systematic and analytical consulting on production planning and control as well as our comprehensive production controlling.


  • Are your lead times too long?

  • Do you not manage to keep deadlines in production?

  • Do you have a high cost structure in production and logistics areas?


Through targeted production and intralogistics design, performance increases of up to 40% can be achieved in internal logistics processes. This is accompanied by cost reductions of up to 30%. For targeted production design, we use KPI systems, production logistics models and potential analyses based on scientifically sound principles. And to ensure that your employees really accept the new processes, we develop individual qualification offers and thus support you in the sustainable implementation.

Our range of services

Development of logistics concepts

Together with you we evaluate and revise the overall logistics concept of your production. We work out a concrete logistics strategy for all functional areas (e.g. delivery, storage, production and assembly) and check the fit with your business objectives. This makes it clear how future-proof your current logistics system is. We also develop a strategy for the optimal supply chain connection of your production. Together with the fundamental redesign of your logistics processes (e.g. the introduction of a pull system or a demand-driven supply), these changes can give you a decisive competitive advantage.


Your benefits at a glance:

  • Development of a future-oriented logistics strategy
  • Increase of your logistic performance
  • Realization of cost potentials in logistics
  • Transparency of logistic processes
  • Critical stocktaking by independent experts

Lead time and stock optimization

It is not easy to position oneself with logistical goals, because the target values of low throughput times and high adherence to delivery dates conflict with the desire for low stocks and high capacity utilization. We help you to find the optimal balance in this conflict of objectives and to minimize your lead time by an optimal stock quantity – without generating losses in capacity utilization. Our many years of experience are of benefit to us in this design, which enables us to quickly identify your fields of action and determine the optimum parameters.

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Stock reduction
  • Increasing the delivery capability
  • Increase of the available storage capacity
  • Reduction of lead times in production
  • Increase of the delivery speed

Material flow analyses and design

With a well-founded analysis of your material flows, we can uncover current weak points and wastes and thus show you potential for optimizing your production. To this end, we record in detail all transport, material movements and storage processes on your shop floor and beyond. Through our field-tested analysis, we uncover delays in material flow as well as unnecessary downtime and waiting times. Together with you, we then develop an optimised material flow according to lean principles, which will reduce your costs, throughput times and inventories.

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Process optimization in material flow
  • Detection of cost savings
  • Lean realignment of processes
  • Development of transparent and efficient processes
  • Reduction of waste in production and logistics processes

Logistic potential analysis

With our logistical strengths-weaknesses analysis of your production, we can quickly and easily identify optimization potential in your logistical processes. Based on our practical experience and scientific analysis methods, we can derive concrete recommendations for action and quantify concrete potential in terms of costs and lead times. The result is based on a detailed stocktaking of your production processes. We evaluate your current stock level and support you in exploiting the potentials found. For this purpose we use a large pool of benchmarking and best practices.

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Strengths and weaknesses analysis of your production
  • Identification of previously undiscovered potential for improvement
  • Resilient potential assessment
  • Reduction of stocks without a deterioration of the ability to deliver
  • Increased transparency in the warehouse

Production controlling and KPI systems

The optimization of a production can only become a sustainable business success if the implemented projects are maintained and controlled in the long term. We help you to determine how you can optimally measure this progress and thus control your production in a performance-oriented manner. We create logistical KPI dashboards for the management as well as detailed key performance indicators for the production. In addition, we work with you to set up shop floor management that ensures a sustainable increase in efficiency in your production.

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Definition of relevant key figures
  • Improvement approaches at various levels
  • Increase of the logistic achievement of objectives
  • Initiation of a continuous improvement process
  • Involving the employees concerned in the decision-making process

Tenders and implementation support

If you already have concrete ideas about how you would like to make your production faster and more efficient, but are undecided about how and with which supplier your plans should be implemented, then we will be happy to help you. Whether it’s the introduction of a new warehouse system, an automated guided vehicle system or production software – our experts will help you find the best intralogistics alternative. We will be at your side from the preparation of tenders with concrete requirements in a specification sheet, through the evaluation of individual offers, to support during implementation.

Your benefits at a glance:

  • Definition of concrete requirements
  • Creation of a specification sheet
  • Validation and selection of offers
  • Professional support during implementation

Individual service request

Didn’t find the right one? We would be happy to develop individual service packages for you according to your wishes and requirements.

Feel free to contact us: We look forward to your ideas.

Achieve goals – with GREAN

Whichever of our service packages you are interested in, our many years of experience as experts in the field of operational excellence will help you to streamline your production and logistics processes and jointly implement your goals:

  • Reduce stocks

  • Optimise processes

  • Faster and more efficient production

  • Deliver on time

  • Optimize material flows

  • Increase productivity

  • Reduce errors in the process

  • Optimize structures

Our recipe for success

Each of our projects is individual and different from the previous one. This applies especially to projects in the field of Operational Excellence. As different as the problems of our customers are, as variable we also adapt our process flow. Nevertheless, five different phases can be identified for almost all projects, which we carry out in varying depth depending on the project type. 
In a first step, we work with you to define a strategy according to which production should be aligned in the future. As a basis for the identification of improvement potential, we then carry out various analyses tailored to your company, from the results of which we can draw conclusions about wastage, bottlenecks or excessive stocks. In order to remedy these, we then develop various concept proposals, which we evaluate together with you and check for feasibility. In order to be able to draw up a concrete roadmap for the implementation of the selected methods and at the same time measure its implementation, we develop a detailed milestone plan and various key figures for progress control together with you. Finally, we also offer you support in implementing the joint plans. As coordinators, we support you in the implementation of physical changes in production, right through to the further education and training of your employees.

Phase 1: Development of a production strategy

The basis is the development of a basic production strategy. For this purpose, we work out in a workshop with the project managers exactly on which basis and objectives the production should be aligned in the future. In order to be able to measure the progress of the implementation of these goals, we formulate clear and SMART project goals.

Production strategy workshop

In a strategy workshop, a wide range of topics are discussed. We start by determining your current goals in production (e.g. quality, delivery time, adherence to delivery dates, OEE, capacity utilization, cost structure) and determine how well you are already achieving them today. Furthermore, we want to understand the challenges you are facing now and in the future (e.g. new competitors, tighter markets) and how these trends will influence your goals. From this discrepancy we derive gaps to be closed (e.g. faster and more punctual delivery) and suitable success factors (e.g. increased quality). From these individual goals we design a concise vision for your production (e.g. your factory as speed master) from which we can derive generic measures and work streams for further action.

Development of a project plan

Based on the results of the strategy workshop, we then generate a precise project plan to achieve the set goals. Parts of the elaboration of a project plan are the tying up of work packages as well as the assignment of responsibilities and the mapping of a detailed time schedule. In other words: the development of a strategic roadmap.

Phase 2: Analysis of the initial logistical situation

With the formulated project goals in mind, we then move on to the data-based evaluation of your production. Basic analyses such as the ones below give us a detailed picture of the current situation in your company and reveal initial potential.

  • Warehouse analysis (ABC, XYZ)
  • Waste analysis
  • Material flow analysis
  • Value stream analysis
Case study: Logistical warehouse analysis

In a logistical warehouse analysis, we examine all items that are in stock at your company. In doing so, we examine exactly in which quantities the articles are currently in stock and in which order sizes the planning control is carried out. On the other hand, we also look at the consumption behaviour and thus the stock call-off. From this direct comparison we can often already derive cost-relevant potentials that arise from articles in the warehouse that are not called off (“warehouse corpses”) or are stored in too large quantities. On the other hand, costs can also be avoided in some cases, which arise if more retrieval is booked as inflow and thus the supply to production is interrupted.

Case study: Bottleneck oriented production analysis

A bottleneck oriented production analysis enables us to identify bottlenecks in your production. For this purpose, we examine all production processes over a long period of time (e.g. one year) and provide these orders with further information (e.g. about machines used, articles manufactured, plant utilization). In particular, we compare the planned lead time with the ultimately required production time and thus establish a target-actual comparison of the lead times.  The analysis shows us exactly where the flow of material accumulates and where operational problems occur in the process. At these “bottlenecks”, we then implement improvement measures (e.g. short-term changes to shift models to increase capacity).

Phase 3: Development of a logistics concept

On the basis of the investigations and analyses of your production we can derive exact improvement potentials. We develop concrete measures to exploit this potential, which may include, for example, the short-term creation of bottleneck capacities, the reduction or increase of batch sizes in procurement, or the establishment of a dredger-based production of individual parts. Of course, in this step we also focus on one of our core competencies: lean methods. We then reflect the developed concept proposals with our customers and decide together on their implementation. The basis of the decision is an assessment of feasibility, the investment volume and the effects on investment and operating costs. Finally, we summarize the variants and methods to be implemented in a conclusive overall concept. In doing so, we pay particular attention to possible interdependencies and determine a time sequence, focusing first on quick wins and then on investment measures.

Case study: High performance logistics through automation

An exemplary strategy, as we have implemented it for one of our customers, is the design of high-performance logistics, which is made possible by automation. The aim was to make production as low-stock as possible in order to achieve a high level of transparency and clarity. A separation of logistics and production ensures a clear division. The routes from a perfectly parameterized, central warehouse to the production are taken over by driverless transport systems, which bring the articles to the production line just-in-time and thus stock-optimized.

Case study: Deadline king due to decoupling buffer

A second possible strategy may be to selectively launch certain very high-margin products on the market in order to increase the company’s profitability. For this purpose, the focus can be placed on always delivering faster and more punctually than the competition and thus securing a market advantage. In terms of strategy, for one of our customers this meant interrupting the process flow at the customer decoupling point and installing a decoupling buffer. Semi-finished products can then be removed from this buffer and completed in the final production steps, thus enabling them to be brought to market quickly. This step may involve an increase in costs due to increased storage, but ultimately results in increased profits due to better production logistics.

Phase 4: Development of a production controlling

Based on the now established logistics concept with concrete measures, we define suitable milestones and key figures in a workshop with you in order to logistically assess the progress and the overall situation and to be able to intervene quickly in case of deviations or problems. In doing so, we determine not only which key figures are to be collected, but also at what intervals this is to take place and which processes are to be triggered in the event of deviations. This creates a recursion loop, which in case of doubt triggers a new analysis of the causes, thus creating a continuous improvement process (CIP). By defining responsibilities and clear agreement processes (meetings, times and reports) as well as setting up an efficient shop floor management, the progress of the implementation of objectives can be continuously and measurably tracked.

Case study: Production controlling with pen and paper

It is particularly important to us that the ideas and concepts that we develop together with you are easy to implement and yet highly effective. In order to achieve this goal, we always involve your employees on site in the development of concepts for production controlling, because this is where the most process know-how is available. To ensure a high level of acceptance, we use pragmatic tools. For example, we have had good experience in using flipcharts and pens to record the production progress by plotting the actual production progress over the planned production progress, thus exposing time-critical deviations. This leads to the best results in the context of shop floor management – this creates a verifiable benefit for you with measurable target and process improvements.

Case study: Logistic KPI board

Once we have determined which logistical targets are leading for your company, we break down these targets into concrete key figures. In plant construction, for example, we often find a situation where adherence to delivery dates to the customer and thus lead times in production are key factors. In companies that produce from stock, on the other hand, inventories and capacity utilization in warehouses and production are leading target figures. Using this knowledge, the target values can be stored with a rhythm that specifies how often the key figures must be recorded. Together with you, we determine who is responsible for recording, where the necessary data comes from and how it is processed. We also determine who must participate in which voting rounds. This results in a concrete implementation plan for a practical shop floor management in your production, which helps to achieve your goals.

Phase 5: Implementation planning and support

Finally, we would be pleased to accompany you during the entire implementation phase on the way to achieving your logistics goals. Our consulting services range from the coordination of all project participants to support in the preparation of tenders, for which we can rely on our broad network of partners. Examples of such tenders can include transport or storage systems such as driverless transport systems (also known as Automated Guided Vehicles or AGV’s) or milk runs, but also systems for production data acquisition (PDA) or automatic storage systems. With our commitment, we can thus watch your back to let you focus on your daily business and at the same time intervene professionally and quickly if deviations are indicated.

GREAN GmbH



Factory planning

New construction on a greenfield site or expansion of existing buildings - we offer you comprehensive advice and sophisticated planning services for a well conceived factory. For us, this includes basic master and factory structure planning as well as support for your project right through to implementation. Whether new or reorganisation planning - we are experts in factory planning.

Process optimization

In many factories, high inventories, long travel, search or lead times are a major cost factor, which at the same time massively reduces production efficiency. This is what we do: Our customers benefit from well-founded, systematic and analytical consulting. In this way, we work with you to increase the efficiency of your production.

Resource efficiency

High and ever increasing material and energy costs are becoming an efficiency problem in many factories. We systematically investigate where potential is lying dormant and then identify meaningful and economical measures for improvement. In this way we increase the material and energy efficiency in your factory - and at the same time reduce your energy bill.

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