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How Marquardt Standardized Global Shop Floor Management with DigiLEAN

10 locations
5 continents
2 months

Industry
Automotive Manufacturing

Employees
9700

Locations
Worldwide

Solution
DigiLEAN – Digital Shop Floor Management & Continuous Improvement

Table of Contents

"The support was really good and DigiLEAN gave us an excellent sparring partner to successfully roll-out our Shop Floor Management world-wide"
Benjamin Kraus
Global Operational Excellence, Marquardt Germany
Marquardt Lightronics GmbH Ichtershausen

Meet Marquardt

Marquardt is a leading global mechatronics supplier for various industries, operating 21 locations worldwide, including Germany, Romania, Mexico, USA, China, and India. Known for innovation and operational excellence, Marquardt has long embraced Lean Management as a core philosophy to drive efficiency and quality. 

The Challenge

Marquardt’s shop floor management is the nerve center of its daily operations. It connects KPIs, deviation management, and continuous improvement initiatives across departments and sites. 

For years, the company used manual boards. While effective to a point, they faced challenges: 

  • Scattered information – Analogue boards meant insights were lost once papers were removed. 
  • Limited data analysis – Trends (like recurring issues every Monday) were hard to detect. 
  • Inconsistent formats – Multiple sites needed a common standard while allowing for local flexibility

This led them to implement a digital tool to counteract these challenges. 

“The method is the most important, not the tool - but with digital, people became more active in documenting deviations. And we wanted one central place for all tasks and countermeasures.” 
Benjamin Kraus
Global Operational Excellence, Marquardt Germany

The Search for a New Solution

As Marquardt’s implementation grew, the limits of their existing tool became clear. The system couldn’t easily expand beyond production. To keep driving improvement across all sites, the team began searching for a more flexible, scalable solution. 

When the contract for their previous system ended, Marquardt evaluated options against 30 detailed requirements – from KPI flexibility to ease of rollout. They tested top contenders, spoke with reference customers, and scored each solution. 

Why DigiLEAN stood out: 

  • Flexibility in KPI visualization – Switch from pie chart to bar chart in clicks. 
  • Support for both production and administrative needs. 
  • Integration with Microsoft Teams for seamless adoption. 
  • Mobile device support  
  • Template creation for standardization 
  • Ability to create custom boards beyond standard shop floor use. 
“Compared to our previous software, DigiLEAN offers greater flexibility in KPI design and allows direct integration of documents, improving usability and efficiency.”
Bianca Fodor
Lean Specialist in Romania

The Global Rollout

Marquardt executed one of the fastest global shop floor management rollouts in its history: 

  • 10 locations in 2 months 
  • Daily one-on-one sessions with each site to answer questions in real time 
  • Pre-defined templates & standards covering 80% of the process, allowing 20% local customization 
  • Unified hardware standards for consistency and mobility 
“We could import 1,200+ users in one go. When we flagged potential rollout blockers, DigiLEAN addressed them quickly - sometimes within days.” 
Benjamin Kraus
Global Operational Excellence, Marquardt Germany

The Results

Since implementing DigiLEAN, Marquardt has: 

  • Reduced Excel usage by centralizing project and KPI tracking. 
  • Improved transparency with complete deviation histories. 
  • Streamlined reporting – standardized PDF exports in clicks. 
  • Expanded use cases to strategy roadmaps, project tracking, and cross-department boards. 
  • Boosted engagement – team leaders find KPIs easier to update, attach documents, and track actions. 

Feedback from the field has been clear: 

“Best tool — buy more licenses.” 
“Good flexibility without being overly complex.” 

Lessons Learned & Advice

  • Start with a pilot to refine standards before global rollout. 
  • Aim for 80% standardization and allow 20% for local needs. 
  • Consider adjusting processes to fit the tool for smoother adoption. 

Would They Recommend DigiLEAN?

“I would recommend DigiLEAN without hesitation. It’s flexible, user-friendly, and supports continuous improvement across locations.”
Benjamin Kraus
Global Operational Excellence, Marquardt Germany
“It keeps our teams aligned and efficient, with a clear structure for managing processes.”
Bianca Fodor
Lean Specialist in Romania
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