Audi wins Digital Economy Award

On its way to becoming a digital car company, Audi is making its production sites fit for the digital future. In recognition of this, the company received the “Digital Economy Award” from Initiative Deutschland Digital (IDD) in Bonn recently. The brand with the Four Rings took first place in the category Company 4.0.

Audi follows the maxim of making production processes efficient, flexible, highly automated and fit for the future. Audi’s production processes are already thoroughly connected today. In order to create even more synergies and to remain competitive, the premium manufacturer is continually pushing forward with digitization and connectivity in its plants. In the future, for example, Audi will apply a cloud‑based Internet of Things (IoT) platform developed by the startup company nextLAP in Munich. All IoT objects that are relevant for the production process will be connected with the platform – whether robots, cordless screwdrivers or tablets. 

“In this way, we will reach the next stage of digitization, because all the data from production and logistics will be stored on the platform. This will allow us to implement complex production and logistics processes significantly faster, more flexibly and cost-effectively, and to optimize them holistically with intelligent algorithms,” stated Antoin Abou‑Haydar, Head of Vehicle Assembly Audi A4/A5/Q5, who accepted the prize on behalf of AUDI AG.

One example is the so‑called Smart Shelf, an intelligent pick‑by‑light shelf. This is where logistics employees make components such as steering wheels, gear‑lever knobs and seat belts ready for assembly. The Smart Shelf is equipped with mini PCs and exactly controls the required parts from logistics to assembly. For example, if a component is to be fitted at a different assembly speed in the future, the assembly line has to be recalibrated. Until now, that has caused major technical and organizational efforts. Thanks to the Smart Shelf and the cloud‑based platform, assembly workers will be able to carry out this change in the system themselves using a tablet, without great effort. All employees, machines and logistics processes involved in this procedure are immediately informed and production continues without any interruption.

The Digital Economy Award has been given this year for the first time by Initiative Deutschland Digital, an inter‑industry network for the digital transformation of the German economy. The prize is awarded to companies and organizations that increase their efficiency and value creation by applying digital technologies and new business models. The members of the jury from the fields of business, science and politics evaluate the digital projects in the categories Customer Experience, Product and Service Innovation, Company 4.0 and Digitized Business Model.