Process digitalization and AI in the German "Mittelstand”

Keynote by Dr. Karl Bitzer

Dr. Karl Bitzer (Keynote) & Markus Willemeit (Moderation), DELO

Dr. Karl Bitzer has been with DELO for 17 years and, since 2022, has served as Managing Director with responsibility, among other areas, for Digital Innovation. Together with the Digital Innovation Team, he has been instrumental in shaping DELO’s core pillars of digitalization and continues to drive their strategic development forward.

Interdisciplinary and Agile: How DELO is Driving Digital Transformation

Andreas Herb & Dennis Erdmann, DELO

The implementation of digital solutions can often be time-consuming and costly, frequently accompanied by unexpected challenges. Andreas Herb and Dennis Erdmann, the driving forces behind this transformation at DELO, will share how the company has effectively adapted its ways of working and organizational structure to meet the demands of digitalization.

In their keynote, they will highlight how agile methodologies and an interdisciplinary team approach can accelerate digitalization projects, while also addressing the key obstacles that need to be overcome along the way.

AI, Customer Focus and Cheese: Lessons Learned from Digital Transformation

Albert Heim, Hochland

Talking about digital transformation is one thing—successfully implementing it is another. In his presentation, Albert Heim will share how Hochland is setting new benchmarks in the food industry through innovative digital solutions, a strong commitment to customer centricity, and the targeted use of artificial intelligence.

Look forward to inspiring and candid insights into the critical success factors and key lessons learned from five years of practical digital transformation.

AI for Everyone! (Use Case)

Matthias Holder, Uzin Utz

Uzin Utz is pursuing a holistic approach to artificial intelligence—one in which every employee actively contributes to, and ultimately benefits from, the company’s digital transformation. The primary focus lies on AI solutions that enhance overall productivity and efficiency, as well as targeted “one-problem–one-AI” applications.
In addition, disruptive approaches with potential impact on the business model are being explored.

A Decade of AI at HÖRMANN – Honest Insights into Change Management (Use Case)

Friedrich Arnold, HÖRMANN Gruppe

Friedrich Arnold outlines how HÖRMANN Industries is progressively aligning the company with artificial intelligence: from defining objectives and adopting structured approaches to acknowledging setbacks and celebrating milestones. He will share concrete lessons learned from a mid-sized business environment and speak openly about areas where challenges remain.
This concise and practice-oriented presentation provides valuable insights for anyone seeking a realistic approach to AI-driven transformation.

Digitalization in Production at DELO (Use Case)

Andreas Auerweck, DELO

Manual process flows in production environments significantly hinder efficiency and scalability in medium-sized enterprises; they are prone to errors and demand substantial resources. The digitalization of these processes therefore represents a crucial opportunity to enhance production performance. Yet the key question remains: where and how to begin?

In this session, DELO will address this question by demonstrating how to identify suitable production processes for digitalization and by showcasing a practical example of how a production workflow can be digitalized in just a few steps. In addition, the presentation will highlight the progress DELO has already achieved in its production operations and shed light on the challenges that still lie ahead on the path toward full process digitalization.

Machine Learning for Effective Root Cause Analysis in Production Processes (Use Case)

Dr. Kersten Clauss, Zeiss

Digital manufacturing processes generate vast amounts of data, which can make it challenging to pinpoint the true source of production issues such as equipment failures or quality deviations. Explainable AI and machine learning approaches can support the analysis of operational data to identify the underlying causes of complex problems.

Using practical examples, Dr. Kersten Clauss will illustrate how a transparent “glass box” approach to AI can empower production experts to uncover problem sources efficiently—without getting lost in the flood of data.