Nachdem in der Produktion mit dem Lean Production-Ansatz augenscheinlich große Erfolge erzielt werden konnten, fällt vielen Unternehmen der Übertrag des Lean-Gedankengutes insbesondere auf das Innovationsmanagement und die F&E schwer. Eine direkte Fokussierung auf Wert und Kundennutzen erscheint zunächst problematisch. Verschwendung wird hinter 'kreativen Freiräumen' und 'notwendigen Iterationen' verschleiert. So zeigte auch eine Studie des WZL mit 143 produzierenden Unternehmen in Deutschland, dass erst ein Drittel überhaupt begonnen hat, eine systematische Identifikation von Verschwendung in der Produktentwicklung durchzuführen. Im Rahmen von Forschung und Industrieprojekten widmet sich das WZL seit 2004 intensiv der Thematik Lean Innovation. Die Entwicklung des Themas wird durch den Austausch mit Experten wie Prof. Daniel T. Jones und Mike Rother und dem Lean Management Institut flankiert.

Manufacturing companies in high-wage countries find themselves more than ever confronted to rapidly changing requirements, an increasing competition from evolving, low-cost countries and an uncertain global environment. Shorter product lifecycles, more product variants caused by more differentiated customer demands and the desire for more individualized products, an increasing product complexity as well as decreasing delivery and throughput times are characteristic consequences for companies in this turbulent environment. In this context, the ability to adapt the product process to the changing requirements throughout the product life cycle, from the initial idea, through design and manufacture, to service and final disposal and to generate transparency along the value chain to all product related data has become an important competitive factor. Expect these complexities and continuing cost differences; the production is shaped by new trends around the world. Consequently, detecting and targeting new trends build the foundation of effective strategies, which can be adapted by companies to remain competitive and to ensure a successful business future. To achieve sustainable competitive advantages the consideration of the following trends, including innovation and technology management, supply chain management, global production, production systems and production management, information management, service management, as well as tool manufacturing and electric mobility have been identified as crucial. All these topics are dealt within this book giving a complete overview of upcoming trends which can be used as an executive guide for managers in the manufacturing industry with the scope of detecting required changes and helping to implement them successfully. This book consists of previously published papers to the mentioned subjects and is aimed at middle to top management working in the manufacturing industry. It gives first insights into future trends in the fields of production management, innovation management and technology management as main drivers influencing the competitiveness of companies in high-wage countries.

This book presents an overview over currently examined themes in production management, innovation management and technology management. This compilation can be seen as a mental stimulation for managers in manufacturing industry to not only detect weaknesses but furthermore to implement necessary changes which facilitate a strong position on the global markets for production companies.