Achieving higher capacity, reliability and on-time performance using a digital twin to optimize processes

Managing a complex supply chain

The Radeberger Gruppe brews nearly 60 brands of beer at 14 locations throughout Germany, sources Selters mineral water and produces soft drinks for PepsiCo. With support from the Radeberger Gruppe’s distribution network, the company ships these beverages throughout Germany.

There is no type of food retailer in Germany that the Radeberger Gruppe does not supply, from small kiosks to wholesalers. The result is a uniquely complex supply chain, which the company needs to optimize procurement, production, bottling, distribution and the return of empties from the point of sale every day.

Long ago, the Radeberger Gruppe turned to software solutions to manage its supply chain. However, it was missing a complete digital overview of the group’s complex supply chain aimed at expanding capacities and optimizing processes. Therefore, Radeberger Gruppe reached out to Siemens Digital Industries Software to learn how it could deploy the Supply Chain Suite, which is part of the Siemens Xcelerator business platform of software, hardware and services.

Delivering what it promises

When integrating, the project team at Radeberger Gruppe phased in the Supply Chain Suite over several stages. The initial step was a litmus test of sorts, looking first at the transportation and distribution logistics to see whether using the Supply Chain Suite was powerful enough to map the group’s entire supply chain. Next came a proof of concept, fleshing out the model with all movements of goods, from beer production to filling, storage, distribution and empty bottle and container returns. The result was that using the Supply Chain Suite helps streamline Radeberger Gruppe’s logistics and the supply chain.

With this solution, the Radeberger Gruppe can achieve visibility across its entire supply chain. The company can identify, consolidate, process, enrich and refine cross-enterprise, cross-system logistics to yield comparable key figures in a uniform, customizable data model. Leveraging the digital twin offers a launchpad for generating detailed simulations of the various factors affecting production and logistics and their impact on the supply chain.

Analyzing complex logistical challenges using data

Analyzing complex logistical challenges is crucial to the Radeberger Gruppe since everything is interconnected, and snags in procuring raw materials can jeopardize beverage production. Additionally, if the breweries do not receive enough returned empties in time, they cannot bottle the beer, leaving supermarkets, restaurants, bars and nightclubs without product.

Using the Supply Chain Suite gives the group a data model for the data-driven analysis, simulation and optimization of their complex logistics tasks. With a few clicks, they can generate charts, dashboards and spreadsheets to illustrate trends and insights. Additionally, the company can import data from various sources in a structured format and export it again without restriction. Using this solution offers the Radeberger Gruppe a user-friendly interface and makes data available anywhere. They can continually reassess business insights using the latest data, and the results feed directly back into the operational systems.

“I need to manage the supply chain, not just react to incidents,” says Emil Wagner, Director Digitalization, Processes and Projects at Radeberger Gruppe. “I can use the Supply Chain Suite with its analysis and simulation options to achieve this.”

Using a demo version for record time integration

When implementing the Supply Chain Suite, Siemens provided the Radeberger Gruppe with a demo version to help them understand the software and its mathematical approach. Leveraging the digital twin makes it possible to quickly generate the first studies and models.

“Using a digital twin gives us the big picture of the entire breadth and depth of our brewery group’s supply chain,” says Wagner. “We can also respond to day-to-day changes and simulate and plan for future changes. This allowed us to grow the capacity of our existing production infrastructure well into the double digits.”

Just six months after the consultation began, the Supply Chain Suite was being used to optimize the entire distribution fleet and plan several truck hubs in the vicinity of a brewery.

“The Supply Chain Suite is an extremely powerful tool,” says Wagner. “Using it, we further boosted the capacity, reliability and on-time performance of our brand and product supply.”

The Radeberger Gruppe also used the tool to plan delivery runs, which are constantly changing.

“Integrating optimized calculations from the Supply Chain Suite into operations allowed us to boost productivity in production, bottling and warehouse and distribution logistics by several percentage points annually,” says Wagner.

Leveraging data for all-around optimization

With a digital twin, the Radeberger Gruppe can use data to test the capacities and performance thresholds of the entire supply chain and determine the best possible overall solution for a complex, multifaceted process chain. For example, optimizing logistics workflows in brew-houses, tank sites and storage facilities.

The Radeberger Gruppe routinely deploys the Supply Chain Suite for two standard applications: to examine and analyze detailed issues (tactical analyses) and to obtain an overview of the brand portfolio’s highly complex supply chain (strategic analyses).

After working with the solution for some time, the next phase was the internal roll-out. Siemens Digital Logistics provided intensive training to support employees during the implementation process in the fall of 2023. Siemens empowered the team at the Radeberger Gruppe to use the software unassisted so they could develop, adapt and evaluate their own models and generate reliable simulation results. The whole process took about one year to complete.

“Using the Supply Chain Suite generates a data model optimized to the needs of each customer,” says Stefanie Simon, project manager at Siemens Digital Logistics.

Achieving reliable supply chain management and performance

After integrating the Supply Chain Suite, the Radeberger Gruppe is even better equipped to meet current and future challenges. Using a digital twin gives the company an overview of the entire breadth and depth of the group’s supply chain. The group can simulate future operations via detailed models that can be fine-tuned to reflect the latest data. This is exactly what the Radeberger Gruppe wanted when they set out to actively manage its supply chain rather than respond to events as they unfold.

“Supply chain disruptions are a recurring and increasingly common problem,” says Wagner. “So, it’s critical that we as a company have the capacity to control them. Using the Supply Chain Suite helps us accomplish this.”

Even if supply chain disruptions can never be ruled out, leveraging the Supply Chain Suite ensures everything continues to flow smoothly at Germany’s largest private brewery group.