Research Background

Companies in various industries are subject to the effects of seasonal fluctuations. In addition to changes due to structural transformations and cyclical fluctuations, companies are affected by changing demand for products and/or a changing supply of raw materials, for example, throughout the year. These dynamics place considerable demands on production and logistics systems. The more uncertain and dynamic the corporate world, the greater the importance of adaptability for companies. Adaptability is understood as the ability of a system/company to adapt itself efficiently and quickly to changing requirements. This is where the PM Saisonal research project comes in.

Research project

The aim of the research project is to design a performance measurement system that takes into account the adaptability and individual (re-)action options of companies in seasonal industries. By simulating the effects of different seasonal effects on a production system, its scope for action is investigated and design options for dealing with seasonalities are identified.

Workbook and software demonstrator

The results for the developed approach to manage seasonal effects were described in a workbook: Sembritzki/Ullrich 2014. To support the implementation of the results in companies, a Java 7- based software demonstrator was developed. The program was designed as a desktop application. 32 and 64 bit versions of the program exist for the various operating systems Windows, MacOS and Linux.

Funding, project partners and data

The BMWi-funded project was carried out by the Chair of Processes and Systems at the University of Potsdam and practical partners. Partners: BMS Bernd-Michael Schröder Sailing Wear GmbH, BÖHM Group, chocri GmbH, CLAAS Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH, Küpper-Weisser GmbH, OHST Medizintechnik AG, Schaltungsdienst Lange oHG.
Duration: 2012 -2014