Holger Schmidt (1); (1) Endress+Hauser Messtechnik GmbH, Weil am Rhein, Germany

 Sustainability
Poster

The Internet supplies access to nearly all information at any time. How will that influence the production of beverages in the future? Besides the supply chain, which starts with linked fridges that order autonomously when a certain stock level is reached, there are several more opportunities. To plan production using automated requests that reach the trading companies is the next step. Traceability from fridge to farm, including all quality relevant data for the specific batch, will be the possible next step to support the customer. The production itself requires a growing amount of data to ensure process quality but also product availability. Flexible processes are based on automation. State-of-the-art sensors supply the necessary data about the availability of raw materials, energy and production capacity. The information can be used for supply chain optimization, quality auditing and internal benchmarking if the same product is produced in more than one plant. Digital integration enables creation of a big data pool that helps to find opportunities for process improvements. Plant availability can be verified at all times with integrated check loops. This ensures, that the information all integration is based on is always factual and valid. Predictive maintenance, calibration management, stock holding and supply chain management are based on solid data quality with digital integration. So how do we see the future? The customer manually or digitally orders a product. The retailer checks their stock. If the product is not available in the necessary amount, the system looks for an agreed supplier for this product. Where is product on stock available? If not, where is raw material, where the production or packaging capacity available? Which plant is in full operation or which one will need maintenance tomorrow? The product is shipped to the retailer and on to the customer. Finding some sort of strange taste, the customer has the ability to trace back the product with relevant quality-related production data back to its roots. In the background the plant gathers all-year information about performance and is able to find out access points for improvements. Groups can verify the impact on local quality by relating the lab and tasting data to the production data of each plant. The stock holding of assets can be optimized based on historic data and future pointing prognoses. This all becomes possible with digital integrated equipment, e.g., based on ether protocols, that supply more than basic function information. We share what is available, and what is visible to come.

  Holger Schmidt was born and grew up in Bremen. Holger completed his training as a brewer and maltster at the Brauerei Beck&co and in the Durst Malz malting plant in Nierstein from 1987 to 1989. He graduated as a brewmaster from Weihenstephan in 1992. In his first position he served KHS Maschinen und Anlagenbau as a sales and project engineer. From 1999 to 2001 he was in a similar position with APV Invensys. From 2001 to 2003 Holger was a sales and project engineer with Huppmann Handel in Asia Pacific, which completed his portfolio of brewing equipment experience. Since 2003 Holger has been responsible for the coordination of the global market activities of Endress+Hauser. With the job title global industry manager, he is the gate keeper between market requirements, customer values, technical developments and application opportunities. Since 2015 he has been a member of the advisory board of the EHEDG.