Success Story INEOS Automotive

As a first step, INEOS Automotive worked with 4flow to define and implement a target operating model, including how supply chain management would collaborate with the research & development, sales, manufacturing and procurement functions. Without historical sales data or established production, forecasting demand and production capacity was difficult. Requirements and interdependencies between these functional teams were collected to ensure a foundation for reliable planning. This way, even as processes were adjusted during testing and production, the functional stakeholders could consider their impact on the entire supply chain.

The start of production for the Grenadier was a brownfield operation – INEOS Automotive acquired an existing automotive plant in Hambach, France. This meant existing constraints, such as infrastructure, needed to be considered in the planning of the plant. At the same time, INEOS Automotive needed to create a new IT strategy and implement appropriate supply chain software solutions.

Once the site was chosen, 4flow supported the automotive manufacturer with a network design study for its inbound network. Based on a given footprint, the team optimized routes, modes of transportation and inventory levels in the INEOS Automotive network. The result of the network study consequently limits complexity, simplifies processes and inbound organization and enables short lead times.

4flow also supported INEOS Automotive throughout the tendering phase for its supply chain management software. The team defined sales and operations processes for the automotive manufacturer and created RFQs to reflect the requirements. When INEOS Automotive selected Kinaxis RapidResponse as an S&OP platform, 4flow supported with implementing the solution. The joint team also implemented SAP TM for the inbound network.

With a brownfield site, processes needed to be designed around existing infrastructure. The original site was set up for much smaller vehicles, including the Smart Fortwo. To enable production of the Grenadier, which is more than twice the size of the Fortwo and has very different requirements, INEOS Automotive and 4flow realigned the logistics processes and layout.

4flow supported INEOS Automotive with logistics planning. The material flow and line feeding process were determined for each part of the Grenadier, from arrival at the plant to the point of use. The new plant layout involved setting up machinery for a new body shop to fit the five-meter-long Grenadier. Additionally, INEOS Automotive redesigned the assembly line and logistics areas – all without impacting Fortwo vehicle production, which is still produced in another building at the site.

Throughout the process, the team continued to adapt to changes in the supply chain and production environment. For instance, 4flow helped INEOS Automotive determine interdependencies between transportation, intralogistics and other processes by modeling the impact of the frequency of inbound transportation on inventory.

At the same time, the joint team designed a software landscape to support the flow of materials, including SAP EWM, SAP iPPE and SAP S4/HANA. 4flow supported the INEOS Automotive team with transformation management, coordinating with stakeholders across the supply chain to build and align processes, organization and IT concurrently. A series of agile sprints ensured a focused, step-by-step implementation.

“It is not just an IT set-up you need to do,” emphasized Fredrik Karlsson, head of supply chain management at INEOS Automotive. The software strategy needed to support business goals and processes, which requires careful planning and collaboration across the organization. “We had to define what we wanted the IT to do.”

With 4flow, INEOS Automotive established and stabilized its supply chain processes – enabling it to begin production of an entirely new vehicle in less than four years. In 2023, the automotive manufacturer ramped up production of the Grenadier at its plant in Hambach, France.

Supply chain management played a central role in enabling the business’s growth by managing complexity across the organization, from procurement to sales. “Collaboration is absolutely a key success factor for us,” said Fredrik Karlsson. “Together with the 4flow team, we used the opportunities presented by our start-up environment to integrate IT and processes across the organization.” With collaborative processes as its foundation, INEOS Automotive is set up to respond with agility to future challenges and continue its path to success.