MTL Meets PLANNINGIO

9 March 2023, by Dr. Nils Roemer, Levent Uyar, and Johanna Lorenz

We are Justus Bonz, Nikolai Heinrichs, Matthes Koch, Markus Mickein, and Nils Roemer, the cofounders on PLANNINGIO. PLANNINGIO offers B2B software as a service (SaaS) for digitalization, automation, and optimization of production planning.

We got to know each other during our doctoral studies in the Focus Field Operations and Supply Chain Management at Universität Hamburg. In practice-oriented research projects, we were able to transfer scientific findings directly to the business sector. During this process, it became apparent that many companies are unable to find satisfactory software solutions for production planning on the market— this is especially the case for companies in the process industries (food, chemical, and pharmaceutical), which often have complex production systems. Since these are highly technical and specialized industries with capital-intensive systems, the problems and requirements for successful production planning are also similarly demanding and individual. Our software solution supports or takes over an essential part of production planning by enabling automated planning through mathematical optimization. This allows us to reduce planning effort, increase planning quality, improve capacity, and reduce operating costs. In addition to cost pressures, our software solution enables companies to counter fluctuation, employee absenteeism in planning, and skill shortages. Furthermore, improved planning leads to more sustainable production, as fewer resources are wasted.

Our software solution was developed as part of a practice-based project with the largest brewery in Switzerland, where Dr. Markus Mickein, Dr. Matthes Koch, and Prof. Dr. Knut Haase of the Institute of Logistics, Transport and Production at Universität Hamburg conducted research. Following the development of a prototype and its successful implementation at the practice-based-project partner, founding PLANNINGIO—with the objective of converting the prototype into market-ready software—was the logical consequence. Within the faculty, we were also supported at different stages of the founding process by Prof. Dr. Michel Clement as our EXIST mentor and the Management Transfer Lab team.

We obtained a start-up grant for 2023 to further develop our software. During the development phase, we have engaged in close exchange with companies in the field of practice and have already secured a pilot customer that operates internationally as a producer of sparkling wine, still wine, liqueur, and spirits.

In the series MTL Meets . . ., we introduce start-ups linked to or with origins in the Faculty of Business Administration at Universität Hamburg.