Why Deutz Is the Perfect Proof-of-Concept partnering with BERTRAMS-Coordinating-Complexity.COM

Deutz AG’s struggle to modernize a 160-year-old “engine-centric” business while orchestrating thousands of global suppliers, multi-plant production, and a rapidly diversifying product portfolio makes it a textbook arena for the coordination methods promoted by

BERTRAMS-Coordinating-Complexity.com

The Cologne-based OEM must balance legacy diesel revenue with aggressive growth targets in service, power solutions, and zero-emission technologies—a transformation that magnifies organizational, process, and cultural complexity. Precisely those pain points form the core of Michael Bertrams’s S&OP-driven consulting framework.

1. Deutz: A Company at Peak Complexity

1.1 Dual+ Strategy Creates a Two-Speed Enterprise

In 2023 Deutz formalized its “Dual+” program: keep the cash-flow-rich Classic engine business while incubating a Green and now Solutions/Energy portfolio that should deliver half of all sales by 2030. That duality forces parallel operating models, contradictory KPIs, and fierce competition for resources – many symptoms of coordination overload.

1.2 Product & Regulatory Volatility

• 5–620 kW power range across 20+ core engine families, each subject to Stage V, China IV/VI and EPA certifications
• Rapid prototyping of hydrogen, hybrid, and battery systems with new partners such as Daimler Truck, Torqeedo, and IAV.
  These shifts multiply variant counts and decision nodes that overwhelm traditional planning cycles.

2. How my company will address Deutz’s Pain Points

2.1 S&OP / IBP as Coordinating Backbone

I emphasise a phased roll-out of S&OP and Integrated Business Planning to connect commercial, technical, and financial dialogues – exactly where Deutz still shows execution gaps between monthly consensus plans and weekly firefighting.

2.2 Cultural Alignment via the 5T Model

Deutz has already introduced Trust, Transparency, Truth, Team, Tenacity as cultural pillars, which is in line with my own methodology, focussing on safe “team frames” that let regional units speak openly to management without defensive behaviour – as a direct extension of the 5T mindset.

2.3 Complexity Scoring & Quadrant Dashboards

The forthcoming project platform called “CoordinNation”, promises quadrant-based S&OP dashboards that visualise cross-functional conflicts and resilience metrics in real time. 

3. Tangible Value Levers for Deutz

Complexity Driver	Current State	BERTRAMS Intervention	Expected Benefit
Variant explosion	180 k engine units with rising hydrogen & hybrid SKUs	Attribute-based demand planning & pruning workshops	–10% active BOM lines
Fragmented S&OP cadence	Monthly exec cycle plus ad-hoc firefighting	Dual-horizon model (weekly dynamic S&OE; monthly tactical IBP)	↑ forecast accuracy 8–10 pp
Supply-risk opacity	8 000+ sub-tier suppliers, initial riskmethods roll-out	Complexity scoring ties risk signals to capacity re-allocation	20% faster mitigation
Cultural silos	Classic vs Green rivalry; new “5T” values	Quadrant “safe-team” meetings & binary leadership pairs	30% shorter decision loops

4. Why Deutz Is an Ideal Reference Client

1. Scale with Visibility – Public company with full KPI disclosure enables measurable before/after storytelling.
2. Transformation Urgency – €4 bn revenue target by 2030 and €50 m cost-cut program create a burning platform.
3. Digital Infrastructure Readiness – SAP-based emissions compliance, VCE logistics cloud, and GIB demand planning suite mean quick API hooks for Bertrams dashboards.
4. Leadership Buy-In – Board statements emphasise active consolidation and external expertise for resilience.
5. Regional Proximity – Founder Michael Bertrams operates from Papenburg, Niedersachsen, within three hours of Deutz HQ, easing on-site coaching.

5. Roadmap Proposal

Phase	Duration	Key Activities
0. Diagnostic	16 w	“We ensure that your business processes do fit and align with your teams understanding, – creating proactive bottom-up and top-down initiatives.”
1. Pilot S&OP Cell	20 w	Classic 4-L engine line; deploy quadrant dashboards
2. Scale to Green	24 w	Integrate hydrogen program; introduce binary leadership pairs
3. Ecosystem Embed	12 w	Link riskmethods alerts & VCE DLP events to weekly S&OE
4. Sustain & Coach	6 w	Hand-off KPI governance; certify internal multipliers

6. Risk & Mitigation

Risk	Mitigation
Data fragmentation across SAP, GIB, VCE	Use Bertrams “single-plan-of-record” data mart; lean API connectors
Change fatigue after earlier cost-cut rounds	Safe-team workshops reinforce intrinsic motivation and 5T values
ROI pressure from shareholders	Quick-win metrics (inventory turns, OTIF) delivered in Pilot Phase

7. Visualising the Transformation Challenge

Deutz still earns almost all revenue from its legacy engine segment, underscoring the coordination gap it must close to scale new businesses.

Deutz revenue in 2022 is overwhelmingly generated by the Classic segment, underlining the complexity of shifting toward the emerging Green portfolio

By 2030 the target mix becomes far more diversified, demanding seamless cross-segment orchestration – an exact match for my playbook.

Target revenue mix highlights Deutz’s planned diversification: Classic engines remain sizable, but Service, Energy and New Technologies drive growth

Conclusion

Deutz embodies the very “coordinating complexity” dilemma that my consultancy was founded to solve: two strategic clockspeeds, intense product variants, a fragmented global supply web, and the human challenge of aligning 5.000 employees behind a dual transformation.

My S&OP-centric, culture-sensitive framework plugs directly into Deutz’s digital backbone and strategic agenda, offering rapid, measurable gains in forecast accuracy, variant rationalisation and decision velocity. – Deutz provides the scale, urgency, data transparency, and cultural readiness that make it the ideal showcase – and proving ground – for BERTRAMS | Coordinating Complexity.