02: Underutilization costs millions - how Strategic Sales Planning can help

🚨 The problem:

Production plants and project teams are often not optimally utilized, but the problem is only recognized when it is already too late. Without strategic, resource-oriented sales planning, unused capacity is created while fixed costs continue to run.

The financial risk is enormous:

-With 30% underutilization and a fixed cost ratio of 35%, 10% points of EBIT are lost.

- Underutilized capacities mean inefficient use of resources and competitive disadvantages.

- Missing projects lead to gaps in long-term market positioning.

Why underutilization is often overlooked

Many companies do not have a holistic view of their capacity utilization over a longer period of time. In the short term, a plant or project team may appear to be fully utilized, but in the medium and long term, gaps often go unnoticed.

There are three main reasons for this:

1. Lack of real-time visibility: there is no continuous monitoring of capacity utilization.

2. Reactive instead of strategic planning: capacity bottlenecks are only addressed when they are already a problem.

3. Lack of integration of market data: Potential target orders are not identified early enough to avoid underutilization.

But how can suppliers avoid these risks?

The solution: Proactive planning and real-time control

Successful companies rely on a forward-looking, data-driven approach. Three key measures help to identify and prevent underutilization at an early stage:

1. Long-term planning and continuous real-time monitoring

Suppliers must strategically plan their capacity utilization not only for the coming months, but at least five years in advance.

This requires:

- Automated scenario analyses to identify potential capacity gaps.

- Real-time dashboards that show where and when underutilization is imminent.

- Early warning systems that make critical developments immediately visible.

Result:
Companies recognize in good time which plants or project teams could be underutilized in the future - and can take active countermeasures.

2. Identify strategic target orders at an early stage

As soon as an imminent underutilization of capacity becomes apparent, companies must acquire new orders in a targeted manner. But which projects offer the greatest potential?

This is where external market data such as S&P Global Mobility provides valuable insights:

- Which vehicle segments are growing particularly strongly?

- Which OEMs are planning new models that match their own production capacities?

- Which drive variants and technologies are gaining in importance?

An intelligent system links market data with internal capacity planning and provides targeted recommendations for new sales opportunities.

Result: Companies can define strategic target projects at an early stage before underutilization occurs.

3. Implementation through targeted measures and continuous monitoring

Early planning alone is not enough - it must be implemented consistently. Three factors are crucial for this:

1. target visualization: clear definition of which orders are necessary to avoid capacity gaps.

2. strategic acquisition processes: Targeted customer approach based on data-driven market analysis.

3. results-oriented monitoring: measurement of the strategic hit rate in order to check the success of the measures.

The goal: Sales and capacity planning work together seamlessly to make optimum use of market potential.

The solution: Intelligent sales planning software with Digital Automotive

Many companies struggle with manual, fragmented planning processes - which inevitably leads to delayed reactions to market changes. The solution lies in the complete digitalization and automation of sales planning processes.

💡 Digital Automotive offers:

-Transparent planning over 5+ years.

-Scenario planning

-Real-time monitoring and automated early warning systems.

-Linking with market data for targeted project identification.

-Strategic target tracking with performance tracking.

With Digital Automotive, underutilization risks are a thing of the past.

Conclusion: Underutilization is an avoidable risk

Every year, suppliers lose millions because their plants or project teams are not optimally utilized - often without realizing it in time.

However, those who recognize capacity gaps early on, secure strategic projects and make data-based decisions remain competitive and increase their profitability in the long term.

👉F ind out how Digital Automotive can transform your sales planning. Book a live demo now at
Digital Automotive Contact