Mann+Hummel's Kai Albus on the benefits of data-driven transformation
Kai Albus, senior vice president of global supply chain and logistics for transportation at Mann+Hummel, discussed the company's ongoing digitalisation journey on the Red Sofa at Automotive Logistics & Supply Chain Digital Strategies Europe in 2025.
At ALSC Digital Strategies Europe 2025 in Munich, tier-one supplier Mann+Hummel's Kai Albus, sat with Automotive Logistics on the iconic Red Sofa to discuss the company's data-driven transformation.
"At Mann+Hummel, we are in the process of transforming our company completely, and that also includes of course how supply chain will play a major role in the future of the business," Albus said. "Therefore what we started as a journey is putting more focus on the data we have and use."
He explained that this journey began with digitalising its manufacturing platforms so the company collects more data from the manufacturing side, then moved on to the supply chain side. "We want to own the data, we want to be mastering the data and we want to make sure we have [all the data] available," he stated.
Access to and understanding of this data allows Mann+Hummel to provide its customers with all the necessary information, and at the same time use it to simulate scenarios to boost supply chain resilience.
IT collaboration and cloud migration
Albus shared that from the moment he joined the company, he has worked closely with IT to evaluate systems and collaborate on projects. "It's really a shared effort and a shared success at the end," he said.
Having recently migrated to the cloud with SAP S/4HANA, Albus explained how this move is set to give Mann+Hummel "the next step of data availability". He noted that the company only has one instance of SAP, so it doesn't have multiple setups for multiple areas – just one system for the whole company globally.
He emphasised that Mann+Hummel will work with other systems, not just relying on the SAP solution, but noted that it will play a major role, adding that the company will use integrated tools such as the transport management system (TMS) and warehouse management system (WMS).
An evolving role
With the company undergoing such a significant transformation as it progresses along its digitalisation journey, the role of leadership will inevitably need to adapt. One thing Albus identified as a key priority in his role is ensuring people trust the data and feel comfortable working alongside digital technologies like AI.
He also noted that it's important people understand the influence they can still have and the value human experience and know-how still holds in decision-making processes. "I think it's very important that we as leaders encourage that, and also be the spearhead for these initiatives," he shared.
Albus added: "At Mann+Hummel, we just [announced] now that we can build our digital twin, so we're starting to develop a kind of logical learning solution that is based on AI that can predict how leaders make decisions, and that will allow our team to have access to our decisions more frequently, even if we are not available directly."
He outlined three key priorities for Mann+Hummel in 2026: gathering enough data to build its supply chain digital twins; continuing to implement its new SIOP process to bring its planning and forecasting to the next level; and making use of its data and making it transparent across the organisation in real time.
