Research Group Industrial Value Creation

Our Expertise

We offer specialised expertise in developing and implementing strategies and methods for increased value creation in industrial manufacturing. This includes solving demanding productivity challenges while also leveraging new business opportunities. We are experts in developing new models and methods that translate into effective and flexible solutions, contributing to enhanced competitiveness.

How We Work

We are researchers with backgrounds in industrial economics, production, and quality engineering. Over time, we have developed strong expertise in production management, production logistics, innovation processes, business development, and value chain analysis. Our approach combines deep system understanding with systematic development of models and tools for decision-makers in industry companies.

We build on SINTEF’s long tradition of applied research in close collaboration with industry partners. For over 30 years, we have developed and applied methods to strengthen industrial value creation through innovation, efficiency, and sustainable transformation. Our methodological breadth—from qualitative case studies to quantitative simulation models—enables us to solve complex challenges across sectors and value chains. We develop solutions that not only meet today’s demands for increased productivity and competitiveness but are also robust and adaptable to future needs for resilience, digitalisation, and sustainable growth.

What Sets Us Apart

We combine solid research foundations with a strong understanding of industrial processes and our clients’ business needs. Our strength lies in the ability to develop knowledge-based solutions that are both strategically relevant and operationally applicable. We work closely with business partners to ensure our methods and models are not only theoretically sound but also tested and validated in real-world environments. Through company-specific cases, pilots, and demonstrations of new solutions, we facilitate implementation and help realise innovations—from idea to practical value creation.

A Strong Professional Environment

The group consists of 8 researchers with master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial economics and production management from NTNU. We collaborate with leading international research communities and maintain long-term partnerships with industrial clients and clusters. With over 30 years of experience in combining high-level research with practical relevance, we have helped push the boundaries of development, innovation, and value creation in industrial manufacturing.

Highlights

• Extensive expertise and experience across various industries provide a solid foundation for delivering insights and solutions to a wide range of companies
• Proven tools and methodologies for applied research that support collaboration between researchers and industry
• Experience in close cooperation with companies to develop top-tier solutions that are both at the research forefront and practically applicable
• From idea to value creation – with deep understanding of business conditions for successful innovation/technology development and application, we contribute throughout the development process from concept, through testing and piloting, to implementation

Strategic Focus Areas

We contribute with cutting-edge insights to address future needs and complex challenges. In recent years, we have focused on research in customised production, digitalisation, Industry 4.0/5.0, and circular value chains/digital product passports. We also explore the use of artificial intelligence to support decision-makers in product and production development as well as operations. Modelling and simulation through digital twins to recreate processes and material flows digitally is another key area we work on, serving as an effective tool for better understanding and analysis of dynamics and change opportunities in companies.

The use of tracking technology and sensors to enable seamless and integrated data flows for monitoring and controlling goods flow in production and value chains is another important area. Based on the rapidly growing need to strengthen resilience against major disruptions, we also focus on research that helps build resilience and reduce vulnerability in industrial organisations, production processes, and value chains.

Our long-standing tradition of research for decision-makers and leaders in manufacturing means we are committed to ensuring high practical relevance of new ideas and solutions, through the development and testing of applicable and effective methods and tools aimed at real-world implementation.

How We Can Help You

• Are you experiencing quality issues, productivity challenges, or delays in production and need effective methods and tools to better understand and solve the problems? We offer a well-tested methodology for mapping and analysing efficiency challenges in production, based on lean philosophy. This helps assess the current situation, identify areas for improvement, and propose relevant actions.
• Are you delivering products to a growing or changing market and need to upgrade your factory by increasing capacity, reorganising production, or investing in new equipment? We provide methods and tools to effectively visualise factory layout and material flow using modelling and simulation, including the FlexSim software, which supports informed decision-making for flow design.
• Do you have an idea for a new product, service, or business model based on digital technology, with great market potential that needs to be quickly developed further? We have expertise in systematic innovation and the development of new business opportunities in manufacturing companies, including smart products, data-driven services, and digital platforms.
• Do you need to explore circular strategies for your value chains due to new market demands, laws, or regulations? We contribute with methods for designing circular material flows related to reuse and remanufacturing, enabled by digital technologies.
• Is your value chain affected by external turbulence and high uncertainty in supply chains, and needs to become more resilient? We develop methods to analyse risks and vulnerabilities and build flexible capacity in the organisation, production, and supplier sourcing. This can enhance resilience and competitiveness during major disruptions.

We support a wide range of needs in industrial manufacturing—from efficient organisation, processes, and value chains to new services and business models. With the rest of SINTEF on board, we can also draw on the expertise of other colleagues.

We work with all types of industrial companies—whether you're a start-up aiming to establish large-scale production, an SME looking to develop and industrialise small-scale production, or a larger company with well-established industrial processes. We have experience from both traditional manufacturing and project-based production with a high degree of engineering, such as suppliers to offshore wind, shipbuilding, construction, and more. We are technology-neutral and work with a wide range of technologies, evaluating possible solutions based on your specific needs and industry context.

Want to Collaborate with Us?

We are always looking to expand our network and create new collaborations. Feel free to contact us to learn more about how we can work together to solve challenges and explore technological opportunities in production, logistics, and value chains. You can also benefit from our expertise through tailored courses, lectures, or consulting services.