Boosting productivity in a manufacturing company? Lessons from the Locinox case study

23 June 2026

Walter Auwers

How do you keep a growing manufacturing company productive and scalable?

As a manufacturing company grows, so does its complexity. More product variants and higher volumes put pressure on processes: assembly slows down, planning becomes more difficult and logistics lose track of the big picture. The question then is not just how to produce more efficiently, but how to keep your entire organisation scalable and manageable.

Locinox is well acquainted with this tension. The European market leader in innovative outdoor access control solutions for the gate and fencing industry grew strongly through innovation, but at the same time had to rethink its production organisation to keep that growth manageable. The solution lay not in a single intervention, but in a fundamental redesign of how design, production, logistics and systems interconnect.

Product innovation as a driver of both growth and complexity

Locinox has grown significantly in recent years thanks to continuous product innovation. The company expanded its range from mechanical products to hydraulic operators, access control and motorisation. For customers, this means more choice, but it also increases internal complexity. Every new product brings with it additional variants, combinations and exceptions. This became evident in the day-to-day operations:

the warehouse reached its limits
systems were no longer compatible with one another
data had to be entered in multiple places

The result? Reduced efficiency and limited scalability. It became clear that further growth was not possible without adapting the underlying structure.

Productivity in a manufacturing company begins before production

Instead of optimising processes in isolation, Locinox tackles complexity at its source: product design. By focusing on modular design and integrated engineering, components remain reusable across different variants. In practical terms, this means that:

Product design is tailored to production
Production takes logistics into account
Logistics and planning are supported digitally

These design choices have a direct impact on production and logistics. Assembly becomes simpler, processes become more predictable and errors are reduced. But the real added value lies in the synergy: design, production, logistics and digitalisation are not optimised separately, but coordinated with one another.

Smart logistics boosts productivity in manufacturing companies

This system logic is reflected in the layout of the new site in Waregem: Locinox 4.0. Logistics plays a central role in this. A fully automated warehouse with 80,000 bins continuously supplies the assembly and packaging lines. Materials are available at the right time and in the right place. Picking and order processing are carried out digitally and are directly linked to the production flow. Assembly and packaging tie in seamlessly with the logistics processes. The result is clear: a continuous flow without interruptions, waiting times or improvisation on the shop floor. Logistics is therefore no longer a support function, but a driving force. It sets the pace of production and enables a stable flow, even with a wide product range.

Digitalisation connects the manufacturing company

The physical flow is supported by an integrated digital landscape. By linking systems such as CRM, ERP and WMS, a single continuous flow of information is created from order to delivery. Orders are visible in real time and move through the process without manual intermediate steps. This has a direct impact:

Planning continuously adapts to the actual situation
Assembly and packaging are managed flexibly
Errors caused by duplicate data entry are eliminated

This creates a digital thread running through the entire business.

Result: productivity and speed without stock

The combination of design, logistics and digitalisation translates into tangible results. Locinox is able to combine a wide and complex product range with fast delivery. Orders are ready for dispatch within 24 hours, without customers having to hold stock themselves. This is exceptional in an environment with so many variants. This speed is not the result of a single technology, but of the synergy between:

Modular product design
Streamlined logistics
Integrated systems
Real-time planning and monitoring

It is precisely because these elements are coordinated that complexity remains manageable whilst flexibility increases.

Lessons learnt for your manufacturing business

What can you take away from this? The Locinox case study shows that productivity is not an isolated issue. It requires consistent decisions across multiple areas. Four key insights stand out:

Product innovation and production must evolve together
A broader product range requires an adapted production organisation.
Logistics determines your scalability
Those who view logistics as merely a support function will quickly hit their limits.
System integration is essential
Without integrated systems, information remains fragmented and slows down the flow.
Real-time insight enables flexibility
Only with up-to-date data can you make quick and targeted adjustments.

Factory of the Future

In 2026, Locinox was named ‘Factory of the Future’, an initiative by Agoria and Sirris. This recognition confirms that the company has brought its processes, organisation and technology up to a high standard. At the same time, it is not the end of the journey. Locinox has been working systematically to further improve its productivity for some time. Further digitalisation and automation play a key role in this, as do targeted applications of AI. In this way, the company is working step by step towards a production environment that is more efficient, more robust and more scalable.