How Vossloh Makes Product Proofs Scalable
Facing rising tender requirements, Vossloh standardised product and sustainability proofs with H&Z, accelerating bids, reducing risk, and enabling data-driven optimisation.
Hidden Champion on Track
How Vossloh made product requirements measurable and manageable across a complex portfolio
Rail infrastructure providers today must demonstrate far more than technical performance and competitive pricing. In tender processes, formal and product related proof increasingly determines success.
This success story shows how Vossloh, supported by H&Z, structured these requirements, accelerated delivery and made them manageable across a highly complex portfolio.
If there is one company that truly fits the description of a hidden champion, it is Vossloh. Based in Werdohl, Germany, the rail infrastructure specialist operates largely out of the spotlight, yet its products and solutions are essential to modern rail transport worldwide. With expertise across the entire track system, from core components to lifecycle services and integrated digital solutions, Vossloh combines deep infrastructure knowledge with digital capabilities to improve maintenance, increase availability and make rail networks more efficient.
Company
Vossloh is a global rail technology company based in Werdohl, Germany, combining infrastructure expertise with integrated digital rail solutions.
Scale
Around 5,500 employees worldwide and approximately EUR 1.34 billion in revenue.
Why it mattered
Across a diverse portfolio, product related proof had to become consistent, reliable, and fast enough for tender timelines.
From strength to complexity
A broad and highly specialised product portfolio is a clear competitive advantage. It enables rail operators to rely on proven solutions across different applications, markets and regulatory environments.
At the same time, this strength increases complexity. As portfolios grow, so do the requirements to document, validate and communicate product characteristics in a consistent and reliable way. Managing this complexity becomes a task in its own right.
What changed at scale
Four indicators that illustrate how product related proof was established across the portfolio.
6months
Project duration
4units
Business units aligned
1standard
Method and responsibilities
100percent
Coverage
Inside the project
The project team of Vossloh and H&Z explains how product requirements were structured, responsibilities clarified and transparency created across the organisation.
The challenge
Vossloh operates a highly complex portfolio that is indispensable for modern rail transport. It ranges from rail fastening systems and sleepers to rails, switches and specialised maintenance trains, complemented by integrated digital solutions that connect infrastructure and data across the track.
The diversity of products is a strength. At the same time, it becomes a challenge when product related proof must be consistent, reliable and delivered on time. Rail operators issue tenders, not ad hoc orders. Success depends not only on technical and commercial performance, but on the ability to meet formal requirements with precision across both physical and digital offerings.
This is where H&Z became involved. The objective was to move away from isolated approaches within individual business units and establish an integrated, scalable process for product related proof.
The Impact
The objective was not to introduce another process. It was to replace fragmented approaches with a shared and reliable way of working.
Before
- Different approaches across business units
- Inconsistent data sources and calculation logic
- Unclear responsibilities for product related proof
- Long lead times and high tender risk
After
- One shared standard across the portfolio
- Clear ownership and defined responsibilities
- Consistent data foundation for all products
- Faster and more reliable tender readiness
How the work was organised
In spring 2025, H&Z partner Sven Steinert travelled to Werdohl with a clear mission. Vossloh needed support to redesign a topic that had become increasingly business critical: the structured and comparable fulfilment of product related requirements, including sustainability criteria, across a complex portfolio.
Over a compact project period of six months, H&Z brought together the relevant stakeholders from all business units. Together, the teams defined a shared target picture. Which products require which proof. Which data is essential. And how processes must be designed so they remain repeatable and scalable.
This collaboration created a shared understanding across business units for the first time and laid the foundation for standardised processes.
Aligning stakeholders
Responsible owners across business units defined scope, priorities and ownership together.
Defining requirements and data
Proof needs, data sources and update cycles were set so results stay comparable across products.
Making it repeatable
The setup enables consistent updates and new products to be integrated without restarting the work.
From documentation to transparency
Environmental Product Declarations are a central element in rail tenders. They consolidate product related indicators across the entire lifecycle, including CO₂ emissions, recyclability and material composition, and must be externally certified.
Creating EPDs is complex and methodologically demanding. Before the project, approaches at Vossloh differed significantly. Data sources, calculation logic and responsibilities varied across business units. This led to long lead times and tangible risk in tender processes. If an EPD was not available on time, bids were excluded, even when the product itself was technically superior.
Together with H&Z, Vossloh established a unified approach. Processes, responsibilities and methodological foundations for EPD creation were aligned across the organisation. What used to be fragmented documentation became a structured and reliable process.
Today, the resulting data transparency allows Vossloh to look beyond compliance. Products can be compared across the portfolio and analysed against market benchmarks. This makes optimisation potential visible, for example in materials, suppliers or production processes, and turns product data into a tool for active steering.
One data foundation
All business units work with the same definitions, sources and quality standards.
Comparability across products
Key indicators can be reliably compared across product groups and markets.
Basis for improvement
The transparent view highlights where materials, suppliers or processes can be optimised.
“We work more efficiently today, and our products are improving. This saves time and money – and increases our responsiveness to customers.”
Why it matters
In rail infrastructure, competitiveness is no longer defined by engineering excellence alone. Formal requirements, sustainability criteria and reliable product related proof have become decisive factors in tender processes.
By working with H&Z to establish a shared structure and a consistent data foundation, Vossloh has turned these requirements into a strength. What was once a source of risk is now a controlled and scalable capability.
Transparency enables better decisions. And better decisions make competitiveness sustainable.
