About Damen Shipyards
Damen Shipyards Group is a Dutch family-owned shipbuilder, founded in 1927, with over 35 shipyards worldwide and more than 6,500 vessels delivered across 100+ countries. Its dedicated naval division, Damen Naval, traces its heritage to 1875. Damen Naval designs, builds, and supports a broad range of advanced naval vessels – including frigates, corvettes, and support ships – for international defense clients. These ships are engineered to address multi-domain threats, such as anti-air, anti-surface, and anti-submarine warfare. Flagship projects like the F126-class frigates and various Combat-/Multi-Purpose Support Ships underscore the division’s focus on innovation. With decades of expertise, Damen continues to play a vital role in the global defense and security maritime sector.
The challenge
As part of a strategic expansion into new market segments, Damen Shipyards launched a new business unit to increase production capacity and competitiveness. Like many new ventures, the initiative faced operational challenges. Delivery uncertainty, lack of integrated planning, and insufficient control mechanisms began to erode customer trust—putting pressure on both timelines and commercial performance.
To regain control and restore confidence, Damen engaged EyeOn to identify planning bottlenecks and implement improvements. Our work addressed immediate operational inefficiencies while also establishing long-term planning structures to support sustainable performance. A key focus was fostering alignment across departments—ensuring that engineering, procurement, and fabrication operated from a shared, transparent planning framework.
We introduced process improvements, embedded structured reporting, and enabled the organization to distinguish between controllable delays and those caused by external factors. This clarity not only improved internal efficiency but also provided a powerful tool for client communication and risk management.
The project
Damen’s experience reflects broader trends across the defense sector. Today’s geopolitical shifts, trade disruptions, and supplier constraints have exposed vulnerabilities in traditional supply chains. Access to critical components—from semiconductors to specialized materials—is no longer guaranteed.
EyeOn helps defense organizations navigate this complexity by building resilient, data-driven supply chains. Our methods include scenario-based planning (e.g. time-to-survive and time-to-recover analyses), lead time reduction, and strategic supply chain network design —ensuring operational continuity and competitive edge even in uncertain conditions.
Results
This project highlights how forward-thinking planning, cross-functional integration, and transparent decision-making can drive both short-term recovery and long-term resilience in today’s defense landscape.
Ready to plan for a more secure future – together?
Get in touch with us to learn how EyeOn can help you identify bottlenecks and optimize your planning processes for improved competitive advantage.