Get Agile With Smart Tech

Data-driven insights from smart technologies can help organizations regain ground lost during COVID-related downturns.     

Agility is more important than ever as manufacturers transition into a new era of contactless buying experiences, remote workers, global volatility, and disrupted supply chains. Out-of-the-box thinking will help manufacterers overcome today’s myriad of operational challenges and seize emerging market opportunities. Smart technologies can provide the data-driven insights that will help drive problem-solving and empower leadership to focus on positive directions.

In fact, turning to smart technologies will help manufacturers up-level capabilities and stand apart from global competitors who are also striving to adapt to changing demands. Competition has escalated for many verticals as agile organizations accelerated technology adoption out of necessity. During 2021, many manufacturers made leaps in innovation and collaboration, selling directly to consumers through online channels, offering new products tailored for work-from-home and stay-at-home lifestyles, and adding contactless services to their offerings. To meet emergency demands, manufacturers quickly set in place tools for remote connectivity, distanced collaboration, and stop-gap workarounds for procuring parts and components that were no longer available through traditional channels.

Manufacturers became creative.

Those who had smart technologies already in their arsenal got a head start. But it’s not too late for those who did not. Advanced decision-making tools and artificial-intelligence–driven analytics are no longer nice-to-have abilities; they are cost-to-play fundamentals. Automation, streamlined shop floor processes, and intelligent facility maintenance also are part of today’s smart factory framework.

Time to Dive Into Smart Tech

Tech-savvy manufacturers have dabbled with the Internet of Things (IoT), smart sensors, and machine-to-machine automation for a decade. Autonomous vehicles in the warehouse, robotics for heavy lifting and precision movements, and complex assets that self-diagnose and trigger maintenance are operational tactics that were tested in limited capabilities. Leaders wanted to justify the spend by tracking results, testing theories, and projecting long-term gains.

Use cases often had a limited scope as manufacturers tested the return on investments and tried to stretch modest budgets. Urgency was sometimes lacking. That has changed.

“Advanced decision-making tools and artificial-intelligence–driven analytics are no longer nice-to-have abilities; they are cost-to-play fundamentals.”

 

Manufacturers no longer have the luxury of experimenting and exploring vague ideas — they need results now. Suddenly, projects that were slated to take two years went into effect in two months. Analysts speculated that up to five years’ worth of innovation happened virtually overnight.

Smart Tech Strategic Applications

To handle the uncertainty of today’s fast-changing landscape, manufacturers need a greater ability to predict and react to shifts in demand, supply chain interruptions, and changing market conditions. Use cases for smart manufacturing cover a wide range of shop floor operational processes as well as long-term strategic applications. Some include:

Supply chain planning. Organizations can use data insights to plan for resources that are essential, including items that have become difficult to source. Relying on only one supplier is no longer advisable — especially if the supplier is continents away. Finding new resources and building relationships with closer-to- home vendors will help minimize risks of supply chain disruptions.

 Supply chain visibility. Smart sensors on packaging, shipping vehicles, and inventory storage systems provide manufacturers with a real-time, accurate view of resources before they arrive at the plant and as they are consumed. Accuracy enables agile adjustments to accommodate unpredicted shifts.

Anticipating shifts in demand. This is increasingly important as buyers have new needs and expectations. Several products have seen shifts in demand, from more sales of casual wear and home electronics to drops in commercial travel and in-person events. With much of the workforce now working from home, supplies and equipment needs have shifted too. Data-driven analytics help manufacturers understand the new trends, the financial repercussions, and how to adapt resourcing raw materials.

Advanced plant maintenance. Manufacturers can use advanced plant maintenance to leverage condition-based sensors embedded in plant assets to monitor for early warning signs that the equipment requires service. Trigger points can signal automatic reactions, such as scheduling calibration or part replacement, rerouting work, or, in the case of an emergency, shutting down a line. Technicians may rely on more remote tools, such as drones, to inspect equipment and make early diagnostics of maintenance needs.

Remote connectivity. Manufacturers now are allowing some of the workforce to work from home to minimize the chances for COVID exposure, making remote connectivity more important than ever. With the right digital tools in place, many roles can be completed off premises.

“[Manufacturers] who have delayed investment in advanced data-driven tools run the risk of being left behind or becoming obsolete.”

 

Facility management. This has changed drastically as protocols have gone into effect for distancing, sterilizing surfaces, and use of protective gear such as facemasks. Many manufacturers have had to reconfigure their product lines, as well as public spaces such as cafeterias and entrances. It’s important to have software that can help track facility sanitation, new work schedules, and purchasing of supplies such as hand sanitizer. Such critical steps can’t be left to spreadsheets or manual checklists, especially when multiple plants and international labor laws are involved.

Workforce solutions. Advanced workforce solutions that can be used to help track and manage communications about safety mandates on vaccinations and/or testing, reimbursement for remote work supplies, issuing take-home laptops, traceability of exposure, and documenting quarantine precautions can be valuable, if not necessary, to a manufacturer today.

Autonomous vehicles. These are being used to move raw materials to the shop floor as needed or move finished goods to the warehouse and shipping. The vehicles, using machine learning, follow carefully defined routes and safety requirements, while moving goods to their destination.

Quality control checkpoints.  Adding quality control checkpoints to multiple points in the production line can help manufacturers spot noncompliance early, minimizing waste of raw resources and time. Sensors that can detect alignment, color, weight, and many more features can detect unacceptable variables in anything from apples for fruit juice to chrome coatings for bike handlebars.

Machine-to-machine connectivity. This helps create a real-time view of production lines and steps such as finishing, packaging, and shipping. Smart machines can communicate data about the production status, helping to streamline the flow of goods, identify gaps in efficiency, and manage scheduling of resources for just-in-time delivery.

Omni-channel and direct-to-consumer sales. These digital trends grew as consumers turned to online purchases and avoided brick-and-mortar stores during the height of the pandemic. Manufacturers learned — often through trial and error — that supporting online commerce requires robust technology to manage inventory, orders, billing, and shipping.

Customer alignment and expectations. The buying experience changed drastically during 2021. Customers, whether business-to-business buyers or end consumers, expect to be delighted. They expect highly personalized products, and greater value. Turning to Configure Price Quote (CPQ) solutions to help manage the entire process — from choosing design specs to viewing a rendering and obtaining a quote quickly — is a smart investment.

Pushing Boundaries

Infor announced last year that it is a founding sponsor of The Smart Factory @ Wichita, a new immersive experience center launched by Deloitte and Wichita State University in Kansas. Located on Wichita State’s Innovation Campus, the state-of-the-art facility includes a fully operational production line and experiential labs for developing and exploring Smart Factory capabilities. As a founding sponsor, Infor and its parent company, Koch Industries, will feature Industry 4.0 expertise and cutting-edge technology in the new facility. It’s anticipated to open in 2022.

The collaboration between Infor, Deloitte, Wichita State, and the Smart Factory partner ecosystem will help enterprises continuously innovate and strive to build next-generation applications — with very practical benefits.

“A smart factory will be better prepared to weather any future global disruptions, no matter what the future may hold.”

 

It’s Not Too Late

Timing is critical. While some manufacturers got a head start, others have been slow to join the march toward smart technologies. Those who have delayed investment in advanced data-driven tools run the risk of being left behind or becoming obsolete. Market tastes and expectations for more services and personalized products are changing quickly. Manufacturers can learn from early adopters of smart solutions, plus support any new products, revised operations, or business models that emerged over the past year.

For those just starting to plan their next-generation solutions, it’s still possible to catch up with the early adopters and reap the full benefits of smart technologies. Most importantly, the added visibility and intelligence will improve agility.

A smart factory will be better prepared to weather any future global disruptions, no matter what the future may hold.  M

About the author:
Jon Devine is the Industry Principal for Industrial Manufacturing. With more than 25 years of experience in manufacturing, sales, purchasing, and program management, Devine is responsible for evaluating industry trends, strategy definition and creation of industry-focused sales messages.