23 Apr
2019

New Business Opportunities for Smart Factories

The smart factory offers a wide array of new business opportunities for manufacturers.

Industry 4.0
Machine Monitoring
Smart Factory
New Business Opportunities for Smart Factories

The use of follow-up activities to boost productivity and improve efficiency is a good use of IoT technology, but its applications go well beyond that. Efficiency improvements are always a good thing, but in environments where low volumes of highly diverse products are produced, these increases in productivity, as well as the reduction of waste, can translate into business opportunities and profit growth.

Strategic Expansion and 4.0 Factory Technologies

Do you use or plan to use your connectivity solution to develop and define your long-term strategies? Rather than trying to improve what you already do, you could use all of your production data to increase your capabilities. The Internet of Things (IoT) and connectivity go far beyond automation. Automating manual processes is an important step, but is only a small part of the possibilities of the smart factory. By making good use of the information you collect, you could determine how small, inexpensive changes would allow you to do more.

According to an article published by Deloitte, "The true power of the smart factory lies in its ability to evolve and grow along with the changing needs of the organization—whether they be shifting customer demand, expansion into new markets, development of new products or services, more predictive and responsive approaches to operations and maintenance, incorporation of new processes or technologies, or near-real-time changes to production."

 

Be creative and flexible

Exploiting the potential of the smart factory may require a change of mindset. Previously, the idea of productivity was associated with rigidity and strict adherence to defined schedules and broad plans. With real-time data, you can be more flexible, notably by conducting more frequent analyses of your capabilities and opportunities as well as changes to your plans. Intelligent data analysis and information sharing across a company's departments can create opportunities to develop creative and innovative solutions that can drive revenue growth.

In the article "How technology can drive the next wave of mass customization", published by McKinsey, authors Anshuk Gandhi, Carmen Magar and Roger Roberts state the following: "Flexible manufacturing systems are essential to making small­batch production for mass customization profitable."

Benefit from the expertise of everyone thanks to the analysis capabilities of the 4.0 factory

With automated analytics reporting and shared access to data analysis, people can now stop collecting and sharing data to focus on higher value-added tasks. Ask the employees working in the plant where they think improvements can be made. By utilizing both the information gained from the machines and the experience of the workers, you will benefit from comprehensive data and the knowledge of all - all in all, you will enjoy the best of both worlds.

 

 

Improve responsiveness on demand

If you receive a large order, how do you determine your maximum capacity? Do your capacity plans rely on estimates or up-to-date data on production rates? It is understandable that efficiency gains and monitoring of ROI are immediate objectives following the implementation of an IoT solution. However, it is important to look beyond the reach of what is done today, to consider the considerable potential of this innovative technology and use it to its advantage. By integrating the IoT's analytical capabilities into strategic planning, forecasting and production capacity estimates, you will see a future of possibilities open up, with many opportunities to increase competitiveness and share market.

 

Learn more about implementing IoT solutions and 4.0 factory technologies.

Want to learn more?
Download the ebook
Related blog articles

Related articles

Back to the blog
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
18
Apr 2019

Industrie Agro-alimentaire: Les vraies opportunités résident dans l'intelligence artificielle

French
15
May 2019

Un nouveau regard sur l'industrie de la production alimentaire avec l'intelligence artificielle

French
26
Apr 2019

Les robots et l'intelligence artificielle font leur entrée dans l'industrie alimentaire

French

Related articles

Back to the blog
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
20
Feb 2024

Comment les entreprises ont mis en oeuvre les 14 points de Deming dans le secteur manufacturier

Les 14 points de gestion de Deming ainsi que la suite d'outils de performance de Worximity stimulent l'amélioration et l'innovation dans le secteur manufacturier.

French
16
Feb 2024

Principales différences entre la fabrication discrète et la production par processus

Découvrez le rôle essentiel que joue votre logiciel dans la fabrication discrète et dans la production par processus.

French
23
Jan 2024

Optimisation des opérations à l'échelle de l'entreprise : analyse de données dans l'industrie manufacturière avec l’aide de Worximity

Découvrez comment Worximity transforme les opérations manufacturières en exploitant l'analyse des données en temps réel, apportant efficacité et innovation à l'Industrie 4.0 tout en responsabilisant les départements au-delà de la gestion de la production.

French