As our world changes, we’re becoming more connected in all aspects of our personal and professional lives. While the number of connected devices increases, the cost of technology is decreasing, and fundamentally changing our expectations. The pervasive use of smartphones, smartwatches, and home virtual assistants serves up a steady stream of information that keeps us always connected to nearly whatever and whoever we choose. Now, organizations are creating new connections—like connected factories, warehouses, and machines, as well as the underlying software—to innovate how they leverage data for productivity gains, savings, and revenue growth.
Now, you may be wondering if adopting a connected manufacturing strategy is necessary or even right for you. Below are six imperatives manufacturers need to consider when thinking about how to grow in today’s changing and competitive landscape.
Improve efficiency of IT resources
Determine how to more efficiently allocate IT resources by staying current with innovation and technology. Increasingly, manufacturers are standardizing technology investments with trusted service providers that
take on the administrative aspects of running IT, keeping systems
updated, and staying current with the latest technologies so you can
focus on your business growth strategies. As the business grows, that
standardization may include things like software as a service (SaaS),
infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), and
integration platform as a service (iPaaS).
Supply chain risk
Fluctuating compliance regulations, political uncertainty, and even climate change are factors that can impact your company’s access to the supplies, parts, and materials it needs to operate. If you don’t have a
viable way to track the movement of parts around the world in real time
to improve planning, make changes, and enable your ability to take
action, your supply chain is at risk.
Improve visibility
Manufacturing companies need to continuously improve visibility and insight into the business and across the supply chain to make informed decisions faster and in real time as conditions change. Visibility improves
when you align your technology strategy, partnerships, and solution
choices with the right industry fit. Industry-specific enterprise solutions
that feature modern technology in the roadmap—like analytics, IoT, and
natural language processing—can help you sustain a competitive
advantage as industry and technology change.
Improve security
Manufacturers need to do more today to mitigate the risk of data loss, improve application availability, and ensure overall system security. Ensure your technology solutions can provide capabilities like 24/7
system monitoring, threat intelligence, best-practice backup, and
disaster recovery.
Speed business processes
Manufacturers want to reduce customer lead times and move faster. Automated business processes and improved workflows require seamless system integration. API-driven integration across systems,
locations, and organizations establishes a single thread of accurate data
connecting all your systems.
Provide a great user experience
Manufacturers are looking for ways to offer customers, suppliers, and employees a great experience working with or for their company, while improving system adoption and engagement. Expectations are driving
intuitive self-service tools, mobile capabilities, and virtual assistants.
ERP Is the Keystone of Connected Manufacturing The core technologies of your manufacturing business are typically enterprise resource planning (ERP) and supply chain management systems, and successful companies leverage these in new and innovative ways to enable a connected manufacturing strategy. Likewise, having a single source of truth makes your investments go further. An ERP solution is a long-term investment. Getting the most out of it and evolving it over time is important to achieve a healthy total cost of ownership and ongoing returns on investment. Benefiting from new and innovative capabilities over time as technology evolves requires an ERP system that’s flexible, scalable, open, and built with the future in mind. Contact Finsoft today to learn how a holistic ERP system incorporating supply chain management can enable a connected and successful manufacturing strategy to set your factory on a path toward growth and competitiveness.