Manufacturing 4.0 – better, faster, fully automated

Manufacturing 4.0, also known as Industry 4.0, is making its digital appearance. Thanks to this fourth industrial revolution, driven by innovation, traditional manufacturing is rapidly switching to automation, using intelligent technologies. Terms such as machine-to-machine communication and The Internet of Things (IoT) are already part of our daily vocabulary. But what does Manufacturing 4.0 mean for your company?

Manufacturing 4.0, a necessity in a dynamic world full of technology

In this fourth industrial revolution, the IoT and analytical software, which uses AI and machine learning, among other things, are used in the entire production process. In addition to improving processes, data also becomes a pivotal figure in the step towards efficient and more profitable production. Therefore, connecting numerous new technologies with this data seemed a logical step, resulting in a significant impact on the entire production.

For your production, this means that all your equipment can be merged throughout the entire process under a single dynamic database – ERP. All your data is displayed in one place. Decision making and analysis are done in a fast, automated and systematic way.

Industry 4.0 also makes the maintenance of your processes a lot more transparent with the help of maintenance programs. Predicting preventive maintenance, detecting defects, planning possible repairs and managing spare parts. Wouldn't it be easy if IoT just looked at this, fully or partially automatically and as standardized as possible? Well, it can.

And while we're on the subject, we would also like to take a closer look at your supply chain in Manufacturing 4.0. You can use a digital boost to manage the perfect supply chain. From managing shipments to flawless inventory management, Industry 4.0 provides the setup you need. How? By collecting real-time data and managing it in an automated process, tracking materials and forecasting demand. In short, the JIT principle has been reinvented, or let's say completely digitized.

Why you definitely don't want to miss the Manufacturing 4.0 express train 

The implications of Manufacturing 4.0 are worldwide colossal and push traditional manufacturing companies out of their comfort zone. But why should you not miss out on this digitization? 

Improvements in production are often innovations that solve recognized problems. Traditional manufacturing does have several bottlenecks. Just think of the difficulty of gathering information quickly, efficiently, and in real-time, accurately matching supply and demand, and closely monitoring inventor. Manufacturing 4.0 provides an answer to all these difficulties and is the next step for your business for the following reasons:

• Increase your labour productivity: Automating your production processes increases the speed of your production lines and labour productivity. The consequence? Higher output/labour hour.
• Shorten the lead time of your production: get products to the consumer as quickly as possible? It is a significant advantage over your competitor. Automation makes it easy to achieve the shortest possible time between customer order and delivery.
• Reduce the cost of labour: Investing in automation quickly pays off. Because, as a consequence of a higher production output per labour hour, you reduce your cost of labour considerably.
• Improve the safety of your employees: Automating certain operations, makes work safer for your staff.
• Improve your production quality: Manufacturing 4.0 stands for uniform and compliant production with minimal risk of errors.
• Reduce manual tasks: Improving working conditions, automation also contributes to this. It takes a lot of pressure off your staff, who are often busy with routine actions, which also take a lot of time. Smart technology takes over from them and gives them time to focus on your core business.

ERP and Manufacturing 4.0, futureproof 

Technology and the importance of data already entered the manufacturing world before Industry 4.0, but not like today. Data was often not integrated across the various departments, with the result that each department remained on its island. Every exchange of information was slow, late or simply wrong. Therefore, a solution was not out of the question, and ERP quickly listened to this cry for improvement. ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning, has been developed to coordinate and seamlessly integrate the flow of data between the different departments of your company. Today, such systems are an integral part of many production processes, with success.

But do ERP and IoT go hand in hand? Of course! With the help of ERP, you bring structure to all your data created by IoT, and therefore Manufacturing 4.0.

In short, why you can no longer do without ERP during Manufacturing 4.0:

• ERP collects IoT and other business data in one place for easy access and collaboration across all departments.
• Your ERP system collects massive amounts of data from all smart technologies used to automate your production, or Manufacturing 4.0.
• Real-time insight into your production equals quick response and clear decisions
• Cloud-based ERP secures your data in data centres, which you can reach from any device with an internet connection.
• ERP solutions are scalable and grow with your company. In other words, you are fully ready for the future of Manufacturing 4.0 and beyond.

To conclude, as a production company, you can no longer ignore this fourth industrial revolution. What you can do is ensure that your production and all other departments within your company are resistant to an overflow of information and continuous change in today's dynamic environment. Is your company ready for Industry 4.0? Would you like to know more about ERP and the automation of your production processes? Do not hesitate and ask one of our NORRIQ experts for advice.

Contact NORRIQ for your questions