In the modern world, digital transformation isn’t a buzzword but a prominent shift that can go ahead and reshape manufacturing ops, bring to the fore some new opportunities, and at the same time offer an edge over the competition. When we talk of the digital age, failing to build on technology will go on to separate those who want to thrive from those who really don’t want to.
Although there happens to be immense hype when it comes to the industrial world with regards to automation focuses on the shop floor functioning, with robots as well as cobots leading all the way, the fact of the matter is that for many businesses, the biggest of the opportunities do not lie in their process of production but in the work process. By way of using the upgraded software to streamline such processes, it goes on to offer opportunities so as to make the team members more productive and decrease the cost.
The benefits when it comes to the new tech
The automated processes are not at all new. Tech such as ERP and computerized maintenance management systems – CMMS have been there for many decades. These tools have, as a matter of fact, made very efficient use of shop floor data so as to streamline ops as well as maintenance and have gone a step further by simplifying interactions with all business departments too. Due to the older version of these programs, the required solutions have become quite a story that is either related to something that falls short of the success or something that has not worked out at all. If one has a look at the business process solution suite, is there a case where only quite a few applications go on to work as wanted and the others get ignored, quite simply?
The fact is that many great companies never went on to execute those offerings at all, and the reality lies in the fact that their respective business processes go on to remain manual.
As the application one uses every day on a smartphone goes on to demonstrate, the effectiveness when it comes to modern software is a completely different story. The business process software development has followed a very varied trajectory, similar to the cell phones, wherein the much less effective offerings, such as Palm Pilot and Blackberry, have made way for iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxy devices.
The freshest software solutions are not the tools that you have to force the team members to make use of since they go on to make the job much easier. They can integrate with the systems so that the data gets to reside in a single place, and it goes on to become actionable. They happen to be designated to work with the modern capital assets having the capacity to administer IoT, so that the machine data gets captured directly.
Let’s think about the elements of the manufacturing operation of spare parts.
- Are the parts visible all throughout the organization?
- Are the inventories being turned 4-6 times per year on average?
- Is the balancing act of not having more parts of inventories well managed?
- Are the parts being properly catalogued by way of quantity and location?
- Are the part orders expedited sans the phone calls or emails?
If the answer to all is no, then modern software solutions are sure to help.
Whether they are helping to enhance the safety of the worker, decreasing the downtime that crops up unplanned, standardizing work practices, or enhancing the life asset, the upgraded manufacturing business process software is going to make your business much more competitive and also much more attractive to the customers.
It can also go on to foster the growth in the business. Since it enables the standardization of the business process tools as well as methods and also the level of digitalization, the new acquisition is made much more seamless and also less of a challenge. It is indeed a major pillar when it comes to a robust M&A strategy.
Serving the workforce of today
It is no secret at all that one of the steepest manufacturing challenges happens to be getting hold of the right workforce so as to keep businesses running very smoothly.
Employee frustration can indeed be a tangible challenge for a business. In a market that is very highly competitive, if there is a job that proves to be tedious and also frustrating, employees are bound to look somewhere else so as to be a part of a much more fulfilling role.
Coercing the employers to deal with the antiquated software is indeed a pretty decent way to decrease their tenure. In the same way, making them pass through numerous platforms so as to get the data and also information they require to do their respective jobs can also send them their way. This element is indeed true in the case of machine operators who are looking for a day production schedule or maintenance technicians looking out for the parts they require so as to keep the machines up and running, or managers looking to make sure that the raw materials arrive on time and the needs of production.
Apart from this, generational shifts also highlight the need for solutions that are modern in nature. There is indeed a natural expectation of a software that’s easy to use. This is not completely generational; however, the younger ones are not in the know of that at all. They go on to expect the great tech and anticipate that it gets integrated with the other great tech. They really don’t want to go to YouTube to gauge how to make use of it.
The good news is that they have come to the gateway to use software solutions. However, if those software solutions are not ready in the workplace, they will not stick around for long.
Digital transformation when it comes to manufacturing is all about empowering the workers as well as managers so as to make better decisions and that too more comfortably. It is well to be noted that most effective modern software solutions happen to be versatile and enough to cater to the varied nature and needs of businesses throughout the size spectrum. One can start making use of them right away as well as pay for them once they have gone on to prove their effectiveness and worth.
The point is that the digital revolution is up and running, and it is time to embrace the power of modern software tech so as to transform the manufacturing business and at the same time secure the success that lies ahead.