In a recent article we discussed the hidden treasures within manufacturers’ existing systems. If the organization has already taken steps to go paperless and get the most out of existing systems, what do they work on next?
We tend to use the term digital transformation when we talk about Smart Manufacturing, but the term digital evolution might be more appropriate to describe the journey. We do not want to imply that this is a rip-and-replace all systems proposal. Many companies have already begun the transformation and have systems in place like a Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), PLM and ERP that are important foundational linchpins. For these companies an integrate-and-extend strategy is more appropriate.
Leverage existing systems
Organizations can leverage the advances they have made in recent years. Extending and integrating existing systems can help mitigate risk and save money.
A recent survey from Gartner [1] and MESA International reveals that 98% of manufacturers believe there is more value to capture from their current manufacturing system and have identified next steps to extend and further integrate systems in their digital evolution journey.
Manufacturers have identified the following areas as small evolutionary steps towards the Smart Manufacturing goals:
Mine and join data across silos
Manufacturers have more data on-hand than they realize. Existing data might be trapped in silos or not organized to enable joining data across systems. For example, MES data is usually leveraged for operational metrics but could also be made available to join with data in other enterprise systems like ERP and PLM for higher levels of business analysis and optimization.
Industrial IoT (IIoT) platforms are capturing data straight out of sensors and smart machines for predictive analysis tied to equipment maintenance. This data could also be joined to MES for more automated and accurate real-time data collection.
Integrate via APIs
Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) can not only facilitate integration into a system of systems, but also expose data for mining across the enterprise.
API strategies that extend into the supply chain uncover a substantial amount of valuable data. This is because most supply chain visibility applications concentrate on connecting plan, source, make and deliver domains, and rely on ex-post-facto production data. In turn, most manufacturing enterprise applications provide real-time data and analytical tools focused solely on internal plant optimization and asset performance. Integration of these systems would provide better orchestration and optimization opportunities for the plan-to-produce and order-to-cash processes.
Analyze with AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic processes are helping manufacturers sense, extract, synthesize and analyze data across traditional silos. Not just across internal systems, but also across partners, suppliers and customers. AI can make it practical to organize these varied data sources into meaningful insights to fulfill the higher analytical and optimization goals of the Smart Manufacturing integrated enterprise.
References
[1] Survey Analysis: More MES Value to Be Captured from Supply Chain Collaboration and IIoT, Franzosa and Jacobson, Gartner, 2019