Reducing time-to-market for a new product, cutting design costs and achieving excellence in quality are forcing companies to achieve competitive advantages in relation to industrial product lifecycle management. In this context, integrating customers, suppliers or partners into the value chain becomes a key success factor for the company.
A product generates a wealth of information during the various phases of its development and market launch: definition, design, manufacture and maintenance.
A Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system centralizes all this data in a common, secure space, guaranteeing the traceability of data exchanged during the project. It enables all parties involved in a product’s development to communicate and collaborate: design office, subcontractor, co-contractor, marketing department and so on.
We start by reviewing technological advances and competitive pressures in your industry sector, as well as the rate of change. How will this affect you in the short and long term?
What future technologies do you need to consider?
First, is your organization ready to be an early adopter, an early adopter or a follower?
To determine this, we start by knowing what’s on your plant floor: digitization starts from there. Many manufacturers have machines that can’t collect and transmit the data needed to support a digitization initiative, and they’ll need to be modified or replaced.
During our factory survey, we also identify how people on the ground collect and use information. In many cases, analog devices are still used to collect information on the activities of plant personnel, and these devices will have to be modified.
In order to connect a range of disparate systems and leverage the data from them, you’ll need middleware to gather and translate the data before it goes into your ERP.
This is where a future-proof ERP system can be a major advantage. It allows you to plug in components such as a MOM system when your company is ready, and automates the collection of data from various sources and orchestrates the flow of information to all parts of the business.
At organizational points, customers increasingly prefer self-directed interactions with chatbots. Using an ERP application that includes chatbot functionality quickly follows the integration of this capability into your customer service process.
The digitization of your business will lead to the generation of vast quantities of data. How can you use all this data effectively and still be efficient?
An ERP system that includes various tools for reporting and analysis is important to enable people to make data-driven decisions. But people can only do so much, and may miss some critical factors. Organizations are increasingly turning to AI and ML to help identify trends and anomalies, and predict future events or problems.
Unless properly managed, digitization projects can generate process and data problems.
Because a digitized organization will have a lot of data on the move, another aspect of governance is to ensure data security and integrity. Weak points can occur when data is transferred, for example between machines and data collection stores. This can be overcome by implementing data rules, access controls and authorizations, features that should be available with your chosen ERP solution.
A complete digitization project may not be the right answer for every organization. You can start by assessing what you have, how you use it, and what you can change without too much effort. Unpack what you want to achieve from the digital transformation project, then contact your ERP provider to see how they can help and guide you through the process, but make sure their system will enable you to make the digital transformation you need.
Improving operational efficiency
40%
Responding to changing customer expectations
35%
Improving the quality of new products
26%
Increasing design reuse
25%
Reducing product development costs
24%
Introducing new sources of revenue
21%
Reducing the cost of poor quality
14%
Increasing first pass yield
5%
The digital revolution is not just about technology. It’s also about three questions:
Using a radical new approach to strategy, we work with you to define what you can do with digital today, and how you can use it to strengthen your competitive position in the years ahead. We support companies in the design, orchestration and realization of digital transformations across all industry sectors. We focus on the digital experience of your end-customers and the engagement of your employees.
Our aim?
To ensure value creation and your agility in a context of digital acceleration.
