Digital Transformation in the Manufacturing Sector

About a couple of centuries ago, the Industrial Revolution changed the face of the manufacturing sector in the US and Europe. The last time we saw a massive revolution in manufacturing was when Henry Ford introduced the concept of mass production to the automobile sector. Years later, we are about to witness how digital Engineering services brings significant changes to the manufacturing sector. With the advent of digital transformation, manufacturers are adopting smart technologies to move from mass production to customized production.

The typical image that comes to our mind of factories and smokestacks when we think about ‘industry’ needs to change. With manufacturers embracing digital transformation, the face of a factory or manufacturing unit is transforming. As transformational technologies like IoT, Cloud, ML and AI mature, it is time for manufacturers to move towards Industry 4.0.

Smart Manufacturing, also referred to as Industry 4.0, is a balanced combination of traditional manufacturing techniques and recent technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, data analytics, and machine learning. The digitalization of the manufacturing sector, or as we call it – the fourth industrial revolution – has several related terms. Some call it the Industrial Internet of Things, while others prefer the terms digital factory or smart factory. Regardless of the term that is used to refer to Industry 4.0, its aim is to create an end-to-end digital ecosystem by digitalizing a large number of physical assets throughout the value chain.

Consumer demands and expectations are continually evolving, so the ability to alter products according to customer feedback can give an edge to a manufacturer. With the advent of new technologies, it has become much easier to make last-minute changes to the production cycles. Predictive analytics can help resolve a range of operational issues, allowing manufacturers to improve quality control, boost operational efficiency, and create a safer production environment. Manufacturers will be able to predict when a manufacturing machine is about to fail or needs maintenance. In addition, they will gain access to asset performance data, be able to identify the elements that are delaying the speed of production cycle, and get insights that might be helpful in taking important production decisions. 

Before a few years customizing products would cost more and require more time to create. Mass production was not an option to manufacture customized products, as the time and cost involved in creating customized products in different batches would skyrocket. With the adoption of technology, manufacturers have developed the ability to create personalized products based on demand at a competitive rate. The reason behind this is the ability to feed the data regarding the features of a personalized product into the production machines, which would then consider all the customization parameters while working on the production line. This seems to be applicable even for lower-priced products, thus discarding the one-size-fits-all approach for low range products. The demand for customization might be a source of worry for many manufacturers out there. However, it presents an opportunity to establish a loyal customer base by delivering the products with exact functionalities and features that the customers are looking for. This is great news for many budding manufacturing companies to get some market attention swapped from the big players. Moreover, already established players should also give enough consideration to product customization and adopt the latest technologies to stay in the game.

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Digital transformation is undoubtedly crucial for the success of manufacturing as well as other industries. At this point, the CTOs and CIOs who have already begun the process for digital transformation in their organization know that it is not just another market trend, rather it is the only way to stay competitive and relevant in the current market. The points that were covered here will crop up as manufacturers embark on their journey towards Industry 4.0 or a digital factory. 

eInfochips has helped several clients in their industrial automation projects. Starting from the strategy phase to planning, implementation, and managed services, eInfochips has accompanied companies in their digital transformation journey. If your business wants to adopt digital transformation technologies as a part of Industry 4.0 initiatives,.