The Manufacturing Digital Transformation Roadmap
A manufacturing digital transformation is much more than purchasing new machinery for your factory or simply making cosmetic changes to an existing software stack. It is a pervasive transformation that permeates nearly every corner of your business. Simply put, it means that you are moving the function and process components of your business to a highly interactive data network that is optimized for real-time operations.
The term “digital transformation” describes a number of changes that take place in a manufacturing setting. These include changes in the way you do business, the way you process information, and even the way in which you collect data. All of these components come together to create a new reality in which you operate your enterprise. Today’s manufacturing digital transformation focuses on data management, operational analytics, and artificial intelligence. If you think about what each of those things means, then you begin to get a glimpse of what the future holds for your business.
Information about the performance of your manufacturing facility and what goes on inside are critical to any business. But storing and accessing this information is not a simple task. Traditional data storage systems require physical copies of all of your data in order to allow for retrieval – a problem since almost all manufacturing facilities have the need to access and update information at the same time. Additionally, traditional storage systems are very inefficient when it comes to transmitting data in bulk. Artificial intelligence technologies can make the task of collecting and transmitting information much faster and less expensive.
The key to making the most of your manufacturing digital transformation efforts is understanding how all of those disparate components work together. Understanding the intricacies of manufacturing data, managing manufacturing operations, and making the most of the artificial intelligence algorithms that drive those systems is critical to staying competitive in today’s marketplace. The solution is a comprehensive factory automation and logistics software system that will be implemented in every factory across the globe.
An ecommerce portal for factories is one component of the manufacturing digital transformation roadmap. Firms that are looking to capitalize on the value of their existing factory operations will want to ensure that their website is up to date with accurate data and functions appropriately. A great way to achieve this is by having an ecommerce solutions provider that can handle all aspects of ecommerce from design, development, and implementation through operation. Design and development services encompass the conceptualization and creation of new online store features, creating catalogs and landing pages, and offering customer support to ensure that customers can easily contact the company.
In addition to building and maintaining a strong online presence, manufacturers need to maintain strong relationships with their customer base. Automated manufacturing companies can greatly leverage predictive analytics in order to improve their relationship with their customers and acquire new customers at a much higher rate than conventional companies. Predictive analytics gives companies the ability to identify and measure customer behavior before it becomes a behavior problem and turn that into a real customer opportunity. For instance, predictive analytics can give factory owners an idea of what types of advertisements their customers are responding to and which types of advertisements are not responding to so that they can create new advertisements that will reach these types of consumers in the future. This strategy allows manufacturers to be successful in their efforts to acquire future customers at a very high rate.
The third part of the manufacturing digital transformation roadmap is ensuring that the company develops and implements strategic alliances and strategic partnerships with other entities. Mentioned companies include suppliers of equipment and materials as well as entities that could provide training and other services relevant to the manufacturing process. This alliance or partnership will allow manufacturers to benefit from lower prices on raw materials and other operational costs while also achieving synergistic pricing with their outsourcing partner. Creating such a partnership will allow manufacturers to capitalize on their partner’s expertise in specific areas that are not a core competency of their business. This alliance will also help to increase the company’s global reach and improve its overall corporate competitiveness.
Digital transformation strategies have proven very effective for many manufacturers across a wide range of industries. However, the effectiveness of this approach is dependent upon the nature of the industry in which the manufacturer operates. In general, it has been shown that those manufacturing firms that have made an effort to incorporate these strategies have experienced a strong increase in both product performance and productivity and a dramatic increase in their long-term profitability. It should be noted that digital transformation does not happen in one fell swoop. It usually requires a period of implementation and continued monitoring by those involved in order to ensure that the plan’s goals are being met.
Deepak Wadhwani has over 20 years experience in software/wireless technologies. He has worked with Fortune 500 companies including Intuit, ESRI, Qualcomm, Sprint, Verizon, Vodafone, Nortel, Microsoft and Oracle in over 60 countries. Deepak has worked on Internet marketing projects in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange Country, Denver, Nashville, Kansas City, New York, San Francisco and Huntsville. Deepak has been a founder of technology Startups for one of the first Cityguides, yellow pages online and web based enterprise solutions. He is an internet marketing and technology expert & co-founder for a San Diego Internet marketing company.