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Industry 4.0 is the latest buzzword that is taking the entire world by storm. What exactly is Industry 4.0? As the latest phase of the Industrial Revolution, it focuses majorly on automation, interconnectivity, machine learning, and real-time data. Also referred to as IIoT or smart manufacturing, it is a successful marriage of operations with smart digital technology, machine learning, and big data. A holistic ecosystem will be created for companies to focus on manufacturing and supply chain management. Every organization requires connectedness and access to real-time insights across processes.

That’s where Industry 4.0 comes into the picture.

Industry 4.0 isn’t just about investing in new technology, it’s about transforming the way businesses operate and grow. The world of manufacturing is changing. Industries should be willing to invest in Industry 4.0 to survive and thrive. 

The Fourth Industrial Revolution- Industry 4.0

Interconnectivity, Internet of Things (IoT), access to real-time data, and digital systems are the backbones of Industry 4.0. It provides a streamlined, more comprehensive, and holistic approach to manufacturing. Physical is connected with digital and aids better collaboration and access across departments, vendors, products, and people. This empowers organizations to control and understand every aspect of their operation. This leads to improved productivity, processes while driving for growth.

Smart Manufacturing Use Cases

Here are 3 use cases that emphasize the immense value of Industry 4.0 in a manufacturing operation:

• Optimizing the Supply chain—With Industry 4.0 solutions, businesses get better insight and visibility across the entire supply chain. Companies can deliver products and services to the market that are faster, cheaper, and better than their competitors by leveraging supply chain management capabilities.

• Predictive analytics—Industry 4.0 predicts potential problems before they actually arise. Generally, preventive maintenance happens based on routine making it a manual task. With IoT systems, preventive maintenance becomes much more automated and streamlined. Systems sense when problems can arise or when machinery needs to be fixed so that potential issues can be solved before they become bigger problems. Predictive analytics encourages companies to ask proactive questions like, “What can happen,” and, “How can we prevent it from happening?” Thus, Industry 4.0 is the evolutionary step from preventive maintenance to predictive maintenance.

• Asset tracking and optimization— Industry 4.0 solutions help manufacturers become efficient with assets at every stage of the supply chain. This can help track inventory, quality, and optimization opportunities relating to logistics. With the help of IoT, employees can get better visibility into their assets. Standard asset management tasks such as asset transfers, disposals, reclassifications, and adjustments can be streamlined and managed in real-time.

Now imagine all the benefits smart manufacturing could bring to your own organization

Who Is Industry 4.0 Right For?

It’s time to start evaluating Industry 4.0 technology allocating the resources needed for deployment if you’re able to check off most of the items on this list:

• If you’re in a particularly competitive industry with a lot of tech-savvy players
• If you’re having a hard time recruiting at your organization
• If you want better visibility across your supply chain
• If you want to identify and address issues before they become bigger problems
• If you want to boost efficiency and profitability in your organization
• If you want everyone on your team to have informed, up-to-date, relevant views of  production and business processes
• If you want richer and more timely analytics
• If you need help digitizing and making sense of information
• If you want to improve customer satisfaction and customer experience
• If you want to improve product quality or keep product quality intact
• If you want an integrated ERP system that spans out inventory, planning, financials, customer relationships, supply chain management, and manufacturing execution.
• If you want a consistent view of production and business operations customized to specific areas in your organization
• If you want real-time insights that help you make better and faster decisions on a regular basis.

Still unsure of Industry 4.0?

Read on about some specific ways Industry 4.0 can help your business.

Benefits of Industry 4.0 

Industry 4.0 manages the entire product life cycle and supply chain— design, sales, inventory, quality, and customer and field service. Organizations will have access to informed, up-to-date, views of production and business processes along with richer and timely analytics.

Here are some benefits of adopting an Industry 4.0 model for your business:

• Organizations need to optimize logistics and supply chain management by investing in technology and solutions that help improve the operation. They need to have the systems and processes in place to provide better service to customers and clients.
• Companies that invest in technological innovations like Industry 4.0 technologies are better positioned to attract and retain new workers.
• Makes your team stronger and more collaborative. With Industry 4.0 solutions there will be an increase in efficiency, collaboration between departments, predictive and prescriptive analytics. This allows employees and executives to leverage real-time data and intelligence to make better decisions.
• It predicts potential issues before they cause bigger issues. Predictive analytics along with real-time data and automation helps you be more proactive and address potential issues.
• It reduces costs, boosts profits, and fuels growth. It helps you manage and optimize all aspects of manufacturing processes and the supply chain. It provides real-time data and insights to make smarter, faster decisions about your business. This can ultimately boost the efficiency and profitability of your entire business operation.

You need to use tools that help you streamline tasks, boost productivity and collaboration, and leverage data in real-time to build a sustainable and scalable enterprise. Industry 4.0 solutions from Bayshore can put you on the right track. Ready to take the next step?