March/April 2020

www.smartmachinesandfactories.com March/April 2020 | 21 | | STRATEGIES | despite the challenges of proving the return on investment and funding expansive projects, most companies are convinced that Smart Factory strategies are central to their future growth and sustainability. An important underlying force behind this increased investment is reflective of the competitive landscape. Asking companies, is Smart Factory consideration part of their key strategic objective, on a scale of 1-10, the results show the European manufacturers not only see it as important, but directly related to their company’s future competitiveness. It is understandable that many companies see high-cost initiatives as risky, with a delayed Return on Investment (ROI). Again, the survey has provided surprising results that should help prove the business case. When asked if their Smart Factory initiatives have achieved a Return on Investment, over half of respondents (56%) said they have not yet reached that point. This leaves 44% already benefitting from new initiatives, a very promising proportion at this stage of adoption – especially bearing in mind the first statistic reported, that 27% of companies consider themselves in the medium or advanced phase of implementation. This provides compelling evidence that the “cost of investment” challenge to deployment, can be countered with ROI statistics. Moreover, of those that have achieved ROI nearly all (97%) achieved this in under three years. This remarkable statistic effectively moves the investment from a long-term strategic consideration to a medium-short term one. It bears noting of course, that this doesn’t mean that any investment will pay off – but rather that the approach being adopted to date yields a very high potential for quick ROI. Digital transformation Smart Factory initiatives and Digital Transformation go hand in hand. Companies are using more digital technologies every day to modify manufacturing processes to meet the changing needs of customers. Nearly half (47%) say “supporting digital transformation” is the vision for introducing their Smart Factory initiatives. Streamlining complex manufacturing systems and processes by allowing controllers, drivers, sensors and other devices to communicate gives manufacturers the tools they need to make real-time business decisions and make the most of what they have. Asset utilisation It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to seek to improve their operational efficiency, you could say there hasn’t been a manufacturer alive that hasn’t wanted to optimise! What’s different in this era is that the arc of optimisation can be steepened dramatically. Asset utilisation is the true measure of total revenue earned for every asset a company owns. Smart Factory initiatives aid utilisation and asset performance by improving flexibility, visibility and efficiency of processes and enabling new business approaches, products and models. In fact, when asked which Smart Factory initiative has been deployed, we see a clear picture that the focus is often (and sensibly) making the most of what is available. Condition monitoring, quality control and the connected worker (productivity) are all forms of asset utilisation. Whether that is the machinery on the plant floor or your skilled workforce, connecting these assets digitally gives manufacturers the tools to stay competitive. Product Manufacturing has changed in recent years, moving away from mass production of near-identical products towards mass customisation. With a high amount of variation, manufacturers are investing in Smart Factory initiatives (as shown above) to ensure orders are synchronised across all production facilities. Mass customisation is already being evaluated (23%), planned (36%) and deployed (24%) by most European manufacturers. That is a total of 83% of manufacturers already on the journey towards mass customisation it shows the direction of the industry for the near future, a future focused on agility and responsiveness, and improved efficiency.

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