What’s next for Industry 4.0 tools, Technologies, and Transformations

Editor’s Note: Leonardo Vieira is a Digital Industry Director with Stefanini, specializing in digital solutions, with locations in 41 countries across the Americas, Europe, Australia and Asia.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, disruption is one condition that hasn’t been in short supply across global supply chains. Without functional logistics, import, manufacturing and export have all been inconsistent. Supply chain and logistics professionals have had to reevaluate systems and adapt to evolving demands, navigating unprecedented disruptions while keeping the gears turning and employees safe.

Supply chain managers best positioned to overcome these obstacles and excel in the post-pandemic market are those who can use digital resources to bridge business gaps. Some businesses have adapted to reduced capacity operations, others to virtually overnight demand increases. Many have adjusted distribution networks to overcome pandemic-imposed physical barriers.

Industry 4.0 technologies overcome supply chain obstacles by improving process effectiveness and decision-making assertiveness. That transformation begins with implementing intelligent sensors and smart machines into production systems and distribution networks. This automates analog processes, optimizes performance, streamlines production, reduces costs, eliminates mistakes, and increases quality.

The big challenge is how to select the Industry 4.0 technologies that will facilitate a successful digital transformation at this pivotal moment in history.

Transformational tools
Industry 4.0—cyber-physical systems, IoT, cloud computing, and cognitive computing/AI—addresses emerging challenges by creating a more resilient and sustainable supply chain with greater connectivity, transparency, and real-time insights into critical operational metrics. The result is new speed, flexibility and customization potential, fewer costly mistakes and delays, and extraordinary new efficiencies. These advances are achieved across the supply chain by:

• Reducing physical labor dependency;
• Making production more modular/flexible;
• Tracking products for inventory and distribution efficiency;
• Enabling business-critical systems for remote work;
• Leveraging business data to predict next steps;
• Bolstering supplier risk management and introducing transparency.

Invaluable information

Amidst pandemic chaos and a competitive post-pandemic marketplace, access to holistic real-time business info is game-changing. Industry 4.0 solutions connect IT with engineering and operations, creating invaluable new synergies between formerly disconnected departments.

Raw tech is just one piece of the puzzle. Smart sensors and systems are only as helpful as the data they gather—and on companies’ ability to act on that data—making upgrading data-gathering and data management infrastructure and expertise an essential priority.

One pandemic silver lining is decision-makers have new insights into their systems, enabling informed and strategic decisions about the right connectivity and data-gathering solutions to address their needs.

A stronger, more flexible chain

The best AI-powered solutions are dynamic and responsive, with adaptive functionality to immediately address supply chain issues. The best new tools provide:

• Smarter procurement: provides algorithmic insights based on purchase histories, price structure, and industry trends.

• Supply chain single source of truth: helps coordinate and adapt to shifting conditions.

• Supplier risk management: visibility, risk management and trend performance data analysis helps avoids disruptions.

• Simulated supply chain optimization: Conditions-based simulations identify effective and cost-efficient strategies.

• Intelligent data management: monitoring supply chain transactions, gathering supplier insights, diagnostics, market intelligence and risk management data.

With Industry 4.0 tools and tech, newly resilient supply chains can perform under today’s unique pandemic pressures and meet the evolving logistics and distribution challenges of tomorrow.

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