Starting with the assembly line and moving forward through IT powered factory floors, manufacturing as an industry has transformed its operations and its output on enormous scales. And yet with years of innovation behind us, manufacturing still operates as a cost center, always fighting to be cheaper, faster and better.
But with the Internet of Things on the horizon, the fourth wave in the evolution of manufacturing may change that. Connected Manufacturing is an IoT powered model for the new manufacturing enterprise, one that utilizes new applications to produce revenue for OEMs, one that connects the value chain from raw materials to the end consumer and one that introduces a new level of automation that isn’t just cheaper, faster and better but smarter, smoother and leaner.
We’ve just launched a series on Connected Manufacturing that aims to explore just how Manufacturing will be transformed in the coming years and why the VP of Manufacturing has to see IT as more than just a necessary evil.
Our podcast series explores how The Internet of Things will make a real impact, what applications are available to leverage, what a new manufacturing value chain might resemble and a detailed look at a vendor option and how to get started. Here’s a brief rundown of the whole series, and take a look at our channel page to find full topic descriptions, all the available podcasts for streaming, a list of guests and other manufacturing and IoT resources and organizations.
Podcast: What The Internet of Things Means for Manufacturing
– Now Available – Analyst Corner
The Internet of Things allows for the possibility of increased individualization and customization in how the consumer designs, purchases and has their product produced and allowing that tiny but valuable shift on the consumer end will mean a massive transformation in how manufacturing CIOs will be responsible for the optimization and alignment of their processes and systems. According to Gartner Research VP Simon Jacobson, this is what the Internet of Things Means for Manufacturing and why you should start preparing now.
Podcast: Can Bosch Deliver an IoT Enabled Manufacturing Transformation?
– Now Available – Solution Spotlight
In our Solution IOT Enabled Manufacturing Transformation Spotlight segments, we challenge vendors to perform the due diligence and background on their products by asking the tough questions about their solution’s use cases, its implementation challenges, its costs and its pitfalls. For this series, Managing Director Matthew Jennings and CTO Troy Foster of Bosch Software Innovations Americas joined us to talk about Connected Manufacturing, including what they see as some of the real problems facing industry leaders today, what it really means to be a connected enterprise and how you can see value from your connected machines.
Podcast: The ROI Behind Predictive Maintenance
– Late-June – Practitioner Viewpoint
Predictive Maintenance (PdM) is one new approach and application in the Internet of Things toolbox for manufacturers. The idea is that devices will automatically communicate and pre-emptively order replacement parts or a servicing as to keep things running smoothly and inventory of backup equipment low. But how specifically do you implement it into your standard workflow? And is there a possibility for OEMs to create a new form of revenue using this approach?
Podcast: Making the Most of the Manufacturing Value Chain
– Early July – Practitioner Viewpoint
Imagine if from R&D through production, the Supply Chain, consumption and all the way to disposal and recycling, you could have insight and data into a single product’s lifecycle, detecting and correcting any snags along its journey. The Internet of Things is making this a possibility, but it immediately introduces questions of, how do you keep everything networked together in a stable environment, doesn’t going digital introduce new challenges into the manufacturing value chain, and which player will ultimately take responsibility for the final product? If all these questions and more are answered, it could lead to manufacturing becoming an industry of innovation and profit rather than a cost center.
Share with us your thoughts on the series. What ideas would you like to hear discussed and learn more about?
