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December 20, 2022 - by Synoptek
Every manufacturer today is looking to build a smart and sustainable factory to enhance workplace safety and efficiency, minimize costs and errors, and optimize every stage of the supply chain. But carving a resilient and sustainable future doesn’t come easy. In the manufacturing industry, there are several unique challenges to the successful implementation of smart factories that require attention to detail.
We got in touch with Akhilesh Nandwana, VP of Business Applications, to understand why the smart factory concept has become so popular, and the common challenges manufacturers encounter along the way. We also gained insight into how Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing helps build a smart factory using open standards and ecosystems.
Akhilesh: For an industry that has always been vulnerable to constant disruption, the pandemic further exposed global supply chain challenges and industry vulnerabilities that put manufacturing efficiency and throughput at stake.
In such a volatile landscape, smart factories set the foundation of high efficiency and productivity by extending the capabilities of systems, processes, and people. Since they run on a wide range of connected devices that consistently perform at peak levels, they ensure production deadlines are met and products are brought to the market on time.
By focusing on creating an agile, iterative production process through continuous improvement, smart factories can aid the decision-making process via stronger evidence.
Akhilesh: Weaving an interconnected web of machines, communication mechanisms, and computer power, smart factories make use of advanced technologies to improve collaboration, analyze data, and enable automation. By eliminating error-prone and inefficient processes and carrying out preventive equipment maintenance, they help overcome production and supply chain inefficiencies and make the manufacturing organization extremely resilient.
In today’s age of high disruption, smart factories are particularly beneficial, as they allow manufacturers to:
Akhilesh: Although smart factories help companies deliver capabilities that support core processes and requirements of the industry, the road to building a successful smart factory is rife with roadblocks. The top challenges that come in the way of manufacturing a sustainable future include:
Akhilesh: Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing offers a highly curated set of manufacturing cloud solutions that help securely connect people, assets, workflow, and business processes, empowering organizations to be more resilient. This cloud manufacturing solution enables manufacturers to
Akhilesh: Microsoft Dynamics Cloud integrates people, processes, and products, providing a 360-degree view of the entire shop floor. Such visibility allows operators to identify problems and fix issues, enhancing workplace safety and workflow efficiency.
Leveraging predictive technologies, the cloud manufacturing solution helps
Akhilesh: Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing connects frontline workers, office workers, and customers with secure collaboration tools needed to support remote work. The cloud manufacturing solution helps redefine training, engagement, and knowledge transfer, allowing manufacturers to onboard employees quickly and help them build skills with custom, role-based learning paths
By empowering the workforce with the right skills, Microsoft Dynamics Cloud helps inculcate a culture of smart manufacturing, creating the agile factory of the future and driving new levels of agility, safety, and productivity.
Building a smart factory is the need of the hour, as it brings more predictability into manufacturing operations and unifies data across systems. Through automation, continuous data processing, and improved collaboration, it helps drive agility and respond quickly to market changes – without sacrificing innovation and speed.
If you want to accelerate innovation and build a smart factory, embracing Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing can help you set up a robust foundation of smart manufacturing using intelligent business apps and advanced analytics to boost profit margins and deliver effective customer outcomes.
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