Functionality is both broader and deeper than legacy MES. A modern system can handle both fab and backend, and is both broader and deeper than previous systems. Analytics are, of course, also much more advanced.Integration is also radically more comprehensive. With an equipment layer and built-in integration to both lower-level systems and enterprise systems.The MES also becomes more of an enterprise-ready system with configurability and scalability. Most semiconductor companies with legacy MES have dozens of programmers to support the system and keep it useful. Redefined semiconductor MES does not need that.Semiconductor MES is a topic Julie has been following for about 30 years. Redefining semiconductor MES is essential to support the next 30 years of semiconductor progress. Read the entire guest blog post here on Eyelit. Thank you, Eyelit, for giving us an opportunity to express our views on this!
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[post_content] => What is the most important way a company can help supply chain resilience so it has a positive impact on the business? What are Top-Performing companies doing differently than others? How important are autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (AI)? What does the transformation of supply chain planning entail?Read this new survey-based eBook to find out more about what really matters most to resilience. Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Dassault Systèmes DELMIA (registration required).
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Supply Chain Challenges Persist
Supply Chain Resilience
Resilience: Improving Business Results
Factors in Positive Supply Chain Impact
Visibility into Production
Visibility into Product Changes
People in the Planning Process
Technology Hurdles
Integrating Software Applications
Technologies for Planning
AI and Autonomous Support
Plan Cadence and Structure
Investing in Resilience
Drivers for Resilience
Benefits from Investing
Redefining Planning Scope
Recommendations
About the Research
Acknowledgments
Executive Summary
Transforming to SucceedEvery manufacturer has suffered supply chain challenges in the past few years. Thus, supply chain resilience is top of mind but takes work to achieve. What needs to change is typically the scope and focus of planning.This research shows that transforming and expanding the thinking, team, and processes to achieve resilience in planning can have significant business benefits. Top Performers’ ViewIn this survey of 229 manufacturers, Top Performers show the way. These Top Performers are defined by superior performance on business metrics around new products, revenue, profit, and time to market.Best PracticesTop Performers’ planning is far more likely to involve the entire organization and its data. Not just sourcing, planning, scheduling, and logistics from the supply chain discipline but also product design, process engineering, and manufacturing. The involvement of these disciplines in planning is the #1 factor for Top Performers’ supply chains positively impacting the business. Top Performers are significantly more likely to cite this factor, so it’s a differentiator in what they do. (See chart)Resilience is an Attainable InitiativeThe good news is that internal collaboration and visibility to data from internal manufacturing and engineering groups is a resilience initiative any company can undertake. To succeed with such a program, manufacturers need software that supports a broad-based planning process transformation. Capabilities such as a common data platform and multi-discipline collaboration are crucial to success.Investing Delivers BenefitsCompanies that invest in transformation for resilience are seeing the benefits. This research shows that the longer you invest, the more likely you are to see benefits. Top Performers provide a blueprint for where to focus investment, who to involve, and what to expect from this transformation
Visibility into Production
Capabilities ChangeAfter collaboration, visibility is the next most important factor in achieving positive supply chain impacts on the business. Manufacturers typically have continuous improvement programs that regularly boost production capabilities. Every time there is such a change, the basis of the supply chain plans should shift. Hole in the CenterWhile manufacturing or “make” sits at the center of the supply chain, many companies do not have good visibility into production. The plant floor has often been described as a “black hole” for information flow: it goes in but does not come out readily.Challenges Seeing Manufacturing Clearly
People: Plant floor people have wanted their systems separate to ensure maximum uptime to support ongoing production.
Process: Production can change minute-to-minute, so understanding what’s relevant and creating a pipeline appropriate to each planning cadence is dynamic.
Technology: Separate systems with incompatible data formats and levels of granularity or detail abound in plants. Adding appropriate context for production data to be useful in supply chain planning is a common challenge, along with the need for a uniform data platform.
Redefining Planning Scope
Breadth of OperationsFor resilience, supply chain planning must transform and expand to ALL operations. Aligning within supply chain based on every aspect, from product specs to production capabilities, is crucial. That means integration of this data must be complete and as seamless as possible. Processes also need to involve all of these disciplines fully.CollaborationWhat appears to make the most difference in supply chain resilience is involving the right people. Collaboration between supply chain, manufacturing engineering, production operations, and product design is a top priority for resilience. Planning processes must be inclusive; ideally, technology will support this effort.Technology Support ScopeMany companies will need to make technology investments to plan based on this scope. Based on these survey results, manufacturers need visibility, data access and normalization, and an enterprise collaboration platform. Digital twins of the supply chain, products, and production processes that enable the virtual and real to stay in sync even through extreme volatility could play a significant role*This summary is an abbreviated version of the research and does not contain the full content. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Dassault Systèmes DELMIA (registration required).If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
[post_title] => Transformation for Supply Chain Resilience
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[post_content] => Julie Fraser and I are enthusiastic about the potential for manufacturers to get more from their data following a briefing with enterprise search company Sinequa. Sinequa is tailoring their search applications to directly support manufacturers who want more holistic, integrated intelligence about their products and their business. Being able to find and connect data across disparate systems is always a challenge, but even more important is what you do with it once you find it. Sinequa can integrate with a variety of systems to ingest, enrich, index, and present valuable manufacturing data in the proper context. For example, a Sinequa application could collect and display the various elements of a product digital thread from data spread across underlying systems like PLM, QMS, and ERP. Sinequa also leverages AI to help users “converse” with the content. For example, they leverage large language models to surface and contextualize both structured and unstructured information about products that a typical employee would not have access to, or perhaps know existed, from related systems. It’s important to note here that Sinequa has developed a mature security model so users will not be presented with information they do not have permission to access. These capabilities have the potential to provide a much richer, more holistic view of manufacturing data. This view can help manufacturers better understand their products and business and ultimately make better decisions. They’ve developed applications for a very compelling set of customers, including Alstom, Airbus, Northrop Grumman, and NASA, that they’ve helped with information-intensive processes like maintenance and support, among others. We’re excited to see their progress and how the manufacturing community receives the application templates they’re developing. It will also be interesting to see how they partner with PLM vendors and potentially expand to operational data like MES. We’re excited to learn more.Thank you, Xavier Pornain, Laurent Fanichet, Michael Finocchiaro, and John Lenker, for explaining your vision and progress.
[post_title] => Sinequa Brings Enterprise Search to Product and Manufacturing Data
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[post_content] => We had an interesting update from Viamedici, a company we’ve been following that digitalizes product management and product marketing for manufacturers. They offer a multi-domain MDM platform that started in the manufacturing industry and has now expanded to multichannel distributors and retailers. Viamedici quickly achieved a strong footprint in this vertical by acquiring another PIM vendor and upgrading all clients to their platform. Their customers use their platform to collect, cleanse, and share digital data from product design, development, marketing, and supplier data. Many of their customers also use their DAM solution, although others integrate with a complementary or existing solution. They also offer an interesting, model-based CPQ system to handle configured / personalized products or support a guided selling and guided buying model. We’re intrigued by their offering and the potential it has to provide an integrated, cloud platform for MDM, PIM, DAM, and CPQ. Thank you for the update Juergen Mueller and Sven Litke, and it was nice to meet some of the rest of the team.
[post_title] => Viamedici Integrates MDM, PIM, DAM, and CPQ on the Cloud
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[post_content] => Many companies are talking about environmental sustainability – and GE Digital is aiming to embed it in customers’ operations. Jim Brown and I recently got an update from Ben Whiteman on their progress toward that end.The problems they want to solve are:
breaking siloes between operations and sustainability
providing process context to optimize resources more fully
Building on the past year of news, a foundation for this approach is to leverage what Proficy already offers – and what customers have installed. This ranges from Tracker to HMI/SCADA and Historian to MES, CSense closed loop tuning and control, to workflow to scheduling, with a common user experience through Operations Hub. In addition, GE offers an enterprise-level data warehousing, reporting, and analytics solution – bridging from the plants to the rest of the company.GE is organizing these familiar and existing software systems to support operations into new solutions. These are designed to create new pathways for manufacturers to systemize sustainability. The vision is for sustainability and operational metrics to sit side-by-side in the same reports and dashboards. Evidence that these all impact each other makes that logical. However, historically, organizational structures, targets, incentives, and IT systems have not supported a coherent view of ALL performance metrics.Beyond measurement, this approach can support improving sustainability performance. Evaluating tradeoffs and spotting multiple areas of benefit is good practice. The context is crucial to identify which interventions are most impactful for meeting environmental targets yet respecting operational constraints. Companies have been doing this with operational metrics in their continuous improvement programs – and GE aims to broaden the optimization to encompass both production and environmental metrics simultaneously.As GE moves into broader availability of these solutions, we expect this will continue to attract both current Proficy customers and new prospects. They have wisely anticipated that the professional services team will be crucial to the change management involved for the customers and providing feedback to fine-tune the solution offerings.Our research confirms that executives are increasingly ready to take action on environmental sustainability. Legislation such as CSRD and SEC around environmental sustainability are appearing and tightening worldwide, so the pressure is on. Compared to consumers, greenwashing with regulators may be more challenging. So, GE’s timing might be just right.Thank you for the time to share GE Digital’s approach to this increasingly important topic, Ben Whiteman, and thank you, Spenser Murray and Carver Conway, for arranging the discussion.
For more insights, please read our previous discussion on GE Digital's newest Proficy MES version.
[post_title] => GE Aims to Operationalize Sustainability
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[post_content] => What’s the right amount of PLM for small to midsized manufacturers? We had a briefing with Office PLM to understand their offering. I spoke with Philip Thurman and he explained that Office PLM has all of the features a PLM system needs, but is affordable and installs in a couple of hours. I’m sure we could all have a long discussion about what features PLM “should” have, but what I saw meets what we call “Extended PLM” that goes beyond managing CAD to cover core revision, BOM, configuration, and engineering change functionality with a configurable workflow. They have a goal to simplify PLM and I suspect that their scope hits the sweet spot for a lot of manufacturers that don’t have time to implement a more complex application. Their integration with SOLIDWORKS and should also appeal to many smaller manufacturers. They offer a lot of educational information about PLM as well to help get their customers up to speed. Smaller manufacturers and suppliers should include Office PLM in their research if they’re looking for a lightweight PLM system. Thank you Philip for taking the time to get me up to speed on Office PLM. I look forward to learning more.
[post_title] => Is Office PLM Right for Small to Midsize Manufacturers?
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[post_content] => Michelle Boucher and I joined a group of industry analysts for an annual visit to Dassault Systèmes headquarters for an update on their business performance, product progress, and corporate strategy. This year did not disappoint. We had a lot of great conversations with company leadership and heard some really interesting updates. I’m going to try to condense our experience down to a number of key areas and follow that with a list of interesting things you may want to learn more about. In summary, my observations are that:
The Dassault Systèmes business is strong and well positioned for the future
They are making significant investment, and progress, on their cloud transition
They are invested in sustainability, focusing on both direct and indirect impacts
They are exploring an interesting new line of services called XaaS, or Experience as a Service, that have the potential to change the way capabilities like the digital twin are delivered
I’ll offer some more detail on each of these, followed by some rapid-fire items that are worth exploring further.Business and Vision Dassault Systèmes has always had a strong vision and tends to stay the course. The strategy that CEO and Chairman of the Board Bernard Charlès shared – being a scientific company focused on harmonizing product, nature, and life and 3D experiences that combine the virtual and real worlds – is powerful, but not new. Their current expression of the strategy is providing virtual twin experiences to help companies visualize, model, and simulate behavior from the molecular level all the way up to business experiences. Based on their results, their strategy is paying off. COO Pascal Daloz shared strong financial and customer results which I won’t reiterate here but are readily available in shareholder reports. I felt the presentation from Bernard this year brought forward their role as a scientific company more prominently than usual. The discussions and examples highlighted their foundation in science, modeling, simulation, and data science. Executive VP Philippe Laufer also supported their scientific underpinning, speaking about their ability to bring the power of science to model, the power of data science to project real-world experiences, and their ability to develop scientific predictive models. I expect to hear more about this in their future strategy. Lastly, long-time leader Bernard Charlès showed great confidence handing over the meeting and letting soon-to-be CEO Pascal Daloz, in collaboration with other long-term 3DS leaders that have assumed broader executive roles, take the lead. He shared his belief that Dassault Systemes is in good hands as this very careful succession plan is rolled out.Cloud ProgressDassault Systèmes shared a number of updates that demonstrate their progress toward the cloud. Some of the key comments include that almost one-third of new customers are cloud-based and now more new customers are on the cloud than on-premise. They also shared that many large customers are moving to the cloud. It’s interesting to note, particularly for regulated industries, that the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform can be deployed in a variety of scenarios. As they explained, having their own architecture and infrastructure combined with a hyperscaler (3DS OUTSCALE) allows them to deploy where it makes sense to support their customers’ compliance needs and other business considerations. Another interesting note is that every new desktop SolidWorks license comes with the cloud for data anytime, anywhere, on any device using lifecycle and collaboration fundamentals from ENOVIA.Sustainability Dassault Systèmes has long been focused on environmental sustainability. Not only did Executive VP Florence Verzelen speak and share important examples, but sustainability was mentioned by a number of people throughout the event. Although 3DS spoke about the progress they’ve made on their own environmental footprint, they focused more on what they can do to enable sustainability and circularity for their customers, what they call their environmental “handprint.”New Chief Sustainability Officer Philippine de T’Serclaes also shared her perspective and spoke about their science-based goals for improving sustainability. Both shared examples of using the 3DExperience platform for sustainability and circularity. Experience as a Service3DS also shared a new customer engagement method. As opposed to delivering software or even software as a service (SaaS), they are delivering business experiences as a service. In the model, typically based on a value-based engagement, 3DS focuses on delivering value and solving business challenges instead of features to customers. In this model, they both develop and operate virtual twins for their customers, applying a combination of their software, their industry expertise, and their operations capabilities. This changes 3DS’ role from software provider to value provider, because they maintain the full solution (or “experience”) for the customer. This may help companies adopt digital twins and drive value without having to focus on how it’s achieved.
Some final thoughts. I won’t do them all justice here, but follow our research for more.
Business Process ManagementDassault Systèmes is moving beyond features and experiences to business processes. Highlights here are a new BPM offering and the plan to offer business experiences that customers can purchased from a marketplace. Director of Strategy & Transformation Vincent Merlino shared that the use of no-code, low-code platform for business experiences will add flexibility to allow the platform to support a broader array of industries and user types. Industrial MetaverseI’ll keep this short, but I will say that the augmented reality experience 3DS shared with us in a local museum was one of the first AR experiences I’ve seen that looks like it will provide significant value while still being within reach of smaller manufacturers. The example shared a virtual twin of a factory and examined placing new equipment. Whether you call it the metaverse or something else, there is something important happening here as technologies converge.PLM Updates 3DS is clearly continuing to invest in ENOVIA. Some examples shared by ENVIA CEO Stéphane Declee and VP Philippe Bartissol include the new BPM solution, a supplier portal PartSupply, and quite a few interesting integrated / distributed collaboration examples. AnalyticsNETVIBES-EXALEAD CEO Morgan Zimmermann shared some of the increased focus on analytics and some really interesting case studies, including an exciting case study we first learned about during an earlier ENOVIA-NETVIBES analyst event (), Morgan shared another example of a virtual twin that correlates and synchronizes data from different systems on the virtual twin, created a dashboard of information from Primavera, SAP, CRM, and other systems overlaid on the physical model and supports a workflow to identify and trace an issue in the platform without resorting to email. Artificial IntelligencePatrick Johnson, Senior VP of Research and Science, shared a number of practical examples of AI. There we very little hype. They just shared that they are already using it and have plans for more. Watch this space.Model Based Systems EngineeringCATIA CEO Olivier Sappin shared 3DS’ continued focus on MBSE to support the industry transformation to highly automated system of systems. He shared a virtual twin for cyber systems experience that started at mission definition, defined the system of Systems Architecture, and realized it with multi-discipline Engineering (including automation). Progress in AECVP Remi Dornier gave us on update on the vision they shared last year to componentize and modernize architecture, engineering, and construction. He shared working examples that show they are further exploring and realizing their vision.BatteriesManaging Director Reza Sadedhi shared some significant work they are doing around battery cells, starting from scientific principles and simulation, creating a digital twin of the battery cell. There was more shared and there are things I didn’t mention, but this is all I have room to share at the moment. Thank you Joe Horine, Orenella De Angelis, and Kurt Chen for hosting us and thank you to all of the 3DS execs who took time out of their schedule to meet with us.
For related insights, Michelle Boucher and Jim Brown share their updates on ENOVIA and NETVIBES Transitioning to a Business Platform, Michelle Boucher highlights key takeaways from 3DEXPERIENCE World 2021, and take a look back to read how Dassault Systèmes has made significant progress on their 3DExperience Vision from 2017.
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[post_content] => How do companies prioritize the business strategies that drive their long-term success? What’s driving their strategy as they face constantly shifting global market disruptions? How do they balance initiatives like digital transformation, ESG, developing their workforce, and adopting new business models to ensure business sustainability in 2023 and beyond?Read our 5th annual survey to see how executive strategies have changed as companies face shifting global market disruptions.
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Dassault Systèmes (registration required).For related research, please read our prior survey results from the past five years: Strategies for Business Sustainability 2022, Business Sustainability and Transformation Strategies 2021,Business Sustainability and Survival 2020, and Executive Strategies for Long-Term Business Success 2019.
Table of Contents
Disruptions Vary, But Risk is Constant
Preparing for Success
Strategy and Initiative Drivers Have Shifted
ESG Pressure Comes from Many Angles
Holistic Business Sustainability
Putting Strategy into Action
Technology is Key to Business Sustainability
Technology Drivers Significant Business Benefits
Conclusions and Recommendations
About the Research
Acknowledgments
A Time to Create Agility and Improve Sustainability
No Major Shocks, But Risk RemainsThe past decade confronted businesses with a constant barrage of disruptions, including natural catastrophes and human-created disasters. Although the business environment is still turbulent, industry faced fewer significant new events since our survey in 2022. Our fifth annual survey, though, shows that risks remain. Although the percentage saying business risk and disruption has increased "significantly" dropped 27% from the prior year, about three-quarters of responding companies still say it has grown over the last five years.Despite the lack of new shocks, companies in 2023 report that they still struggle with supply chain challenges, the fallout of COVID, and the impact of armed conflict. They also face lingering economic uncertainty despite relaxing global recession fears. Moreover, while it's not new, the threat from climate change is coming to fruition, and predicted impacts appear to be ahead of schedule. In 2022, the world's oceans were the hottest in history and exceeded the 2021 recorded maximum, and experts warn that "this year's United in Science report shows climate impacts heading into uncharted territory of destruction."Events like Canada's 2023 wildfires are constant reminders of climate change impacts and are becoming more common.Time to Continue Transformation and Drive SustainabilityOur surveys on long-term business success show that companies responded to prior disruptions by accelerating technology adoption to increase agility and become more resilient. Now is the time for companies to continue with digital transformation to prepare for future inevitable disruptions and continuously improve efficiency in the face of continued economic uncertainty. At the same time, they must act on sustainability initiatives that are becoming critical to both human experience and continued economic success. Given the landscape, how are companies prioritizing the essential pillars of long-term business sustainability to ensure business success in 2023 and beyond?
Strategy and Initiative Drivers Have Shifted
A Period of (Relative) StabilityResponding to global disruption dropped as a strategy driver from 52% of companies in 2020 to 10% in 2023, the lowest point since COVID began impacting global markets (see next page). This is a strong indicator that disruption may have eased off, at least so far this year. Instead, companies appear to be back on track with ambitious strategies for business sustainability. Long-term growth goals are about the same and remain the most common strategy driver. Growth goals have been a constant from the beginning of this research series, and now financial market perception has grown from a low of 20% in 2020 to one-half of companies this year.ESG becomes a Larger FactorOther factors that influence corporate strategy and initiatives have shifted. Respondents now report that strategic plans are more driven by financial market perception and ESG factors. This is very different from the "survival mode" companies faced in 2020, where essential initiatives like environmental sustainability were pushed to the side. In fact, almost one-half of respondents report that government regulation drives their strategy this year, growing by 48% since 2019. We expect that these regulations are largely focused on greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental mandates. Other ESG business pressures are becoming more prevalent as well. Environmental issues were reported 83% more frequently as a strategy driver than in 2019 and have continued to climb since a low in 2020. In addition, 44% report corporate responsibility drives strategy, growing 63% since 2019, reflecting an additional ESG-related factor being considered more frequently in strategy decisions.New Focus on New EnergyThis year, we began tracking how the transition to new energy drives strategy and found that over one-third report it as a driver. We believe government regulation will add to existing transformation pressures such as cost and scarcity and spur more direct activity in this area. At the same time, government investment in new energy initiatives will also likely influence corporate direction. These drivers will further ESG efforts both directly and indirectly.
Technology is Key to Business Sustainability
Technology Critical to Business Success and ProfitabilityThe second factor we investigated in detail is technology. Technology plays a crucial role in supporting the pillars and driving long-term success and profitability. To demonstrate this, a full 87% percent share that technology is important to business success, and 30% say it's critical.Technology plays a crucial role in supporting each of the pillars of long-term success. About three-quarters of companies share that technology is critical or important to five of the seven pillars, and about two-thirds report it's important to the others.Reaching ESG Goals Demands Technical SupportPerhaps one of the more surprising findings is technology's high importance in supporting ESG. Companies now recognize that they need to take a systematic approach to environmental sustainability. Making sustainable decisions and green reporting require a tremendous amount of data from across the business and the supply chain. Technology is vital to capturing information and reporting on sustainability, but also to developing the insights needed to improve it. ESG technology is full of innovation. From our experience, companies are not finding a single application for ESG. They are applying existing technologies to make more sustainable choices in everything from product and service innovation to business execution.Technology is Crucial to TransformationTechnology is also seen as most important to digital transformation and product / service innovation and agility. Each of these is reported as "critical" by one-third of companies. The speed and scope of innovation demand a broad array of information and collaboration across disciplines.Technology Supports Business SustainabilityTechnology adoption continues to play a role in preparing for and responding to disruption, providing companies the agility they need to identify and react to issues. Technology alone doesn't achieve these goals, but the key finding is that modern businesses can't survive into the future without adopting technology to support them in the digital age.
Conclusions and Recommendations
Disruption is Lower, but Remain VigilantRisk and disruption continue to grow, but significant disruption may have leveled off (for now). Although the most common disruptions today are the supply chain and financial market, our research shows that the problems companies face vary. Businesses should anticipate ongoing disruption and the need to develop agility and resilience. Global business means companies are constantly at risk, it's simply the reality. Take the Long ViewIt's essential to prepare for disruption but stay focused on long-term business needs. Company success drivers are optimistic and show a belief in the long view, including long-term profits, innovation, and transformation. Disruptions come and go. As companies mitigate risk by becoming ever more agile and responsive, they must also stay focused on the enduring fundamentals of business success, such as customer relationships and long-term profits, while digitally transforming to stay relevant for the long term. At the same time, they must also attract and develop the workforce of the future. Stay Focused on SustainabilityCompanies are taking a balanced approach and continue to focus across the pillars of business sustainability. But the world has changed, and strategic drivers have shifted to put more emphasis on financial markets and the environment. One of the most significant increases in attention is ESG. Environmental and social responsibility are becoming increasingly critical to long-term business success. Companies must continue to drive their internal green initiatives while satisfying regulatory demands. Fortunately, regulations are beginning to reflect environmental imperatives and create a level playing field that supports both business and the environment.Adopt Technology to Drive Long-Term SuccessOur research clearly shows that technology plays a crucial role in driving long-term company profitability and sustainability and achieving value across the pillars of business sustainability. It also delivers significant business value. Companies must continue their digital transformation, adopting new business models and technologies, to achieve long-term business success.*This summary is an abbreviated version of the research and does not contain the full content. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Dassault Systèmes DELMIA (registration required).If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
[post_title] => Business Strategies for Long-Term Success
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[post_content] => How can auto manufacturers improve process design performance in the face of increased complexity? We surveyed over 150 people involved with manufacturing engineering and found that modernizing processes and technology drives higher automotive manufacturing engineering productivity and performance. These improvements are crucial to profitability in the transportation and mobility industry as customers demand high quality, more personalized products at increasingly faster time to market; all despite rising product and manufacturing complexity.Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Dassault Systèmes DELMIA (registration required).
For related research, please read our Transforming Manufacturing in the Transportation Industry eBook.
Table of Contents
Improve Manufacturing Engineering to Increase Profitability
Address Process Designer Challenges
Recognize the Opportunity
Quantify the Potential
Identify Performance Drivers
Find Issues Earlier in Design
Use more 3D and Simulation
Use More Advanced Ways to Support 3D / Simulation
Leverage More Integrated Solutions
Use More Advanced Communication and Collaboration
Top Performers Show the Way
Recommendations and Next Steps
About the Research
Acknowledgments
Improve Manufacturing Engineering Performance
Improve Performance in the Face of Complexity
How can manufacturers improve manufacturing engineering? We surveyed 177 people directly involved with manufacturing engineering and found that modernizing processes and technology drives higher manufacturing engineering productivity and performance. These improvements are crucial to profitability in the transportation and mobility industry as customers demand high quality, more personalized products at increasingly faster time to market; all despite rising product and manufacturing complexity.
Modernize Manufacturing EngineeringSurvey results show that Top Performers in manufacturing engineering have increased maturity in the way they plan, validate, and communicate manufacturing operations. These leading companies waste less time on non-value-added activities, find issues sooner, and spend less on physical prototypes. They accomplish this through best practices, including:
More advanced collaboration and communication methods
Increased use of 3D and simulation to plan and validate manufacturing operations with virtual, digital twins
Improve Manufacturing Engineering to Increase Profitability
Product Profitability Relies on Speed, Cost, and QualityDeveloping profitable products in today’s transportation and mobility industry is challenging. Manufacturers have to move quickly to out-innovate their competitors without sacrificing product cost and quality. Our research1 shows that achieving product development success relies on meeting a combination of targets. According to this prior survey, the top business success and profitability drivers include faster product development, lower product cost, and increased product quality. Each of these goals is challenging, and transportation and mobility companies need to meet them simultaneously.Manufacturing Engineering’s ContributionWith that in mind, we investigated the role manufacturing planning plays in achieving these product development goals. Respondents indicate that efficiency, quality, and cost most drive product success and profitability. The two most commonly reported items, manufacturing engineering efficiency and first time quality, are valuable on their own. But it’s important to recognize that both impact the time it takes a product to reach the market. The third most commonly reported factor, manufacturing cost, directly impacts product profitability. These make improving manufacturing engineering efficiency and performance strategic.
Address Process Design Challenges
Manufacturing Engineers Face Increased ComplexityManufacturing is more complex than ever. Complexity has increased in three areas; products, manufacturing processes, and markets. Today’s products are going through a dramatic transformation to electrification. The shift from internal combustion engines to electric drivetrains adds complexity and demands significant changes to design and manufacturing processes. Today’s production environment may include new processes such as battery cell production or industrial additive manufacturing. Finally, transportation and mobility supply chains are shifting production and reshoring as the industry is trying to cope with supply disruption. Despite these, manufacturing engineers need to decrease cycle times and improve quality.Challenges Reflect Lack of Information and Ability to Optimize
Manufacturing engineers must overcome significant challenges to design and validate production processes. The most commonly reported challenge is untimely product design data. This hampers accurate, timely process design because planners can’t access trusted product details in time to optimize production plans and provide feedback on manufacturability. They also share challenges optimizing complex processes, which is likely becoming more complicated due to vehicle electrification.
In addition, respondents report challenges predicting the impact of their decisions on sustainability, inaccurate design information, visualizing assembly processes, and the time required to build prototypes.
Top Performers Show the Way
Top Performers Have TransformedThe Top Performers, those with higher performance in time to full production, quality, efficiency, cost, ergonomics, and worker safety, have adopted more advanced approaches to manufacturing engineering. The data shows that these companies have adopted best practices, including more advanced collaboration, 3D, and simulation. In addition, they leverage more integrated solutions for manufacturing engineering.Top Performers Prove the Value The Top Performers’ better practices correlate with better manufacturing engineering results. As reported earlier, the leading companies are more likely to find physical issues in product design where they can fix them without considerable rework. Researchers also analyzed benchmark data on the amount of non-value-added time companies spend in manufacturing engineering, the cost of physical prototypes, and the average number of physical prototypes required for a product. Top Performers showed advantages in all of these statistics. Researchers found, for example, that Top Performers spend 17% less time on non-value-added manufacturing engineering work. Further, they spend over 50% less on physical prototypes than Others through a combination of fewer and less expensive prototypes. However, these cost savings are only a portion of the potential value available from transforming manufacturing engineering because they don’t include any other savings or revenue improvement from improved time to market.
Conclusion
Based on the benchmark results, researchers concluded that transforming manufacturing engineering with increased use of 3D and simulation to plan, validate, and communicate manufacturing operations leads to measurably better manufacturing engineering performance.*This summary is an abbreviated version of the research and does not contain the full content. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Dassault Systèmes DELMIA (registration required).If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
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[post_content] => Artificial intelligence holds the promise of entirely new insights for better decision-making. However, is it doing that in your company today? Manufacturers have long suffered from discipline-specific or “siloes” of data and information. Increasingly, those siloes have their own specific AI or analytics. September 27, day 3 of Smart Manufacturing Now, Julie Fraser will facilitate the discussion. Attendees were asked to bring their questions, thoughts, and experiences for this interactive short-version of the MESA Smart Manufacturing Community Supply Chain Group discussion.Note that the Smart Manufacturing Community had these mini-sessions each day of the conference: Monday 9/25 was Smart Manufacturing, Robotics, and Internal Logistics for Smart Connected FactoryTuesday 9/26 New Capabilities in Manufacturing Operations SoftwareThursday 9/28 Design for Manufacturing with Digital Thread and Digital Twin.
[post_title] => Getting Beyond Siloes of AI for Supply Chain Decisions
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[post_content] =>
Takeaways from Hexagon Live 2023
I attended my first Hexagon Live user conference this year. It was a well-attended, high-energy, polished event. I have to say, the content reminded me of my first conversation with Hexagon at a COFES industry conference a few years ago where I was overwhelmed with the scope and depth of their offerings. Hexagon covers a number of key solutions areas with their portfolio, including Design & Engineering, Production, and Metrology offerings that span both software and hardware. Some recent additions include quality management (QMS), connected worker, and asset performance management (APM). We feel there is strong potential for synergy across these areas as manufacturers face a convergence of technologies that demand integrated solutions. Because of this, others in our analyst team including Michelle Boucher (engineering practices research) and Julie Fraser (operations and manufacturing research) are also keenly interested in Hexagon’s progress. Ironically, perhaps, the theme for COFES and my presentation the year I got to know Hexagon focused on technology convergence and how it impacts the engineering software industry.Vision and PlatformPresident and CEO Paolo Guglielmini shared the Hexagon vision to deliver “digital twins of everything to improve and optimize at scale.” That’s a big goal. But Hexagon has a lot of solutions to apply toward that vision, having made over 170 acquisitions over the past 12 years. They plan to bring those together to create the “smart digital reality” that merges physical and virtual realities via the digital twin. This requires a lot of convergence and solution integration spanning both Hexagon products and the broader manufacturing and engineering software ecosystem. That’s where their new Nexus platform comes in, intended to be the platform to connect from the shop floor to the top floor. Hexagon launched Nexus earlier this year to support discrete manufacturing but has eyes on expanding to more industry segments.NexusI’m going to focus on Nexus because it’s new, it’s so important to the Hexagon vision, and it was one of my biggest takeaways from the conference. Why is it so important?
It’s an opportunity for convergence
It provides an opportunity for Hexagon partners
It is the path to Hexagon’s future technology
It’s a gateway to what we might expect from the industrial metaverse
Convergence, Integration, CollaborationThe Nexus platform promises Hexagon’s customers the power of convergence. Over time, it will provide common tools and a common interface across Hexagon’s solutions through Platform Services. In addition, it will be the basis for new Hexagon and partner apps and solutions. Nexus will also serve as a single location to find Hexagon tools from across divisions, something that can be challenging given the large collection of Hexagon solutions across divisions. The platform also offers a path to integration. Nexus is designed to be open and connectable. Hexagon stated clearly that they want Nexus to be inclusive, making it easy to integrate with not only Hexagon and partner solutions but also with competitive solutions. This is critical in the heterogeneous manufacturing and engineering software environment. Nexus also offers a common data schema that allows applications to work together more directly, the Nexus Smart Data Contract, which includes open engineering, quality, and production data at the center. This is an exciting aspect that deserves more attention.Convergence and integration open up the opportunity for collaboration. Hexagon created Nexus to connect people and allow them to collaborate across disciplines in combination with today’s latest technologies in what they call true, immersive collaboration. They shared a compelling example of a collaborative experience, and F1 engine mount, that showed a collaborative, connected workflow that leveraged connected data - all in the cloud. Partner SolutionsI was really impressed by how partner-centric Hexagon was during the conference. The approach to Nexus reinforced that. The Nexus offering (see image) includes both Nexus Apps and apps that are “Powered by Nexus.” Two significant partners, NVIDIA and Microsoft, are already involved with Nexus. Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of long-term partner NVIDIA, shared his vision for how Nexus and their Omniverse platform will work together to provide the benefits of AI to the industrial metaverse. Microsoft’s VP of Customer Innovation, Andy Pratt, shared how Nexus will support digital twins. It’s clear that a lot of thought has already been put into these partnerships around Nexus.Beyond these larger partners, Hexagon announced Nexus for Developers at the conference. This capability provides APIs, SDKs, templates, and training that allow partners to build native apps, custom workflows, and “powered by Nexus communities.” They shared that their partner Altium was the first to pilot Nexus for Developers by creating a new solution for the electronics industry. By opening up the platform, Hexagon provides partners (and customers) the opportunity to innovate and do more with their solutions than Hexagon can offer on their own.Path to the FutureNexus is a significant part of Hexagon’s future technology plans and they are using it to build the next generation of their applications and create a path to the cloud. They’ve already launched a number of apps and are in the process of introducing more. In addition, they are developing more platform capabilities that can be leveraged by both Nexus and partner applications. There is more detail here than I can cover, I encourage you to look at their roadmap to learn more as it is growing rapidly. One of the important things to recognize about Nexus is that it’s not a replacement for existing systems. EVP and Nexus GM Stephen Graham explained that Nexus is intended to complement enterprise systems. It’s focused more on agility than control and works more as a system of engagement as compared to a typical system of record (like PLM). Nexus will bring automation and enable new feedback loops that will make processes more automated, efficient, and flexible. It will enhance current solutions by adding AI and visualization and support integration across solutions. This allows Hexagon to leverage their current solutions more effectively while they build out future offerings. The introduction of systems of engagement is an exciting new trend that we’re following closely, and Hexagon looks well aligned to help customers get more from their systems of record.Industrial MetaverseThere is a lot of hype around the industrial metaverse. Beyond all of the hype, there is also value. With Nexus, Hexagon’s solutions offer the ability to connect real-world performance from the physical world with the digital twin. Their goal is to leverage simulation and AI to improve designs and the real world. Beyond that, Nexus has a goal to automate decisions in real-time to increase value by acting in the real world. This is an area that we look forward to learning more about. Look for more autonomy from Hexagon and Nexus in the future.It’s also an area where partner collaboration, for example with NVIDIA, offers the potential for a lot of future innovation. For example, VP of Omniverse & Simulation Technology for NVIDIA Rev Lebaredian explained how companies can combine and simulate designs earlier to save money, reduce waste, and increase sustainability. He shared an example where companies with complex factories could bring together digital twins of a variety of assets, such as buildings, conveyors, robotics, and other equipment from different suppliers to simulate and find problems earlier. The potential is compelling.Wrapping UpNexus is a significant new direction for Hexagon. It’s still relatively early, but their vision is strong and they’ve demonstrated real progress. There was a lot more to the conference, but I hope this is a start in understanding what’s new with Hexagon. Thank you Robin Wolstenhome and Fiona Batchelor for your help coordinating schedules and customer discussions as I navigated my first Hexagon Live experience, and to countless Hexagon leaders who helped me learn more about Hexagon and their solutions.
You can read our initial reaction to the Nexus announcement here.
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[post_content] => How can machine builders improve the way they work with the companies that use their products to create more collaborative, mutually valuable relationships? This eBook explores five practical steps manufacturers can take to improve machine builder – operator collaboration and increase value for both themselves and the customers operating their machines.
Please enjoy the summary below and visit our sponsorSiemens to learn more about digital manufacturing solutions machine builders. You can also download the full eBook to learn more.
For related research, please read prior eBooks, The Machine Builder Digital Twin, Increasing Equipment Design Velocity, and Increasing Performance Engineering Performance.
Table of Contents
Recognize the Opportunity
The Value of Machine Builder - Operator Collaboration
Take a Practical Approach with Room to Grow
1. Improve Equipment Data
2. Improve Service Response
3. Connect and Communicate
4. Increase Predictive Capabilities
Get Started
Acknowledgments
Has the Time for Servitization Finally Arrived?
The Service Relationship is ChangingThe relationship between machine builders, their products, and their customers is evolving. Many machine builders who traditionally followed "sell it and forget it" or "service it because you have to" models are moving to more closely aligned service relationships. Why? Manufacturers recognize they have a strategic opportunity to drive higher revenue and better profit margins by transforming their service approach. And in some cases, their customers demand it because they need to get the most out of increasingly complex machines to drive their own productivity and profitability.Time for a Practical ApproachThis shift is not new. Service transformation, sometimes called "servitization," has been discussed for well over a decade. We wrote about the trend in The Service Lifecycle Management Approach as far back as 2003. Since then, some companies and industries have made progress. The concept is well defined, and the enabling technology has come a long way. But few machine OEMs have been able to fully embrace the model, and reaching the highest level of service maturity still faces people, process, and technology challenges. Fortunately, it's not an "all or nothing" proposition. Machine builders have plenty of room to improve. And, even if they never reach the ultimate goal, there is value along the way.
Recognize the Opportunity
Improving Service Benefits OEMs and OperatorsImproving service performance is a win-win. It brings machine builders new revenue, higher margins, better customer relationships, and a steadier income stream. In addition, transformation can provide strategic value by creating machine performance knowledge to improve engineering. It can also support significant business transformation, opening up the potential for new business models like "Product as a Service" (PaaS) or "Machines as a Service" (MaaS), where the machine builder takes on responsibility for delivering productivity instead of hardware. Finally, it can improve sustainability by optimizing energy use and supporting circular economics where machines could be resold, remanufactured, or harvested for valuable components and materials instead of scrapped.Transformation also helps customers better operate and maintain increasingly complex equipment. In turn, it allows them to increase uptime, plan for downtime, raise productivity, optimize performance, improve efficiency, reduce cost, and cut power consumption. The Potential for Transformation is ProvenThe value of improving service through tighter relationships and digital transformation is well documented. There are practical examples to follow. Other industries, including aerospace, have paved the way, proven the value, and developed best practices. There are experienced consultancies that know how to transform to servitization. Supporting technologies, including the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), analytics, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), and Service Lifecycle Management (SLM), are more mature and accessible.The Potential for Transformation is ProvenIt's hard to argue with the value, but it's a significant change. Technology has advanced faster than companies can adapt. Collaboration requires a level of trust and accountability between partners. Some operators may not want their data connected to the internet or consider their operational data and processes part of their intellectual property and be reluctant to share it. Making the transition can also be a financial hurdle. Shifting how and when manufacturers record revenue is a major change, especially for those producing expensive machinery.
Take a Practical Approach with Room to Grow
Innovate, Experiment, Learn, and ImproveAlthough the vision is more attainable, it may not be easy for every company to achieve. What can machine builders do now to start down the path toward value? We recommend that they understand the big picture but start small. But starting small doesn't mean the project has to be limited to a proof of concept. There are practical ways to create value now and make progress toward the future state as they gain experience improving service in a digital model. Machine builders can take tangible steps toward greater maturity by:
Improving collaboration with their customers
Learning from the experience
Repeating what works
Extending their success
Expanding to new areas
Create a Value-Driven StrategyIt's essential to develop a practical plan, however, before spending a lot of time and energy on the project. Incremental adoption and improvement are not substitutes for strategy. The most important step is working with customers to research potential improvements and how they add value for both the machine builder and the operator. It's important to look for the win-win, communicate it with the customer to get alignment, and then get started. Do the research to target improvements that will make a difference and be worth building on.For example:
What challenges do your customers face while operating your equipment?
What would they value if you could change the situation?
What would “change the game” for them?
What are they willing to pay for it so that you can share in that value?
Get Started
Start Small, Then ExpandAlthough few machine builders have reached the highest level of digital transformation maturity, it's essential to get started. These techniques are becoming more prevalent and achievable. It's time to collaborate on a small but meaningful project that solves a real problem. This project should provide benefits for both the machine builder and the operator. Choose a product line or focused use case and take an agile approach that gains value with a "minimum viable product" approach. Keep it simple so you, and your partner, can learn and extend based on experience. Manage ChangeLastly, remember to manage the change. Educating management, personnel, and customers about the change and why it is valuable to them is critical. Next, develop a plan that addresses both business and technical requirements, and engage with engineers, operators, and service technicians to learn from their knowledge. Then, get started to create an advantage on your timeline before being forced to react to competitive threats. If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
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[post_content] => Can lithium-ion and other specialty battery manufacturers keep up with the growth potential in the new world fueled by electrons rather than heat? That all depends on how well they can master manufacturing. Lithium-ion batteries are inherently complex. It is an enormous challenge to make them at consistently high quality. Compounding the challenge are the ever-shifting conditions: constant innovation in materials, chemistry, and form factors plus frequent changes based on customer requirements and applications. Manufacturing prowess well could differentiate a company and set it up for success.Making these batteries is a multi-mode, sensitive operation. There are interdependencies between steps, opportunities for contamination and human error, and the final product’s selling price depends on manufacturing excellence. In addition, new chemistry, form factors, and approaches are emerging for new applications, so there’s a steady stream of experiments and new products in the mix. All of these factors mean a manufacturing execution system (MES) is required. This is the only type of system that can support all aspects needed for success in this complex production environment.Yet, not just any MES will do. Five key characteristics make an MES capable of supporting Lithium-ion and specialty battery manufacturers. Multi-mode support is paramount for batch slurry mixing, roll, winding, assembly, sealing, and testing. Flexibility for the high mix and R&D experimentation is also fundamental.Read the entire blog post by clicking on the image on LinkedIn to learn more about these characteristics battery manufacturers should seek in MES, plus discover the other three.
Thank you to Eyelitfor supporting us in expressing our views on the important features of MES for battery manufacturers.
[post_title] => Five Software Characteristics Battery Manufacturers Need to Succeed (Guest Post)
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[post_content] => How can a Center of Excellence (CoE) prevent common challenges with manufacturing operations management (MOM)? In this new book published by ISA, long-time consultant Grant Vokey explains the functions and structure of successful CoEs. This solid book has sections to support data-driven management, continuous improvement (CI), Industry 4.0, manufacturing execution system (MES) implementations, and strategic planning and management. Tech-Clarity’s Julie Fraser reviewed this book in draft form and provided input on an excellent manuscript. The Tech-Clarity survey eBook The Manufacturing Data Challenge research is cited several times to illustrate common challenges and show the keys to success.
This CoE book builds logically from background materials into more specific whys, hows, and keys to success. The book includes information about standard ISA topics such as MOM, ISA-95, and ISO 9000. It has valuable illustrations to support deeper understanding. Julie's favorite parts are the easy-to-follow examples and real-life experiences from Grant's career that bring home the value of a CoE.
Thanks to Grant Vokey and the ISA publishing team for providing us the opportunity to support this work. We believe many manufacturers will benefit from the logical flow of this book and the range of topics it covers for a CoE to support excellence in operations.
[post_title] => Tech-Clarity Research in New ISA Book CoE: The Key To Data-Driven Manufacturing
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[post_content] => With all of the excitement about artificial intelligence, in part generated by the publicity generated by ChatGPT, what are the practical ways AI in construction can improve performance and profitability?
Jim Brown will moderate a panel of practitioners and technology innovators to discuss real-world implementations for AI in construction. The panelists include:
Join this AMC Bridge sponsored webinar on September 27 at 11am ET. Can AI Improve Construction Productivity? What does ChatGPT have to say?
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[post_content] => Jim Brown joined PTC’s VP of Strategy Partnership, Christine Wolff, to share his thoughts about improving field service by leveraging the IoT in episode 20 of PTC's Speaking of Service Podcast. Jim and “Wolffie” discuss the importance of service transformation given current economic conditions that make profitability and asset longevity crucial. Jim shares insights from his recent Buyer’s Guide including why to start with a business strategy instead of taking a technology-driven approach and shares seven areas companies can focus on to drive better service performance and profitability.For more details from the podcast and how to achieve service transformation with the IoT, please see our Buyer’s Guide on Improving Service with IoT.
[post_title] => Speaking of Service: Seven Ways to Improve Service with IoT
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[post_content] => The cloud PLM transition is underway in the manufacturing industry. How should companies make the transition? I’m joining this webinar to share my latest research on SaaS PLM and discuss our PLM selection recommendations with Aras’ Bruce Bookbinder. Whether your company is moving to SaaS PLM because it’s time to update your old system or for more strategic reasons like digital transformation (or both), it’s important to understand and prioritize the different kinds of value that the cloud can offer. We’ll discuss a variety of options and their implications on achieving business value. Please join this Aras-sponsored webinar on September 14th at 10AM EST / 4PM CET. For background information for the webinar or to learn more about the cloud PLM transition, please read our eBook: Seven Keys to Improving Service with the IoT.
[post_title] => Let Business Value Drive Your Cloud PLM Transition
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[post_content] => What defines Manufacturing in the Age of AI? How much progress are companies making toward Industry 4.0? What data management elements have leading manufactures put in place to support rapid decisions? Our eBook Manufacturing in the Age of AI explains the findings of our survey of over 300 manufacturing professionals. It reveals answers to these questions and more.
Please enjoy the summary* below. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Critical Manufacturing (registration required).
For additional research, please read our Manufacturing Data Challenge eBook exploring explores the many challenges and lessons in Industry 4.0. Additional content includes The Challenge of Manufacturing Data Management article and a recorded a session of the webinar revealing significant findings of research on the topic of manufacturing data management.
Table of Contents
Progress on Industry 4.0
Difficult Environment
Keys to Success
Closing the Loop from Data to Action
Multiple Aspects to Master
Challenges in Manufacturing Data Management
Integration Still Obstructs Purpose
Improvement is Possible: Top Performers
Understand All the Issues Matter
Launch Initiatives to Address the Issues
Improve Organizational Structure
Succeed in Staffing
Overcoming Skills Shortages
Leverage Commercial Applications
Have Better Experience with MES
Explore Advanced Technologies
Gain Business Capabilities
Accelerate Improvement
Meet Cost Targets
Why Manufacturing Data Management
Why Drive to AI?
Quotes: Selected Benefits of Advanced Analytics
The Path Ahead
About the Research
Acknowledgments
Speeding the Loop from Data to Effective Action
A New AI-driven Era for ManufacturingDespite challenging supply chain situations, manufacturers are making progress toward Industry 4.0. Most understand that artificial intelligence (AI) and improved analytics can lead to better decisions and, thus, business benefits. However, creating the data management structure for success is something many are still learning. This research shows how Top Performing companies are making more significant strides than others. In short, they understand, invest in, and make the most of many aspects of people, process, and technology. Together, they enable capabilities that close the loop from data to information to insights to decisions and to profitable, timely action.
Progress on Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 VisionThe future of manufacturing is more flexible, agile, and responsive based on AI and intelligent automation. This is the vision of Industry 4.0, which goes by many other names. While the concept encompasses the entire enterprise and supply chain, the manufacturing area often poses the most significant challenges and opportunities for gaining substantial benefits.Three Years of ProgressWhen manufacturers embark on an Industry 4.0 initiative, they typically know it will be a multi-year journey. What we see is that most companies are now well on their way. There has been clear progress since our survey, The Manufacturing Data Management Challenge,1 in 2020. A much more significant percentage of respondents’ companies have made tremendous progress toward Industry 4.0 and gained benefits already.
Why Drive to AI?
Many ApplicationsThis is the age of AI. Just as human intelligence can address many topics, so can artificial intelligence. We asked, “Where would your company anticipate benefits from using advanced analytics in the plant such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), predictive, or prescriptive analytics? (list all processes, areas, or disciplines). The responses varied widely, as the word cloud shows.Top of MindThe most common benefits these respondents see are in production: quality, productivity, efficiency, yield, maintenance, safety, costs, and control. They also cite error-proofing, speed, and efficiency. In addition, they see benefits across the business, including for management, training, supply chain, revenue, engineering change, marketing, fraud detection, and customer service.
The Path Ahead
Next StepsThe manufacturers in this survey, including the Top Performers, know they are on an ongoing journey. Every company must ask themselves what their next steps are. Depending on the state of your capabilities and processes, the answer will vary.Recommendations
Recognize that Industry 4.0 is a journey, and manufacturers can only expect to get benefits once they have made significant progress.
In the face of complex and unpredictable external circumstances, invest in internal understanding, initiatives and projects, staff, and capability-building technologies.
Be sure everyone - top floor to shop floor - understands Industry 4.0 has many keys to success, and one central element is manufacturing data management.
Evaluate your data management weaknesses across all facets and set out to improve them.
Prioritize projects not only by data flow gaps but also for the potential to make significant revenue and cost improvements across the company.
Evaluate whether applications with broader functionality will reduce your integration resources and effort and still be deep enough to meet your needs.
Educate your team on many aspects of data management and analytics to ensure they understand how projects fit into a larger vision.
Start initiatives and projects that help you learn – progress requires action.
Focus on creating an attractive workplace and staffing for an array of newer positions that support data management, AI, and transformation.
Step up your evaluation of commercial technology that might replace homegrown systems, spreadsheets, and Excel.
Focus on AI and analytics as benefits drivers, and focus programs on areas that matter to business success.
*This summary is an abbreviated version of the research and does not contain the full content. For the full research, please visit our sponsor Critical Manufacturing (registration required).If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
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[post_content] => Manufacturers desperately want faster results from their Industry 4.0 and digital transformation projects. The promise of lightweight apps sparkles, but most companies lack the essential data infrastructure. So, it was eye-opening to understand what serial entrepreneur John Oskin has been up to atSage Clarity.These are apps that, after a few weeks’ implementation, can transform data in many dimensions. This includes connection to machines for data collection, transforming data into analyzed intelligence for metrics and root cause analysis, alerts, and collaboration between people.The apps have come together in the past six years; previously, Sage Clarity was primarily a services provider. The company now offers three apps that major household-name manufacturers already use.ABLE is the flagship app for machine and line or cell-level data collection with logic at the edge. This IoT platform models and monitors machines and lines with no changes to PLC code. The company claims five times the data fidelity and a 70% reduction in integration cost. ABLE logic for root cause analysis of speed loss and faults of machines, lines, and conveyors is published via PTC’s Kepware. Digital replay is available for deeper examination of issues. ABLE configurations are stored centrally for enterprisewide management and reuse. Deployment speed is notable: one customer did a 12-plant rollout in under 12 months. Another claims it saves them over a month per site on digital transformation efforts. ABLE can work alone or as a data pump feeding other IoT platforms.One View is manufacturing intelligence based on the ABLE data structure, with common KPIs such as OEE, OTIF, and quality metrics preconfigured. One View is cloud-based, with drill-down and roll-up views for enterprise users as well as local performance dashboards. The mobile-native user interface enables roaming and remote workers.NextGen Andon can digitalize traditional #andon approaches: anyone who spots an issue can capture them, trigger alerts, and collaborate with experts. The system also creates follow-ups to ensure problem resolution and monitor corrective actions. One of the best features is that the API library enables this “connected worker” functionality to be embedded in MES, EAM, ERP, HMI, and other systems.The deep industry background of the team shines through not only in what the software is and does but in what it does not require. Gathering data from equipment does not require PLC programming; enabling manufacturing intelligence or root cause analysis does not demand installing or replacing an MES; creating an andon call for help system does not require a separate interface if you have an MES or HMI.As Sage Clarity forms partnerships beyond the one withEpicor, I expect to see more companies accelerate digital transformation. Thanks,John Oskin,Marc Bertrand, and, Jessica Morrison, for taking the time to get me up to speed. And thanks toAmy J Campbell for the intro!
[post_title] => Sage Clarity’s Digital Transformation Accelerator Apps (Insight)
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[post_content] => In these competitive times, continuous improvement is crucial, but it’s not always easy to pinpoint where the biggest benefits lie. How can you prioritize manufacturing improvement opportunities to ensure maximum value to the business? This Buyer’s Guide points to an array of software characteristics to support such decisions. You need digital means to support greater confidence in your decisions about which projects to fund when.Please enjoy the summary below. For the full buyer’s guide please visit our sponsor, PTC (registration required).For related content, A New Era of Continuous Improvement, shares results from manufacturers, consultants, and associations to validate the continuous improvement (CI) notions in the white paper; our eBook, Getting Beyond Percentages to Insights with OEE, shares insights on how your overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) metrics could accelerate improvement; and find out the difference between a typical continuous improvement program and one that's better in our Improving Continuous Improvement infographic.
Staying CompetitiveMost manufacturers are in competitive markets with supply chain challenges. With so much out of the company’s control, it’s vital to leverage production resources such as facilities, equipment, people, materials, and tools effectively. Today’s environment of great uncertainty makes this more complex and crucial to success.Needs Expand with the Move to the Digital EnterpriseProductivity is all about minimizing losses – and time is the obvious way to measure those losses. The impacts of lost time are not just on the production operation itself. Time losses can be quantified in terms of impact on profit and customer service. Capacity-constrained companies can sell as much as they can make, so it’s a top-line issue for revenues. For these companies, it also determines when they can promise and deliver orders to customers.Even when not capacity constrained, time losses can impact costs and customer satisfaction. In some cases, companies could lower materials, assets, energy, quality, compliance, and payroll costs.Continuous ImprovementYet, calculating where to focus to stem those time losses is not straightforward since many sources of waste contribute to throughput and productivity losses. Continuous Improvement (CI) is a common process manufacturers use to identify and eliminate waste to improve performance. It may be called Lean, Six Sigma, Operational Excellence, or other names. In these trying times, CI programs can feed success – particularly if they have balanced characteristics and digital support.
Helping FocusAs the term prioritizing suggests, what is new here is that the software is not just measuring performance but ranking opportunities for improvement. By seeking prioritization, you get support to focus resources and attention, which can be challenging with traditional manufacturing intelligence, OEE, or dashboard software.Readying for ActionIn addition to prioritizing opportunities, seek out software that provides a reason drill-down for each problem. This ability to deliver deeper insights into root causes can transform challenges into opportunitiesOne Application, Many RolesSeek a software system that can support multiple user profiles:
Executives and Managers for comparing plants, products, and investment in CI programs
CI leads for plotting priorities and tracking progress
Supervisors for focusing on how to improve in their area
Operators and Technicians to focus, buy in, and see what’s working and how much time they can save
When all these roles use the same application, it fosters collaboration and eliminates bias and mistrust.This summary is an abbreviated version of the research and does not contain the full content. For the full research, please visit our sponsor PTC (registration required).If you have difficulty obtaining a copy of the report, please contact us.
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[post_content] => How do you manage a semiconductor production facility? Most people in the chip industry would say: with semiconductor MES. With its complex processes and products that cannot be clearly seen with the naked human eye, the semiconductor industry began broadly adopting MES in the 1980s and 1990s.And therein lies the problem. The systems that many semiconductor professionals know - and some still use - are completely outdated. This guest blog post by Julie Fraser points out that just as the semiconductor industry has changed radically, so has the software available to support it. She argues it is time for redefining semiconductor MES.The new definition encompasses many new changes in four categories:
Functionality
Integration and data availability
Configuration and scalability
Solution partner experience
Functionality is both broader and deeper than legacy MES. A modern system can handle both fab and backend, and is both broader and deeper than previous systems. Analytics are, of course, also much more advanced.Integration is also radically more comprehensive. With an equipment layer and built-in integration to both lower-level systems and enterprise systems.The MES also becomes more of an enterprise-ready system with configurability and scalability. Most semiconductor companies with legacy MES have dozens of programmers to support the system and keep it useful. Redefined semiconductor MES does not need that.Semiconductor MES is a topic Julie has been following for about 30 years. Redefining semiconductor MES is essential to support the next 30 years of semiconductor progress. Read the entire guest blog post here on Eyelit. Thank you, Eyelit, for giving us an opportunity to express our views on this!
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How do you manage a semiconductor production facility? Most people in the chip industry would say: with semiconductor MES. With its complex processes and products that cannot be clearly seen with the naked human eye, the semiconductor industry began broadly adopting MES in the 1980s and 1990s. And therein lies the problem. The systems that…
What is the most important way a company can help supply chain resilience so it has a positive impact on the business? What are Top-Performing companies doing differently than others? How important are autonomous systems and artificial intelligence (AI)? What does the transformation of supply chain planning entail? Read this new survey-based eBook to find…
Julie Fraser and I are enthusiastic about the potential for manufacturers to get more from their data following a briefing with enterprise search company Sinequa. Sinequa is tailoring their search applications to directly support manufacturers who want more holistic, integrated intelligence about their products and their business. Being able to find and connect data across…
We had an interesting update from Viamedici, a company we’ve been following that digitalizes product management and product marketing for manufacturers. They offer a multi-domain MDM platform that started in the manufacturing industry and has now expanded to multichannel distributors and retailers. Viamedici quickly achieved a strong footprint in this vertical by acquiring another PIM…
Many companies are talking about environmental sustainability – and GE Digital is aiming to embed it in customers’ operations. Jim Brown and I recently got an update from Ben Whiteman on their progress toward that end. The problems they want to solve are: operationalizing environmental sustainability goals breaking siloes between operations and sustainability providing process…
What’s the right amount of PLM for small to midsized manufacturers? We had a briefing with Office PLM to understand their offering. I spoke with Philip Thurman and he explained that Office PLM has all of the features a PLM system needs, but is affordable and installs in a couple of hours. I’m sure we…
Michelle Boucher and I joined a group of industry analysts for an annual visit to Dassault Systèmes headquarters for an update on their business performance, product progress, and corporate strategy. This year did not disappoint. We had a lot of great conversations with company leadership and heard some really interesting updates. I’m going to try…
How do companies prioritize the business strategies that drive their long-term success? What’s driving their strategy as they face constantly shifting global market disruptions? How do they balance initiatives like digital transformation, ESG, developing their workforce, and adopting new business models to ensure business sustainability in 2023 and beyond? Read our 5th annual survey to…
How can auto manufacturers improve process design performance in the face of increased complexity? We surveyed over 150 people involved with manufacturing engineering and found that modernizing processes and technology drives higher automotive manufacturing engineering productivity and performance. These improvements are crucial to profitability in the transportation and mobility industry as customers demand high quality,…
Artificial intelligence holds the promise of entirely new insights for better decision-making. However, is it doing that in your company today? Manufacturers have long suffered from discipline-specific or “siloes” of data and information. Increasingly, those siloes have their own specific AI or analytics. September 27, day 3 of Smart Manufacturing Now, Julie Fraser will facilitate…
Takeaways from Hexagon Live 2023 I attended my first Hexagon Live user conference this year. It was a well-attended, high-energy, polished event. I have to say, the content reminded me of my first conversation with Hexagon at a COFES industry conference a few years ago where I was overwhelmed with the scope and depth of…
How can machine builders improve the way they work with the companies that use their products to create more collaborative, mutually valuable relationships? This eBook explores five practical steps manufacturers can take to improve machine builder – operator collaboration and increase value for both themselves and the customers operating their machines. Please enjoy the summary…
Can lithium-ion and other specialty battery manufacturers keep up with the growth potential in the new world fueled by electrons rather than heat? That all depends on how well they can master manufacturing. Lithium-ion batteries are inherently complex. It is an enormous challenge to make them at consistently high quality. Compounding the challenge are the…
How can a Center of Excellence (CoE) prevent common challenges with manufacturing operations management (MOM)? In this new book published by ISA, long-time consultant Grant Vokey explains the functions and structure of successful CoEs. This solid book has sections to support data-driven management, continuous improvement (CI), Industry 4.0, manufacturing execution system (MES) implementations, and strategic…
With all of the excitement about artificial intelligence, in part generated by the publicity generated by ChatGPT, what are the practical ways AI in construction can improve performance and profitability? Jim Brown will moderate a panel of practitioners and technology innovators to discuss real-world implementations for AI in construction. The panelists include: Anthony Hauck, Co-Founder…
Jim Brown joined PTC’s VP of Strategy Partnership, Christine Wolff, to share his thoughts about improving field service by leveraging the IoT in episode 20 of PTC’s Speaking of Service Podcast. Jim and “Wolffie” discuss the importance of service transformation given current economic conditions that make profitability and asset longevity crucial. Jim shares insights from…
The cloud PLM transition is underway in the manufacturing industry. How should companies make the transition? I’m joining this webinar to share my latest research on SaaS PLM and discuss our PLM selection recommendations with Aras’ Bruce Bookbinder. Whether your company is moving to SaaS PLM because it’s time to update your old system or…
What defines Manufacturing in the Age of AI? How much progress are companies making toward Industry 4.0? What data management elements have leading manufactures put in place to support rapid decisions? Our eBook Manufacturing in the Age of AI explains the findings of our survey of over 300 manufacturing professionals. It reveals answers to these…
Manufacturers desperately want faster results from their Industry 4.0 and digital transformation projects. The promise of lightweight apps sparkles, but most companies lack the essential data infrastructure. So, it was eye-opening to understand what serial entrepreneur John Oskin has been up to at Sage Clarity. These are apps that, after a few weeks’ implementation, can…
In these competitive times, continuous improvement is crucial, but it’s not always easy to pinpoint where the biggest benefits lie. How can you prioritize manufacturing improvement opportunities to ensure maximum value to the business? This Buyer’s Guide points to an array of software characteristics to support such decisions. You need digital means to support greater…