Blog
How will the IoT change manufacturing?
January 27th, 2015
Since the industrial revolution, the manufacturing sector has had to change and evolve to compete. It has gone through 3 main technical ages, from mechanisation to assembly lines and then onto programmable logic controllers. Going forward, with the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) we will see a fourth definable technical age.
It has started somewhat through manufacturers using technology to deliver vision through the manufacturing process, from raw materials, through manufacturing cells, into the store and then onto dispatch. Many operations are already keeping in contact with their equipment post-sales, to improve levels of service, additional revenue streams and customer buy-in. This trend is rising as the technology around the Internet of Things (IoT) ramps up. The amount of intelligence that the manufacturer will be able to get from its products calling home is just huge. It’s going to change things quickly for many, such as:
1. Service improvement
We all know that IT service desks within businesses have been connecting remotely to their client PCs, laptops and other devices for years. They can quickly connect, identify issues and get the customer operational again, typically within a short time frame. This will be taken further on a wider level down to the IoT, i.e. products will also be able to report in to proactively alert the manufacturer to issues, allowing them, or a 3rd party to make contact with the customer before an issue impacts them. It should also be noted that connected products will also be able to receive software updates, reducing issues whilst improving reliability and security. All of these touchpoints also help with brand-loyalty and potentially cross-selling/up-selling.
2. Quality
The data can be to whatever level they wish, within reason and without customer privacy issues. All of this field data can be mined to provide information. For example, the mean time before failure of a particular product or a part, performance issues, reoccurring problems, etc. This data will allow for the identification of trends, to assist with areas, such as future product development and supplier selection.
3. Additional revenue streams
Network connected products mean that the manufacturer or an intermediary is providing a service to their customer. This potentially paves the way for additional features to be built into products to enhance functionality, service and revenue.
4. Inventory optimisation
If products can communicate back into service hubs it does give an operation an opportunity to deal with inventory more effectively. From automatic ordering to build scheduling or shipping in preparation for a product that is signalling issues. For many years IT hardware manufacturers have been shipping replacement hard disks if a monitoring system flags that a disk may fail. Of course, this service is only available to customers with an up-to-date warranty – again another opportunity!
5. Research and development
The data collected and analysed from products in the field will greatly aid manufacturers’ research and development cycle. The ability to collect live information, analyse and adapt at speed will be essential in the coming years. Also, historical data from in the field products married with service information, sales trends, etc. will give manufacturers real vision and shape product development going forward.
Manufacturers have always been one of the first to adopt developing technology and are constantly striving to improve factory efficiency. So I believe we are going to have some very interesting and exciting times ahead of us. In reality, the IoT is here in many ways, but it will penetrate further and deeper than most imagine. The other thing to be aware of is that the technologies and principles aren’t that new, so manufacturers will be able to exploit the benefits with relative ease.
Robert Rutherford – CEO of QuoStar
Discover QuoStar’s IT solutions for manufacturers
Benefits of IT Outsourcing for growing businesses
The benefits of IT outsourcing can give you a great advantage over the competition. In an increasingly competitive business environment, having a competitive edge is vital to helping your business to survive and grow. The benefits of IT outsourcing can be vast. Outsourcing your IT to an outside provider is one way to gain this […]
The business leader’s quick guide to the different types of cloud computing
With multiple countries still in lockdown and traditional office environments swapped for home offices, the pandemic has bought the need for a flexible, robust cloud deployment into sharp clarity. Cloud adoption was already becoming mainstream, with 90% of companies on the cloud and an estimated 60% of workloads running on a hosted cloud device in 2019. However, the sudden and drastic […]
QuoStar launches new on-demand CIO Service in shake up of digital transformation consulting
Leading IT consultancy QuoStar has announced the launch of a CIO Service that will deliver on-demand access to top-level IT leadership on a flexible, cost-effective basis. QuoStar’s solution will provide businesses with a dedicated, experienced CIO-level Consultant who will work in partnership with the senior leadership team to ensure IT continually delivers measurable results. Businesses […]