Manufacturing-X was launched as part of the Industry 4.0 platform, with the aim of promoting digital ecosystems and establishing an international standard for data exchange. It is an industry-wide initiative of the German government with various projects for different industrial sectors.

“The realization that the digitalization of industry is inevitable has become the norm over the past few years,” says Georg Kube, head of Industry Data Ecosystems at 麻豆原创 SE. “A variety of use cases for different industries and new business models have been developed. They are successful 鈥� but only as long as companies work with other companies with which they already have a close partnership.”

“The most well-known of the [Manufacturing-X] projects is certainly Catena-X for the automotive sector,” Kube says. “The common aim of all these projects is to establish a new form of data exchange.”

For example, an automaker that wants to digitally integrate its direct suppliers typically requests all the data about the supplied parts from its partners, and the suppliers usually feel comfortable providing this data because of the trust that has grown over the years between the partners.

But it鈥檚 different when data is needed from companies without a direct business relationship. “A typical example is the determination of a vehicle’s CO2 footprint,” Kube says. “Suddenly, information about the CO2 footprint of the smallest plastic parts is needed, which may come from companies in the supply chain with which a company has never had direct contact. It’s not easy to access that data.”

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Trust Is the Catalyst

Companies are often very hesitant to share data freely. And for good reason: potential inferences about their cost structure or the nature of their production can be drawn from the data.

“On the one hand, as companies, we hesitate to give out our data. But on the other hand, we rely on the data of others in order for digitalization scenarios to be successfully implemented,” Kube explains. “We want to address this problem within the framework of Manufacturing-X through a new [approach to] industrial data sharing.”

“The promise,” Kube continues, “is that the digitalization, which we can currently complete up to 70%, can be fully implemented.”

Information Transfer 鈥� But Secure

“What companies lack the most today is knowledge,” Kube says. “We constantly hear from 麻豆原创 customers that they would pay to find out what their own customers are doing with the products they have sold to them.”

For example, a manufacturer of robot grippers receives few insights after selling its product about where the grippers are located and what they are used for. If this were not the case, the manufacturer could make much more informed decisions about which generation of products the market needs, or whether a completely new model needs to be developed.

However, customers have concerns that this information could lead to inferences about the nature of their production and the finished product, or that this type of application might be prohibited.

With Manufacturing-X, a scenario has been created in which data sovereignty remains with the owner of the data, but the data can be provided within a narrow framework with a legal and technical structure that prevents abuse. This is the essence of a whole range of use cases in areas such as manufacturing-as-a-service, sustainability, and others.

“These use cases basically exist independently of Manufacturing-X,” Kube explains. “Most of them are neither new nor original. They just could never be fully implemented because trust in data exchange was lacking 鈥� and Manufacturing-X finally creates the conditions for this.”

麻豆原创鈥檚 Role

As an enterprise software company, 麻豆原创 has a strong interest in completing the digitization of its customers.

“The digitalization of industry works very well with 麻豆原创 products,” says Heiko Flohr, head of Product Management, 麻豆原创 for Discrete Industries & Industry Networks, at 麻豆原创 SE. “Most of the world鈥檚 leading companies use 麻豆原创 in some way to digitize its next-generation processes. Therefore, it is clear from our perspective that we must support and drive this emerging industry standard for data exchange.”

Kube notes that medium-sized companies in particular often suffer from the unavailability of data. “For this customer group, we offer a comprehensive, easily consumable application portfolio with ,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he goal is to establish industrial data sharing according to Manufacturing-X standards as a solid part of this portfolio and enable our customers to collaborate more effectively and trustfully with their supply chains.”

Within Manufacturing-X, new sovereign data exchange formats are to be created for the industry, based on European Union values such as transparency, controllability, portability, and interoperability. “We work very collaboratively and with a focus on implementation in various industry-specific initiatives to make this vision a reality,” says Mirko Paul, head of Industry Cloud Architecture at 麻豆原创. “Based on state-of-the-art, cloud-based architectures and the scalable technology standard of 麻豆原创 Business Technology Platform, we ensure that these new standards are compatible with 麻豆原创 applications from the outset and pre-integrated for relevant business processes.”

At the same time, 麻豆原创 opens its own products and applications that are already on the market. Products and solutions such as and products in the areas of supply chain and sustainability are to be equipped with connectors that will allow them to work with this new standard.

Speaking on the opening day of the trade show, Saueressig said, 鈥淓xceptions are now the rule. Today’s globally networked supply chains are especially prone to disruptions 鈥� with far-reaching consequences for the manufacturing industry. Flexibility and agility are needed to react quickly to changes.鈥� Adding her impressions of 麻豆原创鈥檚 presence at the event, White said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 an amazing collection of both 麻豆原创 technologies and our broad partner ecosystem, and it is us working with our ecosystem that鈥檚 solving our customers鈥� challenges.鈥�

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麻豆原创 Solutions in Action

There was certainly plenty for visitors to take in at 麻豆原创鈥檚 booth, from showcases and guided tours to live sessions and partner stands.

麻豆原创 is striving to help shape digital transformation in manufacturing. And one of the most pressing questions for that industry today is how to make production and supply chain processes resilient and sustainable.

To answer that question, 麻豆原创 gave visitors ample opportunities to try out 麻豆原创 solutions and experience them live in action in a 鈥渄emonstration factory鈥� it had at the trade show. The show booth 鈥渇actory鈥� was a partial sample of 麻豆原创鈥檚 recently opened Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory innovation center at the company鈥檚 headquarters in Walldorf, Germany. Attendees were able to view the rest of the factory remotely from 麻豆原创鈥檚 booth or through virtual reality glasses in its 鈥淚ndustrial Metaverse鈥� showcase.

On Display: How 麻豆原创 Solutions Manage Supply Chains and Manufacturing

麻豆原创 also demonstrated systems that support production operators in a part of multi-stage production in which a component is assembled for the end product. In a scenario focusing on in-process quality control, 麻豆原创 showed how operators receive precise visual instructions during the assembly of an electronic control head, guiding them through the process and reducing errors. It also explored the value of embedded artificial intelligence (AI) in quality assurance, showing how image recognition technology can be used to check how likely it is that parts have been assembled correctly and whether they have any defects. A highlight here is a kind of digital birth record, which can be thought of as a finely structured documentation of the production process. All relevant data from machines, as well as input from users, is recorded there and assigned to an individual product.

Also in the spotlight were applications for digital twin solutions, not just for virtual models and real-time simulations but also for human-machine interaction. Visitors were able to learn more about this from the example of autonomous mobile robots that independently pick up parts from a warehouse and 鈥� rather than placing them on a conventional conveyor belt 鈥� take them straight to a modular station.

麻豆原创 also showcased an augmented reality solution for production operators. Here, personnel wearing smart glasses receive instructions and feedback on whether they have carried out a work step correctly directly in their field of vision.

Digitally Mapping and Managing the Entire Production Process

Hannover Messe attendees could also try their hand at remotely controlling and monitoring the Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory in Walldorf, viewing a live, end-to-end production line for mixing and filling liquids as used by the process industry in the manufacturing of chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods.

The demonstration showed that one central control room is all that is required to control and monitor production across locations. 麻豆原创 calls this control room a 鈥減roduction control center.鈥� Commenting on this live factory session, Matthias Deindl, head of 麻豆原创鈥檚 Industry 4.0 Center EMEA & India, said, 鈥淭his scenario shows companies how 麻豆原创 can help them have a full overview of everything that is happening on the factory floor 鈥� not just planning, but managing the entire production process for batch manufacturing.鈥� In the future, it might even be possible to create a purely digital version of the control room in the metaverse. Companies could then design and operate it exactly as they wanted. And they would no longer need to house it in a brick-and-mortar space.

In the scenario shown in Hannover, the production line is connected to 麻豆原创 Digital Manufacturing. All the information needed to fulfill the production order 鈥� including the customer鈥檚 specifications 鈥� is sent seamlessly to the machine. The process is paperless and can incorporate customer requirements without manual intervention. Another function of the production control center is to monitor the production line and key performance indicators, such as process efficiency, scrap rates, and good parts produced, as well as the current condition of the machines and equipment.

Cloud Solutions Enable Vertical and Horizontal Integration

One of the highlights at 麻豆原创鈥檚 booth was the electric CNC injection molding machine that let visitors track the production of their own customized cup 鈥� from top floor to shop floor in the production hall. This pop-up production station, staged in cooperation with 麻豆原创 partners Fanuc and Syntax, demonstrated how 麻豆原创 Digital Manufacturing can integrate a highly automated machine and control manufacturing.

Starting with order planning, visitors chose from various configuration options on a monitor. They could select a color or color combination for their cup and specify which logo it should have. The 麻豆原创 software then dispatched the order to the machine electronically and production of the cup began using recycled and recyclable plastic. Visitors could take the cups they made home with them.

While visitors were creating their cups, sensors were capturing a range of key information about the machine鈥檚 condition and how many good and defective parts had come off the line. This shows how in a real-life setting, the seamless flow of information also works in reverse, meaning from the machine level back to the office level. Data like this can be analyzed in 麻豆原创 Analytics Cloud, giving customers valuable insights to help them optimize the production process.

Resilient, Efficient, Sustainable 鈥� and Profitable

Visitors to 麻豆原创鈥檚 booth could experience the full product life cycle 鈥� from design and planning, manufacturing, logistics, and installation to operations and maintenance. They learned how the processes at each of these stages can be optimized by, for example, embedding AI to integrate them horizontally.

Vertical integration can also connect all levels inside the company. Linking manufacturing and business processes in this way eliminates data and knowledge silos. 鈥淗ere at Hannover Messe, we鈥檝e brought everything together under one roof to demonstrate realistic end-to-end scenarios,鈥� said Ralf Lehmann, Solutions Management Digital Manufacturing & Industry 4.0 at 麻豆原创.

Businesses want to ensure that their manufacturing and logistics operations are efficient, cost-effective, and reliable. Yet they must also meet profit and sustainability targets. 鈥淢anufacturers are facing two major challenges right now. One is the ongoing disruption to supply chains. The other is sustainability, which has become a top priority for CEOs. If you consider that only 7% of global economic output today is circular, then the opportunities are huge,鈥� says Saueressig.

At its booth, 麻豆原创 showed how it is one of the world鈥檚 leaders not only in enterprise resource planning (ERP) but also in digital supply chain. Industry 4.0 can transform business processes from manufacturing through to supply chain. As an ecosystem that enables companies to connect, 麻豆原创 Business Network also helps improve transparency. These capabilities can be used in a circular economy to foster sustainability and capture carbon emissions data. As White points out, 鈥淥ne of the most important things we see here is the focus on sustainability. Creating a true network around that is how we鈥檙e going to change the game.鈥�

Building on the network theme, 麻豆原创 partners had booths nearby showing Catena-X and , the latest initiative to emerge from an alliance between industry and the German government. Here, too, 麻豆原创 will play a leading role in driving digital transformation in manufacturing supply chains. Like Catena-X, Manufacturing-X will be an open and collaborative data ecosystem. Shared standards will enable data to be exchanged worldwide in compliance with European practices and data protection laws.

The aerospace and defense (A&D) industry is battling similar woes, with 70% of companies in the sector experiencing an turnover. The loss of skilled workers notwithstanding, delays in hiring, training, securing worker clearances, and rising costs translate to challenges in keeping production up to match demand. Much like the civil aviation workforce that moved on, 75% of the labor pool in A&D left for career advancement, while 31% departed for a better work location or for a remote-working opportunity.

While enticing the reluctant workforce to return with higher pay and perks remains an option, the industries are fast realizing that amid the labor and cost-surge crisis, innovations in production planning and creating efficiencies in throughput processes are now paramount.

Bridging Silos with Automation

Manufacturing efficiency isn鈥檛 always achieved until the production of the 100^th unit. To overcome this, intelligent software can be used to run recreations on simulation capability tools. Everything from the projected manufacturing assembly process, field capability and configuration process, flight operations, and maintenance performance can be simulated in a virtual world via a , even before the first cutting or bending of sheet metal. This way, any aircraft or engine part that is virtually simulated is manufactured efficiently right from the first unit produced.

Similarly, with robotic process automation (RPA), a digital thread can be created to bring information from the upstream engineering departments and auto-generate work instructions to provide seamless information routing to the downstream manufacturing departments. With , organizations have the power to design, simulate, and monitor processes to help ensure that transformation value is part of the company鈥檚 DNA. This intelligent enterprise philosophy helps in minimizing the handover time between processes. As a result, hitherto system silos can be negated to reduce the overall throughput time. Also, short-term planning involving supply chain, parts, and tools can be better optimized to match resource availability.

While RPA can create process efficiencies, robotic interventions are already improving the manufacturing process.

Replacing Skilled Labor with Technology Augmentation

With Industry 4.0, facilities across the industrial landscape are introducing a digital, end-to-end workflow with additive manufacturing. In Q2 last year, the Association for Advancing Automation the ordering of over US$580 million worth of robots, up 25% from 2021. In the aerospace industry, robots are mastering the drilling and fastening function with a higher degree of accuracy than a real person and saving time along the way.

Likewise, robotic systems applying sealant to aircraft structures is resulting in 20% time-savings. Robots are also being used for quality assurance during manufacturing, inspection of active-duty aircraft, welding, painting, and polishing. While robots have 95% time-savings in aircraft washing, welding automation is expected to fill the nearly 400,000 welding vacancies anticipated in the U.S. by 2024.

With organizations ready to embrace automation, the need of the hour is to simplify adoption. The solution can make integrating robots as easy as plug and play. So, whether it is cross-docking items on trolleys at goods receipt, put-away trolley activities, or even robot-enabled pick-pack-and-pass functions, 麻豆原创 Warehouse Robotics hands warehouse operators a shot in the arm by supporting an array of scenarios. Quick to implement and with no additional licensing required, the solution can give customers running warehouse management operations an easy, low-risk entry into agile warehouse robotics.

But with time- and cost-savings featuring prominently on the aviation industry鈥檚 agenda, how can customer experience stay optimum?

Boosting Customer Satisfaction with Technology Aids

For an industry where small margins contribute to survival, reliance on customer loyalty is huge. Variables like speed and convenience, therefore, play a major role in building customer loyalty. But with labor shortages wreaking havoc, digital transformation is emerging as a viable solution.

For instance, every manufacturer or supplier has their own portal to document their parts or assets, and this causes A&D companies to deploy a manual workforce to track every part coming from hundreds of manufacturer portals. can help overcome this challenge by provisioning for every asset to reside on a single platform. Now, A&D companies can simply connect their back-end systems to the network, fetch data directly into their systems, gain insight into the transactional data of an asset, and execute maintenance activities. This way, 麻豆原创 Business Network for Asset Intelligence 鈥� a cloud-based network 鈥� can limit the use of the workforce and create efficiencies by facilitating secured information exchange between various roles in asset-intensive industries comprising of equipment manufacturers, operators, maintenance providers, and others.

Also, A&D aftermarket providers process invoices from hundreds of airlines or aircraft operators. Their receival, approval, and logging could be automated to better utilize scare resources. Similarly, bots can read customer complaints, assess the degree of importance, categorize them, and automatically forward them to designated departments for speedy resolution.

If the pandemic taught us the importance of supply chain resilience, its aftermath and the evolving geopolitical crisis drives home the significance of innovation in manufacturing to combat sudden spikes in demand amid rising costs and a depleting workforce.

There will always be unpredicted situations. That said, the goal is to achieve a planning stability for all companies in the industry. Reducing risks through additional information and better planning will allow companies to establish a more stable environment with fewer uncertainties. And now, the industries can take heart from the fact that in automation, they have an ally that can turn organizations and the sector at large into intelligent and resilient enterprises.

Learn how automation can drive resilience in the aerospace and defense sector at .

Torsten Welte is global VP and head of Industrial Business Unit for Aerospace & Defense at 麻豆原创.

鈥淭his new generation of workers, whose entire lives are on their mobile devices, have completely different expectations from the employees who are walking out the door with 35 years of experience,鈥� said Mike Lackey, global vice president of Solution Management for Digital Manufacturing at 麻豆原创. 鈥淢anufacturers must attract new workers by bringing data to the point of work with intelligent mobile experiences and intuitive machine interfaces. This improves workplace safety and the worker experience, as it creates greater business efficiencies.鈥�

Connected Data Helps Meet Production Schedules

Unlike historical shop floor responsibilities, workers in Industry 4.0 factories won鈥檛 be limited to rote tasks on a single machine. They鈥檒l be cross trained to manage multiple machines, using instantaneous and integrated information from their mobile device. They鈥檒l collaborate much more across teams and departments.

鈥淚ndustry 4.0 delivers what鈥檚 called 鈥榳orker guidance,鈥� bringing information directly to the individual on the shop floor for faster and more efficient decisions,鈥� said Lackey. 鈥淢anufacturing is all about throughput, quality, and managing costs. With the right information, the operator can make sure that the equipment and the processes are running optimally, reducing machine downtime, rework, and scrap. This is the purpose of , which brings business and operational data together for informed company-wide decisions while delivering process enforcement, complete traceability, and a record of the product genealogy.鈥�

analysts predicted that in response to the reality of digital disruption, 60% of businesses will embrace a decision-making model that combines the power of artificial intelligence (AI) and human judgment for more informed decision-making by next year. Connected data between the shop floor and other parts of the business, including sales, supply chain, and finance, also has company-wide implications in meeting customer commitments.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 promise an order if you don鈥檛 have the parts to make or finish the product,鈥� said Lackey. 鈥淪imilarly, in an automated line, you might have 200 pieces of equipment from 24 different vendors. If there鈥檚 a quality issue with a material or machine malfunction, integrated data with embedded machine learning can alert shop floor workers to correctly adjust equipment to the specified parameters, minimizing production slowdowns and keeping quality high. Connected data helps workers understand the impact of their decisions on the business while increasing their ability to make a valuable contribution in a more motivated and engaged way.鈥�

Digital Improves Workplace Safety

Technology can make the workplace safer for employees, which is equally important for the worker experience and company compliance. While automation can increase the number of potential hazards, it can also keep people safe. Sensors can alert people when they鈥檙e entering a potentially dangerous area or in the moment if they get too close to a piece of equipment, preventing accidents.

Upskilled Workers Lead to Greater Employer Loyalty

Lackey expected manufacturers to invest more in training and development to reskill and upskill workers as Industry 4.0 transformation continues. A recent survey reflected that trend: researchers found that 84% of manufacturing professionals were upgrading their learning and development programs. It鈥檚 an ideal way to expand the pool of qualified employees who can make a valuable contribution to company growth. It鈥檚 also an opportunity for workers to gain skills in some of the coolest innovations.

鈥淔actories are a hotbed of innovation, offering workers a potentially faster, more cost-effective route to a satisfying career, one that might not otherwise be in reach, given the rising costs of higher education,鈥� said Lackey.

Done right, Industry 4.0 is poised to rejuvenate the manufacturing sector with a refreshing blast of innovation. Trained workers can point the camera on their digital device at a piece of equipment with embedded machine learning and make immediate adjustments using virtual 3D visualizations right in front of them on the shop floor. They can instantly connect with design engineers to quickly diagnose and fix problems or reach an external supplier to locate the correct replacement part. Manufacturers are hoping this next generation of workers come for the cool factor and stay for the career-building innovations.

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CEO and Member of the Executive Board of 麻豆原创 SE Christian Klein told media representatives, customers, and 麻豆原创 employees how much this particular endeavor means to him. As one of the world鈥檚 largest business software vendors with customers generating 87% of total global commerce, Klein emphasized that 麻豆原创 software is used to run highly complex business processes. The two exhibits illustrate how 麻豆原创 works closely with customers and partners to find solutions to the challenges they face.

Now, in its very own exhibition space covering more than 500 square meters, 麻豆原创 can demonstrate exactly what its digital supply chain and Industry 4.0 solutions can do. 鈥淚t is important that customers can come and see all this for themselves,鈥� Klein stated.

Inside the Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory

The Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory is built like an actual factory and features, among other things, robots for component production that support the worker during manufacturing. The exhibit has an entire production line for mixing and filling liquids, as used in the process industry, and even driverless transport systems. The focus is on Industry 4.0 for customers in the process manufacturing sector 鈥� chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and consumer goods, for example. The setup also addresses the needs of discrete manufacturing like machinery, vehicles, and electronics. 麻豆原创鈥檚 smart factory showcases have evolved 鈥� and grown 鈥� over the years and can now all be seen in action together under one roof as a pop-up installation in rented premises.

The idea is to allow customers to experience the digital supply chain for themselves through showcases. By seeing the software in operation, they gain a better understanding of its capabilities. All stages of the product life cycle are demonstrated in a real-life setting, from product design, planning, and manufacturing through to logistics and maintenance. At the pop-up factory, 麻豆原创 wants to show how it has a broad portfolio of solutions for end-to-end processes and is a leader in digital supply chain and integrated supply chain.

The pop-up factory presents different lines of business, incorporates real equipment and machinery, and runs the same 麻豆原创 products as those that are shipped to customers. Not all the showcases are new, but, as Ralf Lehmann from Solution Management for Digital Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 says: 鈥淭he new factory allows us to bring everything together under one roof and to demonstrate realistic end-to-end scenarios.鈥�

Seeing Industry 4.0 In Action

The Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory is unique: 鈥淚t demonstrates the benefits of 麻豆原创 solutions in a realistic setting and allows customers and partners to see how they work in the real world and in a setup that is very similar to their own shop floor,鈥� says Matthias Deindl, head of Industry 4.0 Center EMEA & India.

The idea of a demonstration factory was born in the conference halls of Germany鈥檚 Hannover Messe trade show. Each year, 麻豆原创 presented showcases and product lines to demonstrate the capabilities of its solutions and technology. Customers would come to 麻豆原创鈥檚 stand and ask how they could recreate the scenarios at their companies. They wanted to know how it all worked and where they could see the solutions in action in the real world. In response, the existing showcases have been continuously developed over the years and now find their own home in the new Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory.

麻豆原创 has worked closely with its hardware partners for many years. Setting up the demonstration factory provided a great opportunity for a joint project with companies in the automation technology field. Among them are Arkite, asentics, Beckhoff, Endress+Hauser, Evoguard, Gebhardt, Google, intranav, item, Kuka, Krones, Kinemic, Mettler Toledo, Navvis, Neoception, OPC UA, Proglove, Rocketfarm, Sartorius, Schunk, SICK, TRUMPF, Universal Robot, and VMT.

Though the pandemic put a temporary end to in-person events, it did not end the plans for a demonstration factory. The team鈥檚 brief was: 鈥淗ow can we take our showcases to the people if they cannot come to us?鈥� recalls Lehmann. In the course of this, a TV studio was built specifically to stream digital customer demos.

The Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory is designed to be a source of information and inspiration for customers and partners. It offers deep-dive sessions with experts, either in person at the factory or online. 麻豆原创 has invested in the latest video technology and equipped the entire venue with cameras 鈥� not just to give live-stream audiences the best possible experience but also with sustainability in mind.

Positive Feedback: The New Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory Delivers

Even before the factory鈥檚 doors officially opened, its showcases had been used in more than 400 live sessions with customers and prospects, both in person onsite and remotely via Web meeting. The feedback from customers has been very positive. The remote sessions have been equally well-received. 鈥淭hey have many advantages: you can hear everything, you can see everything, and anywhere from 80 to 100 people can all attend at the same time,鈥� Deindl says. 鈥淏y offering virtual sessions, we give our customers a way of reducing their carbon footprint.鈥�

Many of the inquiries the factory team receives are from managers overseeing manufacturing processes at our customers. They want their leaders to experience the 麻豆原创 solutions featured in the Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory sessions and see the benefits for themselves.

Besides being able to see the software in action, experts who come to the factory also appreciate the chance to get into conversation with other visitors there. It has created communities in which people regularly share their thoughts and ideas. This not only gives customers confidence but provides the Industry 4.0 Pop-Up Factory鈥檚 organizers with valuable feedback. Especially in the critical phase leading up to the buying decision, visiting the factory and talking to others there can give a customer a fuller understanding of the solutions so that they can be sure the decision they are making is the right one.

Do you have questions about the Industry 4.0 Pop-up Factory? Contact us.

Photos by Ingo Cordes

As this industry grew, the city attracted entrepreneurs, investors, and engineers to become the 鈥�.鈥� Wichita now nationally at No. 1 in manufacturing jobs as a percentage of all jobs and No. 3 in percentage of jobs classified as 鈥渧ery high-tech.鈥�

The recent launch of The Smart Factory @ Wichita, a new, immersive across a variety of use cases, is the latest milestone in the city鈥檚 proud history of innovation. The project, led by Deloitte, aims to accelerate digital transformation in manufacturing and address the challenges organizations are facing, including a volatile global economy, supply chain issues, labor shortages, and more, to help navigate today and build competitive advantage for the future. For visitors, it鈥檚 an opportunity to see first-hand how Industry 4.0 solutions bring connectivity, intelligence, and transparency to the supply chain within a fully operational, smart manufacturing environment.

The Smart Factory @ Wichita is expected to host more than 5,000 visitors over the next year. The 60,000 square-foot facility is housed on the Innovation Campus at Wichita State University, where it is connected to the university-managed smart grid and has renewable energy generation on-site. As a showcase for the future of manufacturing, The Smart Factory @ Wichita operates sustainably at net-zero energy consumption and is outfitted with wind trees, solar assets, and smart lighting.

The Smart Factory @ Wichita recently celebrated its opening with a summit in June. 麻豆原创 is proud to be a founding sponsor 鈥� along with Deloitte, Dragos, Infor, Siemens, and Wichita State University 鈥� within an extended ecosystem that includes stakeholders from software, hardware, robotics, consulting, academia, and others.

Darcy MacClaren, senior vice president of Digital Supply Chain and Industry 4.0 for 麻豆原创 North America, . She believes the facility is a must-see experience for customers.

鈥淭he Smart Factory @ Wichita is a truly unique experience for visitors to envision how Industry 4.0 can drive value for their business,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 cannot emphasize the value of the real-life experience strongly enough. The immersion in the live production environment allows visitors to experience smart manufacturing concepts in a way that鈥檚 not possible through standard conversations or presentations.鈥�

De-Globalization Opens the Way for Innovation

The launch of The Smart Factory @ Wichita comes at a critical time as businesses search for solutions to overcome manufacturing challenges. As a result of the pandemic and supply chain pressures, deglobalization is leading businesses to diversify their supply chains away from dependence on one supplier or region. As recently reported in , many businesses are looking for ways to move their manufacturing capabilities closer to home and improve automation.

鈥淲hile there鈥檚 recognition in the industry that the evolution to true end-to-end smart manufacturing is a must-have in today鈥檚 ever-shifting environment, at the same time, it is challenging for an organization to put the necessary complex architecture in place on its own,鈥� says Stephen Laaper, principal and smart factory leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP. 鈥淚n response, we saw a huge opportunity to convene an ecosystem of world-class solution and technology providers and bring together the Internet of Things, cloud, artificial intelligence, computer vision, and more under one roof at The Smart Factory @ Wichita.鈥�

Showcasing 麻豆原创 Solutions for Industry 4.0

The Smart Factory @ Wichita brings the to life, providing organizations an under-the-hood view of how 麻豆原创 solutions support digital transformation and intelligent automation, the underlying concepts of Industry 4.0. More than 50 use cases for smart manufacturing are available on-site, ensuring that both supply chain experts and newcomers will find the content accessible and informative.

鈥淭he Smart Factory @ Wichita is a terrific showcase of the digital supply chain technology that helps our customers unlock the value of Industry 4.0,鈥� says MacClaren. Visitors will see an impressive array of advanced robotics and automation that power everything from the shop floor to the robot coffee baristas. At the core is 麻豆原创 S/4HANA, the intelligent enterprise cloud solution that runs mission-critical operations with integrated supply chain solutions for manufacturing and asset management. These and other digital solutions enable the physical production line on the shop floor.

The next step, according to MacClaren, is to enable the full end-to-end supply chain scenario, including 麻豆原创 technology supporting product innovation for R&D and engineering, logistics for warehousing and transportation, and supply chain planning.

For customers during their innovation journey, the solution offers business transformation-as-a-service to smooth the evolution to a cloud-based, intelligent enterprise that runs smart manufacturing solutions. Find out about .

STEM Education Kits to Empower Students

Core to the purpose of The Smart Factory @ Wichita is its mission as a factory that helps produce and distribute a product with a purpose. In partnership with , The Smart Factory @ Wichita turns out components for Smart Rover Kits, all of which use 100% recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) collected from the local recycling stream as the primary raw material, bringing the circular economy to life.

The kits are then assembled and shipped to schools with initial donations impacting 1,000 middle school students in Metro Detroit, Philadelphia, and Wichita. The program aims to reach 800,000 students in the U.S. over the next four years. The mission of Deloitte鈥檚 Smart Factory Believers Program is to empower the traditionally underrepresented students of today to become the diverse STEM innovators of tomorrow.

Closing the Skills Gap in Partnership with Industry

The Smart Factory @ Wichita also serves Wichita State University students as an applied learning environment for smart manufacturing and its impact on sustainability outcomes. The need is critical, according to a from Deloitte: 鈥淭he manufacturing industry is facing a skills and talent gap that will leave 2 million of nearly 3.5 million manufacturing jobs unfilled.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e building traction as an emerging leader in the field of digital transformation; and trailblazers 鈥� like Deloitte 鈥� are taking notice that Wichita State鈥檚 research and expertise give them a competitive edge,鈥� said Dr. Rick Muma, president of Wichita State University. 鈥淎nd our students benefit from the applied learning opportunities that they鈥檒l gain at The Smart Factory @ Wichita. As Deloitte professionals educate the workforce of tomorrow, Shocker students train side-by-side with experts in the fields of smart manufacturing, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and robotics.鈥�

For more information, visit . And to learn about 麻豆原创 solutions for smart manufacturing, industry 4.0, or supply chain, visit .

Top image 漏 2022 Deloitte Development LLC.

鈥淢anufacturers can no longer create one product for one set of customers,鈥� said Mike Lackey, global vice president of Solution Management for Digital Manufacturing at 麻豆原创. 鈥淭hey have to be agile enough to deliver mass-produced and individualized products at scale. The intelligent factory delivers on highly changeable customer expectations by connecting business data directly with the shop floor for agility based on unexpected events as they arise. Leading manufacturers are digitally transforming to infuse intelligence into every aspect of the business and the factory while controlling costs and quality for a stronger future.鈥�

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Connected Data across Ecosystems Boosts Business Agility

Automating processes on the factory floor was just the first step in modern manufacturing. The next step is gaining intelligence by connecting data from business systems like finance and planning and demand to factories, warehouse distribution, and logistics providers. Information needs to flow securely between customers, suppliers, and other partners. analysts said that due to increased competition for wallet share, 65% of G2000 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will integrate customer insights with service work orders to better personalize engagements, increasing satisfaction by 15% by 2025. By next year, analysts expected 30% of manufacturers will share applications with industry ecosystem partners to improve visibility and operational efficiency and ensure safety, security, and quality.

鈥淚ntelligence means that you can鈥檛 look at a single factor or a single factory,鈥� said Lackey. 鈥淭he intelligent factory links together your entire global operation as one entity to become the Intelligent Enterprise. As a manufacturer, your intelligent factory drives your intelligent supply chain that鈥檚 able to adapt quickly moving production lines between facilities when disruptions happen, sourcing alternate materials if supply chains are disrupted, or even switching out production for completely new products should consumer demand suddenly spike.鈥�

Bringing Intelligence Supply Chain-Wide

Technology advances are making yesterday鈥檚 impossibilities everyday realities. By next year, analysts expected 50% of all supply chain forecasts will be automated using artificial intelligence (AI), improving accuracy by five percentage points. By 2025, researchers predicted 30% of G2000 manufacturers will embed connected technologies to increase product reliability using operational insights that ensure uptime and support an optimized maintenance supply chain.

鈥淭he intelligent factory is self-correcting and self-learning,鈥� said Lackey. 鈥淔or example, machine learning builds intelligence into your processes for more robust and continuous improvements in quality control. When you combine business information like market demand drivers, cost structures, inventory, suppliers, and delivery dates with shop floor data, you have the intelligence to reduce inefficiencies and focus on benefits for the greatest competitive advantage. This is how our customers are digitally transforming using .鈥�

Technology Advances Energize Business Transformation

With greater intelligence from digital innovations like AI, machine learning, and the Internet of Things (IoT), manufacturers are using previously unused data to adapt operations and cross industry boundaries for expanded business opportunities. analysts predicted that by 2025, 65% of global manufacturers will invest in edge AI as a part of their IoT-enabled hyper-automation strategy, up from less than 10% today. In just a few years, analysts expected 40% of G2000 organizations will use AI, data governance, and a transformed organization to develop a resilient and distributed operational decision-making framework that drives 25% faster change execution. Products-as-a-service is among the biggest market growth areas. analysts predicted that by 2026, 30% of software development teams will focus on turning traditional products into outcomes-as-a-service.

鈥淭he intelligent factory supports new cloud-based services models as they emerge from board-level strategies,鈥� said Lackey. 鈥淚ntelligence from connected data across factory operations and the business is crucial to deliver on the contract for usage-based services where the manufacturer owns the product throughout its entire life cycle.鈥�

Delivering products against the plan is all well and good, but we live in a world of disruptions. It could be floods and wildfire shutdowns impacting the flow of materials, spiking consumer demands after an influencer鈥檚 social media post goes viral, or ongoing pandemic lockdowns anywhere in the world. In this kind of market, manufacturers have discovered that factory automation alone won鈥檛 build business resilience. As lot sizes decrease and customer expectations rise, Industry 4.0 initiatives are making factories more intelligent for agile business that builds customer loyalty.

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鈥淒igital transformation is just the newest term we鈥檙e using to describe the next stage of continuous improvement, bringing connected data from a really cool toolkit of Industry 4.0 innovations directly to people on the factory floor, helping them solve problems easily,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he people in the plant understand where the biggest problems are and where the biggest value comes from. It鈥檚 no different than the problem-solving we鈥檝e always done. What are you waiting for? You have to start today; find your problems and solve them.鈥�

Best known for its plumbing products, operates over 50 manufacturing plants worldwide and is a .

Intelligent, Connected Data Delivers Business Agility

When Gulick joined Kohler last year, she identified culture, infrastructure, and a strong foundational 聽system as three critical ingredients to digital transformation. At the same time, fast-changing customer demands and interconnected geopolitical events have shifted how companies do business. As ecosystems expand, security threats mount, workforce shortages continue, and industry boundaries blur, connected personalized data has become the common denominator for digital transformation.

鈥淭his is a fun job because we鈥檙e going into plants and augmenting humans, hyperconnecting them with data that allows them to continuously improve. Our goal is to help every one of our valued associates work smarter and not harder,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is not a perfect time to digitally transform. Consumerism has changed, with even greater expectations for customization and expediency. Manufacturers require intelligent, connected data to drive the automation for performance at that level, or they just won鈥檛 make it.鈥�

Gulick rattled off a slew of business results possible from intelligently connected data. Employees on the factory floor can ramp up faster, getting the personalized training they need at the right moment. This helps companies increase productivity and morale while meeting quality and safety standards. Machine learning algorithms can perform mundane, repetitive tasks with greater ease and accuracy, freeing up people for more strategic tasks, like new careers managing robots. Predictive maintenance from Internet of Things (IoT)-based sensors that monitor equipment helps prevent unexpected production line stoppages. Gulick said that one of Kohler鈥檚 transformative plants in Alabama achieved significant realized cost savings because they were alerted to replace a failing part before it broke down.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the bidirectional information that really boosts business agility,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e sending the information from tools and equipment to people when they need it, and they鈥檙e able to take the right action or escalate the problem seamlessly.鈥�

Practical Digital Innovation from the Factory Floor

Unlike past eras of innovation, digital transformation these days is impressively practical while requiring upskilling of employees to create the greatest impact. People can use technology in new ways and, over time, drive repeatable value throughout the company. At Kohler, leaders continue to gauge what training is needed to allow an agnostic culture of associates, partnered with advanced technology like robots and cobots. The foundation, including architecture, infrastructure, and culture, are factors for success. Their watchword is standardization.

鈥淲e strive to be the employer of choice in addition to the brand of choice,鈥� said Gulick. 鈥淧art of our road map is having a single source of data from our core 麻豆原创 systems run in a standard way across all of our plants. Intelligent data will provide executives with a strategic view that tells them where to focus today and how to make smarter decisions for tomorrow. For associates across our plants who know what their problems are, we want to drive autonomy with consistent guard rails so they can innovate faster.鈥�

Inducted into the last year, Gulick is looking ahead to her eventual obsolescence as she helps lead Kohler鈥檚 digital transformation.

鈥淚鈥檝e been doing disruptive thinking for almost a decade, and no matter what plant I walk into, I have realized that no person goes to work to do their job poorly,鈥� she said. 鈥淕iven the right tools, workers of all generations will get the job done, with quality and efficiency. Once we have connected intelligence, we can reimagine everything at our plants worldwide, including supply chain, operations, customer experience, and even profit and revenue streams. All companies need to begin transformation from where they were yesterday.鈥�

What are you waiting for indeed!

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