It is becoming increasingly evident that advances in information technology (IT) are revolutionizing the way we understand, use and manufacture any new product. Products are no longer simply a collection of mechanical and electrical components, but have become complex systems of sensors, microprocessors and data storage that can connect and even intercommunicate in an infinite number of ways through wireless connections.
These increasingly intelligent products are creating a new competitive paradigm. Michael Porter, in a now classic HBR article, stated that “the frontiers of industry are being remade and entirely new industries are being created”.
This new way of competing forces companies to continually reinvent themselves and, from a strategic point of view, to redefine their business model.
“In the world of Industry 4.0, the implementation of innovative solutions makes it possible to create added value thanks to the management and analysis of your data, of particular application in this new environment.”
And what are the elements that define the new use of data?
On the one hand, it is necessary to create new services to be more competitive, on the other hand, it is necessary to maintain the continuous improvement that allows redesigning, better segmenting the market or offering a much more efficient after-sales service.
Let’s think, for example, in the case of a supplier of artificial vision solutions for the industrial sector, whose machines are integrated into the production processes in order to discriminate the production of defective parts or parts below the defined quality standard.
Parallel to its selection function, data relating to the quality of the parts produced and the machine’s own operating parameters are generated and stored and sent directly to a cloud platform, so that the data are integrated into a single information repository, sorted and enriched with data from other information sources (e.g. environmental conditions, temperature, humidity, pressure), allowing analyses to be carried out taking into account several dimensions.
The storage under a single repository and in an orderly manner facilitates the search for patterns in the data sets to detect early on deviations or trends that deviate from the manufacturing ideal, predict potential problems and apply preventive solutions, with the consequent cost savings and improvement of service capacity.
Industry 4.0 enables manufacturers to optimize their asset management and profitability. Adapting to customer needs or looking for specialization niches are some of the factors that will add value to companies in the Industrial Internet era. Products will be more difficult to replace because they will offer higher performance, customization and, therefore, will have more value for the customer.
“Let’s value the effect that all these improvements can have on the industry’s ability to be much more efficient, using data to make the right decisions at the right time, avoiding waste of resources and improving the quality of products and processes.”
The possibilities open to us are endless. Let us seize the opportunity offered by technology to create new models of efficiency that will allow us to build a more productive world that consumes less, making the most of resources that need to be rationalized so that the future, in addition to being sustainable, will be better.
