The Industry 4.0 Revolution Is Under Way - and leading mill products and mining companies are already leveraging its benefits and understanding its risks.
Industry 4.0 can solve key challenges facing mill products and mining companies - including companies in metals, building products, paper, packaging, forest products, cement, concrete, textiles, furniture and plastic products – from extreme supply, demand, and design variability, to emerging markets of one, to the growing need for rapid innovation. Leveraging the principles of Industry 4.0 – and its enabling technologies to automate, integrate, and optimize manufacturing processes – companies can shorten cycle times, improve product quality, and implement efficiency across their operations, as well as grow the manufacturing of highly customized products on a global scale. What makes all of this possible is the way Industry 4.0 is disrupting – and deepening – the relationships between manufacturing, customers, and suppliers. Industry 4.0 shifts manufacturing from isolated, optimized cells of business processes, systems, and resources to fully integrated data and product flows across corporate borders. We’re already seeing examples of companies reaping the benefits of their Industry 4.0 journey, which is a testament to the fact that executives see its huge potential value.
Industry 4.0 can solve key challenges facing mill products and mining companies - including companies in metals, building products, paper, packaging, forest products, cement, concrete, textiles, furniture and plastic products – from extreme supply, demand, and design variability, to emerging markets of one, to the growing need for rapid innovation. Leveraging the principles of Industry 4.0 – and its enabling technologies to automate, integrate, and optimize manufacturing processes – companies can shorten cycle times, improve product quality, and implement efficiency across their operations, as well as grow the manufacturing of highly customized products on a global scale. What makes all of this possible is the way Industry 4.0 is disrupting – and deepening – the relationships between manufacturing, customers, and suppliers. Industry 4.0 shifts manufacturing from isolated, optimized cells of business processes, systems, and resources to fully integrated data and product flows across corporate borders. We’re already seeing examples of companies reaping the benefits of their Industry 4.0 journey, which is a testament to the fact that executives see its huge potential value.
- With an Industry 4.0-enabled factory, Harley-Davidson can build 1,700 bike variations on one production line and ship an individualized bike approximately every 90 seconds. At the same time, the company has brought costs down 7%, increased net margin by 19%, and slashed the locked schedule to build a bike from 21 days to 6 hours
- Certain steel and paper companies are building the Internet of Things directly into their production processes to detect or predict deteriorating quality. Their goal is to detect issues early enough for operators to “save” the product by making adjustments in real time. Companies can set up product-specific rules to identify a quality defect (for example, the width or composition of tubes, paper, or steel plates) – and the faster they can recognize a quality problem, the earlier they can adjust manufacturing parameters or trigger maintenance tasks to head off a problem. This improves manufacturing output and speed to market, reduces waste and scrap, and minimizes energy for rework.
To learn and understand more about what your peers are doing with Industry 4.0:
- Read this white paper on Industry 4.0 - what is next
- Attend the SAP Leonardo Live event July 11-12 in Frankfurt.
SAP Leonardo, our digital innovation system, integrates today’s transformational technologies — so you can innovate at scale to confidently redefine your business. Bringing together up to 1,000 decision makers, customers, partners, influencers, analytics and leading media personalities, this exclusive event will showcase leading-edge innovations, industry expertise and best-practice business cases from around the globe so that you can jumpstart your transformation to become a digital business.
Below are some sessions at the event of interest to Mill Products and Mining companies
- 50846 F. Hofmann-La Roche: Global Batch Traceability at Roche Pharma
- 51004 SK Solutions: Bring Safety, Security, and Productivity to Operational Sites
- 51006 Steelcase: Digital Logistics
- 51008 Robert Bosch: Digital Logistics
- 50994 Airbus APWorks GmbH: More than 3D Printing. Design. Material. 3D Printing
- 51016 SAP: The Future of Track and Trace in a Digitized World
- 51019 SAP and Customers: The Transformation of Manufacturing and Supply Chain by Industrial 3D Printing
- SAP Managed Tags: