{"id":25840,"date":"2024-05-16T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scheer-pas.com\/en\/blog\/article\/avoiding-bumps-on-the-manufacturing-4-0-production-line\/"},"modified":"2024-05-16T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-15T22:00:00","slug":"avoiding-bumps-on-the-manufacturing-4-0-production-line","status":"publish","type":"post_type_article","link":"https:\/\/scheer-pas.com\/en\/blog\/article\/avoiding-bumps-on-the-manufacturing-4-0-production-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding bumps on the Manufacturing 4.0 production line"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Manufacturing ideas to overcome the last couple of years was (and for some it still is) hard enough but manufacturing products is a whole different sport. Following the trends in the IT industry, a new term could come to your attention just because of how vague it is. \u201cIndustry 4.0\u201d or to be more precise \u201cManufacturing 4.0\u201d sounds immensely techy, but it isn\u2019t. To put it in three simple terms, \u201cManufacturing 4.0\u201d besides everything else means digitization, digitization and some more digitization just for a good measure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But let\u2019s slow down a bit. There are 4 major hurdles for any company that is even considering digitization of their manufacturing processes. In no particular order, those are financial investment, the lack of framework for the transition, cybersecurity, and technical support. Manufacturing companies are well aware that the process of digitization is unavoidable to keep them afloat, especially in the last couple of years but these scary things are preventing them from even trying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Roadmap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Scheer<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the requirement of a roadmap for digitization is a necessity for anyone dealing with manufacturing, having a well-planned roadmap that considers vision, budget and timescale is already a first step into being too late for the party when the competition is already ahead. Defining\u00a0such\u00a0a\u00a0roadmap is often difficult without an outside company doing the consulting so any sane manufacturer would appreciate a \u201cone-stop-shop\u201d solution for this. If there was just a company that could do it all\u2026but\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0get to that later.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Security<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Scheer-PAS-Manufacturing-4.0-blog-post-Image-2\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Who knows a precise recipe for\u00a0Coca-Cola, Nutella, Big Mac?\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0right, going through digitization process\u00a0has to\u00a0involve some automation that relies on data but the more of your precious data you take to the cloud, the more Pepsis,\u00a0Nutella\u2019s\u00a0and Whoppers there will be. In other words, digitization is a necessity but can lead to not running ahead of your competition but creating more of it. Then why shouldn\u2019t a manufacturer have everything automated and more efficient with the\u00a0central data point\u00a0running the\u00a0process\u00a0mining\u00a0next to\u00a0their\u00a0desk?\u00a0Of course, On-Site implementations can provide you with this\u00a0option.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Support<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Scheer-PAS-Manufacturing-4.0-blog-post-Image-3\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Now hypothetically,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0say that\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0jumped over the first two hurdles.\u00a0You\u2019ve\u00a0got the vision,\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0got the equipment, now you need to do something with it not just to save costs in the future but keep your job as the CIO. Low-Code development by your own employees will give you a head start but your manufacturing company has such specific needs that you need help and support of professional software developers (which you do not have in your company). Handout from Low-Code to Pro-Code\u00a0in order to\u00a0customize the software which will help you in your digitization quest is\u00a0a must, especially when dealing with robust platforms that give you so many options that it scares you to try dwelling into them. So then,\u00a0write\u00a0an e-mail and\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0already taken a huge step.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Finances<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Scheer-PAS-Manufacturing-4.0-blog-post-Image-4\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But if you take a step back while\u00a0reading\u00a0the\u00a0CFO\u2019s mail in which they are demanding a financial report of the progress of digitization which should in\u00a0long-term\u00a0help the company financially, you keep thinking about the cost of everything. You\u2019re getting invoices from one company that has done the consulting and created some roadmaps, the other company demands the payments ahead of securing your company\u2019s secret\u00a0sauce, you have the third company on the phone walking you through\u00a0some code and reminding you of your debt towards them, and all you can think of is \u201cIs this all worth it?\u201d Such projects demand solid investments and the lack of starting funds or ROI assessments to even\u00a0try.\u00a0All this can keep\u00a0your business running today or tomorrow but what about the day after tomorrow?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To recap<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In order to get your manufacturing business and turn its marketing slogan into something similar to \u201cWe too belong to 4.0<\/a>\u201d, you need:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n