How Digital Transformation Can Change the Manufacturing Industry

How Digital Transformation Can Change the Manufacturing Industry The manufacturing sector is pursuing digital transformation with the help of data conversion services to improve process efficiency and empower innovation.

Rising consumer expectations and the advent of connected devices and platforms are the most significant drivers of digitization in the manufacturing sector. At present, the manufacturing industry has been aggressively pursuing digital transformation with the help of data conversion services to improve process efficiency and empower innovation. Digital transformation helps businesses to focus on new business value and optimize business operations.

Digitization is a necessity for all industries to prosper in the present digital world and it should be aligned with every aspect of the business to derive valuable insights that help to make the right business decisions. Today, we are going through Industry 4.0, and it is

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revolutionizing the way companies manufacture, improve and distribute their products. With the outbreak of the COVID 19 virus, all industries including the manufacturing sector underwent significant changes and the manufacturing industry quickly adapted to the new digital advancements. With immense pressure to streamline operations and minimize cost, digital transformation has become an essential component in this sector. It helps manufacturers to cope up with rising demands and challenges of the crisis. Emerging technologies like AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) are accelerating the transformation process. Manufacturers can implement AI in three areas to become more resilient.

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Planning and forecasting customer demand: AI and ML tools help to segregate data and gain the information necessary to make the right business decisions. According to McKinsey Digital, AI-powered forecasting can reduce errors by 30 to 50% in supply chain networks. ML is widely used by demand planners across the industry. The speed and accuracy of machine learning forecasts provide multiple benefits, with the improvement to customer experience as a result of improved availability. This helps to make better demand forecast and also identify possible areas for product expansion while speeding up the process for a timelier launch.

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Development and maintenance of manufacturing equipment: Manually checking on the equipment is not practical and after many years there is always a high risk of its malfunction and this can affect the production schedule and productivity. But this can be prevented with predictive maintenance. Supervised and unsupervised machine learning algorithms interpret shifts in real-time data. In a few seconds it can detect the unknown process and workflow from leveraging various data from it. This is sensor data, which is gathered by detecting the heat, vibrations and programmable logic controller (PLC) data tracks machine inputs and outputs of the equipment. The time series data determines the state of the machine based on its history, and external data like changing weather condition is also considered. All this data can be used for training machine learning models, product development and optimization of assembly line production.

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Communications: AI and ML are not only for business processes, these can also be used for communicating with the customers and employees. AI chat bots help to conduct online chat conversations using text or text-to-speech. This helps to free up

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call centers and field sales teams, and they can focus on other productive activities.

With the rolling out of 5G connected devices, it is easier than ever to connect the various devices that enable key business functions. Cloud applications available now can collect information regarding the most searched for website FAQs and data pertaining to materials sourcing, and fulfilment and returns record among other things. This is useful to identify when a particular issue started, whether it can be addressed through support or whether it requires a recall, and also whether it is associated with a particular order from a supplier.

Manufacturing industry is more equipped than ever and as a part of digital transformation manufacturers are adopting smart technologies to move from mass production to customized production.

Manufacturing Workers Want to Digitally Upskill The manufacturing industry has already embraced digital transformation and now, manufacturing workers are also embracing the change and they also want to acquire the technical skills needed for their jobs. A survey called “Digital Illiteracy in the Factory: Providing Workers with Low-Code Tools” was commissioned by low-code platform provider Mendix. According to the survey, nearly 9 out of 10 said they want to learn low-code software development, while only 3% currently use low-code in their jobs. More than twothirds (67 percent) say they want to create a software app that would solve work issues. The survey also found that 87 percent of U.S. workers want to learn low-code development, and within those respondents, 88 percent of women showed interest in learning low-code, while 51 percent of men responded in kind. The survey shows that the younger generation are more in favor of learning low code skills. The survey also showed that the US manufacturers are helping their workers to develop their digital skills and only 18% of workers are happy with their digital skills. Derek Roos, Mendix CEO stated that US should move to get their workers understand the digital game.

The manufacturing sector has many departments like finance and accounting, marketing and sales etc that deal with large volume data. Data conversion companies provide data conversion into the preferred digital format that would enable businesses in this sector to stay competitive and increase ROI. They use both skilled workers and the latest technology to ensure quality output as well as improved efficiency and workflow. It is also important for

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the business to build a good rapport with their vendor so that they work as an extension to the client organization.

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