INTELLIGENT FACTORIES REPORT to 50 % capacity , or more . With Industry 4.0 , businesses are able to consolidate their entire global operation , shifting production on a global-level .
“ Wherever operations are based , whether Asia , Europe or North America , businesses cannot look at each plant as a single silo . They must look at all plants in their global operation , and how best to leverage those to deliver on all their customer demand . By building standardisation and intelligence into those plants , they can understand where to move production . They can see the impact on their business .”
Lackey considers the prevailing congestion in global ocean freight and shipping , and whether flying goods could be a suitable alternative . “ That adds an exponential cost , but by bringing all of that data together , professionals can clearly assess what the impact will be on the business , on profitability , and on the actual ability to
To bring cost , customer and supplier data all down to the shop floor to aid decision making - that ' s what we mean by the Intelligent Factory
deliver . All that data together gives them the ability to make the decisions to best support their customers .
RISE OF THE INTELLIGENT CONSUMER With more information at their fingertips than ever before , the intelligent consumer is another major forcing factor for manufacturing . Demand for more personalised products is growing at both an enterprise and consumer level , alongside expectations that they are produced from sustainably sourced materials , and delivered in a time frame of their choosing . Responding to that demand will be critical for growth , says Lackey :
“ They ’ re willing to pay for that level of customisation ,” Lackey says . “ And the companies that are offering that level of customer service , that are customer driven and are making decisions based on data-driven information , are the ones that are going to succeed . When you start going from mass production to mass customisation , though , you still have to hit volumes . There ’ s still a production plan to adhere to , and high
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