SAP INDUSTRY 4.0
INDUSTRY 4.0 :
Excellence in Industrial Productivity
Industry 4.0 enables enterprises to face supply chain disruptions directly and the new normal for manufacturing and production , says Dominik Metzger , the lead on SAP ’ s Industry 4.0 programme
In a period of unrivalled disruption , an organisation ' s supply chain has become either its strongest or weakest facet . Those businesses with agile and resilient supply chains have succeeded throughout the events of the past 18 months , while those that have been slow to adapt to digital transformation struggled and , in some cases , face falling further behind in the years to come .
It is uncertain what the future holds , but it is clear that transparency and resiliency will be key to navigating localised threats to productivity , such as the Suez Canal blockage , and the unforeseen global disasters highlighted by the unprecedented and pernicious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic . At the same time , enterprises are faced with increasing customer expectations in product cost , quality , excellence and experience .
Industry 4.0 offers a holistic approach to both these long-term and short-term obstacles to growth and productivity , says Dominik Metzger , Head of Product Management , Manufacturing and Industrial
IOT at SAP , and the lead on SAP ’ s Industry 4.0 programme . “ The main philosophy we at SAP follow with Industry 4.0 is to bring productivity increases into supply chains so that organisations of all sizes and industrial sectors are more resilient to disruptions .”
This process of connecting all core business operations revolves around the transformation of four often disparate but integral pillars across manufacturing , design operations , and employees : Intelligent Factories , Intelligent Products , Intelligent Assets and Empowered People .
“ Often you find that too many companies focus on what happens within the four walls of a factory , but with our strategy for Industry 4.0 , the real value creation goes far beyond that by connecting these four strategic pillars into end-to-end business processes ,” Metzger says . “ You can truly achieve a tremendous productivity increase if you connect your entire industrial processes - not only the factory - but where products are being engineered and designed , where
86 June 2021