Five Ways in Which Cloud Computing Has Enabled Modern Manufacturing

Introduction

Digital transformation has altered the landscape of business and industry and will continue to do so in the years to come. In the last two decades, manufacturing has also undergone several changes. Though often considered resistant to technology, manufacturing is the earliest industry to have embraced business computing back in the 1960s. The manufacturing industry already integrated ERP implementation and avant-garde technologies like CAD and industrial robotics in the 1980s. However, with cloud computing, it has been a late bloomer.

Introduction of Cloud Computing to Manufacturing

The Information Technology disruption revolutionising the global manufacturing economy by digitising every aspect of modern manufacturing is called Industry 4.0 in Europe and smart manufacturing in the US. Cloud computing, along with other high-end software and other wireless technologies, is a significant player in this tech revolution in manufacturing.

Cloud computing applications impact the manufacturing process at e=several levels:

Business operations management
Financial management
Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
Data analytics
Workforce training and management

Simply put, from research, designing, production to delivery to the end-user, cloud computing successfully integrates manufacturers throughout the supply chain. The most significant benefits of adopting cloud computing to modern manufacturing are:

It increases overall operational efficiency at every step of the manufacturing process.
It facilitates data integration. It is challenging to manage data from diverse channels within the company’s own data centres. However, integrating data streams from multiple partners and platforms is way more convenient with the data centres on the cloud.
Cloud computing allows manufacturers ready access to scalable computational resources as and when needed, without purchasing expensive IT support. They can pay as per usage.
Cloud computing comes with the promise of better security. The manufacturing IT systems can be more secure on the cloud than what they can put up on their own.

Five Ways How Cloud Computing Enabled Manufacturing

Management of Operations

Manufacturers are becoming increasingly aware of the perks of cloud computing in increasing the overall efficiency of their business operations. Integration is the key to efficient business management, and cloud computing brings you just that. By bringing multiple departments under the centralised cloud solution, the manufacturers can track efficiency, resourcing, cost management, usage of raw material in manufacturing, the manufacture and delivery of the products. In short, every stage of the supply chain is monitored, upgraded and streamlined with cloud technology.

Product Development

Gone are the days when this stage of the manufacturing process was conducted manually. In yesteryears, product development used to be the prerogative of the R&D unit, comprising a manual review of prototypes, sampling, testing, innovating, designing and redesigning. This entire process was time-consuming and expensive, and hence, it has become obsolete now. Designers are now using cloud solutions to generate prototypes, making the whole product development cycle cost-effective and time-efficient.

Product Consumption

Cloud computing has influenced consumer trends too. Several cloud-based apps help the manufacturer monitor the evolving consumer behaviour, expectations, and market trends that have redefined production. By knowing the expectations and preferences of customers, manufacturing will become more customer-centric, producing more saleable products and services.

Managing Supply and Demand

The trends of demand and supply are highly volatile. Especially during special times like the ongoing pandemic predicting the demand and optimising manufacture to meet the supply would have been an ordeal if not for cloud services. Through cloud-based solutions made data integration from umpteen sources and real-time analysis possible during the global pandemic. With the help of smart analytics and artificial intelligence, the manufacturers could predict the demand and adjust their operations accordingly.

Hiring the Untapped Talent Pool

According to a Forbes’ study, manufacturing executives often cite the scarcity of the young workforce as a significant constraint to the growth of this industry. But why is the younger workforce averse to joining this sector? For one thing, it’s the outdated IT environment and low key technical model of this sector. By embracing cloud computing, modern manufacturing redefines itself as part of the industry 4.0 revolution. The younger workforce more comfortable working with state-of-the-art technology will surely identify with this avatar of modern manufacturing and voluntarily be a part of it. This untapped pool of talent, if hired, will promise an upward ascent in the manufacturing sector.

Conclusion

This is the era of cloud computing, and to make the most of it, modern manufacturing must coalesce with cloud service providers for a complete digital transformation. 365Solutions is a cloud solution provider which takes complete care of the transition to the cloud. Visit their website to know more about their services. You can reach them at +44 20 3880 1220 or contact

them via email (sales@365solution.com).

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References

Tags: cloud computing