Towards Industrial Internet, Part Two: Digitalisation of the Supply Network

The first thing that springs to mind with Industrial Internet is the Internet of Things (IoT) and its adoption in industry. In addition to smart machines communicating with one another (M2M) it is also about the processes and services around the machines.

Last week ROIMA’s blog was about the inevitable first step of adopting the Industrial Internet – paperless production and information retrieval from manufacturing processes.

In digitalisation it would be short-sighted to concentrate only on the company’s own manufacturing. Even the smallest of firms use extensive supplier networks. In the digitalisation of the manufacturing process it is crucial to get real time information from the supply chain in addition to the information from the company’s own manufacturing. An example of scheduling: to avoid intermediate stocks it is smart to schedule your own production according to the progress information from your supply chain.

A second example is the quality of your product and actions taken in case of reclamations. Integrating your supply chain to your quality control and including these records into the product’s history improves quality and speeds up dealing with reclamations.

Contract manufacturing and using multiple suppliers are growing trends in supply chain networks.

Another important aspect in the digitalization of supply networks is flexibility. The free flow of digital information is emphasized in situations where you make decisions between your own and your supplier’s resources. Up to date information on the schedules and utilization of both, is the base for a correct decision. Using your supplier as an ‘infinite resource’ will backfire if and when your delivery is delayed.

Effective operation must not rely solely on paper or person dependent information.

We at ROIMA want to contribute our know-how to all our customers manufacturing and technology related businesses. The cases described in this blog are examples of Industrial Internet’s possibilities. We see the proper utilization of Industrial Internet and digitalization as the keys to succeeding in a competitive environment.