No matter what kind of business you run, the level of your success depends on the speed of your production. Achieving top speed, maximum efficiency, and high production is the only way to ensure maximum uptime and a steady flow of customers.
The power of automation allows you to cope with the latest trends and keep up with the pace of your industry and online market. In the internet age, fast connectivity, technology, and automation fuel your business.
From education to healthcare, every industry depends on the latest technology and high-speed networks. Since next-gen connectivity, artificial intelligence, and automation are the very lifeblood of your manufacturing business, they play a crucial role in how you go about your daily operations.
They allow you to establish an authoritative online presence, attract and retain consumers, handle the ever-changing needs of modern-day clients, monitor your competitors, mitigate cybersecurity risks, and more.
Let’s see why industrial automation is no longer an option but a necessity for manufacturing businesses.
Online marketing has allowed for rapid expansion
Although customers still regularly visit brick-and-mortar businesses, companies have moved online in droves, and it’s easy to see why. The internet is an abundant source of business opportunities that allows companies of all sizes and shapes to target the right demographics with their products and services.
Let’s say that your business produces kitchen appliances. You can set up a website, upload eye-catching images of your products, and harness the power of social media platforms to generate leads and find new clients who want to put your products on their shelves.
Social media networks such as Instagram and Facebook are perfect marketing platforms for your products. They allow you to launch marketing campaigns and personalized ads to target people worldwide.
Industrial automation improves productivity as a company scales production
The internet can help manufacturers expand their operations into new markets. However, business growth means increased demand. It requires an adequate solution to increase the productivity of processes and everyday tasks.
That’s where industrial automation comes into the picture. Automation can remove manual labor from processes that used to take armies of workers to complete. It also eliminates repetitive tasks and turns massive production into a process that involves a fraction of the time and labor.
Since labor shortages and supply-demand are the biggest concerns for manufacturers, industrial automation can help you get more done, reduce labor costs, and enhance machinery maintenance and use.
IoT and AI streamline business processes
High-speed internet directly impacts your business operations. Whether it’s human resources, finance, marketing, logistics, production, or material procurement, every department of your enterprise needs fast, secure, and reliable network access to go about their daily duties.
The internet provides your departments with the means to carry out their everyday tasks, such as sending salaries, tracking supply and delivery, launching SEO and marketing campaigns, hiring top talent, etc.
With a fast internet connection, manufacturing companies can enhance security, increase efficiency, and ensure every aspect of business operations goes according to plan.
How AI improves machine availability and ads flexibility
Companies that use AI to deal with data science and analyze, handle, and store vast amounts of data need a top-speed internet connection to secure cloud-based data storage, forecast demand, predict future trends, and mitigate cybersecurity risks. Industrial IoT and automation ensure scalability and flexibility to adjust output to demand.
If your line of orders changes, it will take less effort, time, and resources to re-program your manufacturing machines, which results in increased machine availability. It is also much easier to identify problems with wear and tear early on and order spare parts like compression springs, thus limiting downtime caused by equipment malfunctions.
According to some estimations, industrial automation allows companies to use internet sensors on manufacturing machinery, which helps reduce operating and maintenance costs by up to 15%.
You can manage a remote workforce to cut costs
Manufacturing isn’t only about production. Modern times require manufacturers to rethink their strategies and consider outsourcing some of their operations. That means they need solutions for managing both workforce and production outside of their logistic centers, warehouses, and production sites.
Industrial automation technology grants manufacturers access to the latest technologies and tools for servicing, operating, monitoring, and accessing manufacturing machinery. Business owners can develop control systems for managing both workers and equipment safely from a distance.
They can use cloud-based technologies, advanced analytics, industrial IoT connectivity, and augmented-reality glasses to enhance industrial processes, monitor operations, and make better data-driven business decisions.
Conclusion
In the modern, internet-driven era, industrial automation and IoT are the omnipotent sources of business success for manufacturing organizations that know how to harness the immense potential of these technologies.
They allow businesses to streamline processes, enhance employee collaboration, provide customers with top-grade products, enhance customer support, target the right audience, ensure high-end production, and beat the competition.
Without industrial automation, manufacturing businesses wouldn’t be able to keep up with the demand and handle customer requests, among many other things.