Technology Archives - Page 2 of 5

How finance professionals play a key role on digital transformation in manufacturing

A worldwide survey by KPMG carried out in partnership with Forbes, entitled"Digital Transformation", pointed out that 79% of 261 CFOs had already started the digital transformation procedure in the companies they lead. The poll also showed that this movement has opened the way for the introduction of more advanced emerging technology such as large data, computer vision, and machine learning. These capacities can provide information and help companies respond more efficiently to business fluctuations. The intelligent automation provides professionals with the essential information-gathering tools for decision making and enables them to concentrate more on approach. "What we've seen, lately, is that this procedure has also been intensified in the finance function in the other organizations due to the urgent need for automation which has arisen in the face of the challenges imposed by the social distancing determined as a health measure to fight Covid-19", points KPMG. In our daily dealings with factories in a variety of areas of the planet, we've seen many fund managers who are more open to electronic transformation. The covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this process, sometimes in a tumultuous manner. But we believe it is a road with no turning back. Contracts are…

Digital Maturity in the Packaging Industry Benchmark Report

PackIOT decided to create a Benchmark Report to understand how digital mature are the packaging manufacturers around the globe. The goal of this benchmark report is to help the packaging industries to have a better understanding of itself during the journey through Digital Transformation. If the Digital Transformation could be defined as the attempt of companies and businesses to use technology and tools to innovate certain processes and products within the enterprise environment, the Digital Maturity would be the stage that the company is during this transformation. A digital mature organization is more prepared to respond and take advantage of technological innovations. And that is why you should get a full understanding of what is your stage of Digital Maturity and where you are among the whole packaging industries. To build a complete report, we are approaching themes like: the importance of a transparent, easy and accessible information flow inside the factory; how involving people with different specializations in specific projects can bring success to your company; real-time data collection to see the trends, get insights and identify what is harming the manufacturing proccess; using the fast information flow to act upon unexpected problems in a short period of time; and…

The Cosmetics Industry Is Being Transformed By Industry 4.0

By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT Today, more than ever before, the beauty and cosmetics industry is starting to experience what it is like to have technological innovation at the heart of its value chain, contributing to higher performances, greater agility and flexibility. This not only applies to the consumer but also to the employees since it simplifies and facilitates their everyday and enables better ergonomics. What does innovating mean? Not only means to be able to rely on the expertise of the teams but doing so while adopting the latest 4.0 technologies with cutting-edge capabilities, to create the most efficient solutions and conditions both for employees and consumers. We have already mentioned several times how Industry 4.0 and technological innovation concerns all parties of the value chain and the different fields of an industrial group, such as: research and development, environment, design, production and digital, for example. It is also crucial for operations and performance management. This is an omnipresent component from design to distribution, product development and manufacturing. Production processes in the cosmetics industry will only become more networked. Centrally controlled plants will be replaced by production systems which allow the communication between machines,…

The 4 Steps to Own Your Digital Transformation Journey In Flexible Packaging

By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT You may be wondering, “Why should I do It?”, “Why should I adopt Industry 4.0 and digital transformation in my factory?”, “I can collect data for my company but sharing it might be a risk against my competitive advantages!”. In this blog post, we will answer all these questions and more by showing you how Industry 4.0 is here to stay in the Flexible Packaging industry. So, with this in mind, let’s ask the question again: Why should you accelerate digital transformation? When we talk about Digital Transformation in its full potential we are considering a journey towards a fully connected and transparent value chain, from the suppliers to the brand owners or from the retailers to the consumers.´ We all have expectations regarding each participant of the value chain. For example, we expect suppliers to have the best quality, at the best price and at the right time. But have you ever stopped to think about your daily operation? It’s normal to run after a constant fix-the-machine-and-run mindset to stay on the safe side, it’s human and natural. Nevertheless, there is a price to pay for this safety called…

When Is The Best Time To Integrate an ERP With Your Production Analytics Software?

By Fernando Pacheco, COO at PackIOT We have constantly been talking about how digital transformation in the industry should start with baby steps or pilot projects (or MVP, if you are already familiar with this concept). Manufacturing plants around the world have been looking for production optimization and Industry 4.0 solutions, and there is always one question on top of the decision tables: when is the best time to integrate an ERP with your production analytics software? We will explore this topic throughout this article but one thing is already clear: ideally, you should not integrate any new software with ERP from the start. Example: Are you implementing a MES or an IoT system? The first step is to make sure the roll-out will be a success. After, you can focus on the other integrations. 1_Each thing is a unique thing: ERP Enterprise Resource Planning is an information system that links all the data and processes of an organization into a single system. The interconnection can be seen from the functional perspective (finance, accounting, human resources, manufacturing, marketing, sales, purchasing, etc.) and from the systemic perspective (transaction processing system, management information systems, decision support systems, etc.). ERP is…

Real-Time in Packaging: The 4 Main Advantages For Tube Manufacturers

By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT If the idea of having pilots, air traffic controllers or managers relying on data collected hours ago is utterly scary to us. So, what makes us think that it is actually a viable solution to apply the same strategy to a tube manufacturing company? I know what you’re thinking… “such a dramatic example!”. Well, it is…. But it might be what is exactly needed to understand the importance of real-time data monitoring vs data collected on paper and excel spreadsheets. Tube manufacturing plants that don’t adopt real-time data are always one step behind of fixing their problems or even of finding out they have one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQ3FZwdONic This is what your tube manufacturing business can get with real-time data: 1_Better people management By monitoring the systems it is possible to obtain immediate information regarding the distribution of employees in the different sectors of the company. At the same time, updated information on their availability is also given. No doubt about it… this makes everything a lot easier when thinking about how to manage a team and how to optimize the work of employees towards higher collective income. 2_Identify business opportunities…

The 8 Reasons Why Your Packaging Manufacturing Business Needs A Remote SaaS Service

By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT If you are here, it is probably because you are interested in building your factory’s own production metrics system. When trying to get more insights from your factory’s data, one thinks about a software that can be the right arm in this task. In this specific blogpost we asked ourselves: among all possibilities, why should you opt for a SaaS service and why is remote not a threat to the quality of the service? A remote software company is not physically based and more than 80% of the work is done remotely, even if, at some point, local visits are needed. Compared to the traditional models, a SaaS works particularly well based on a remote service. It is a type of software distribution and sales in which the software supplier is responsible for all the necessary structures to make the system available (servers, connectivity, information security care) and the client uses the software via the Internet, paying a fee for the service. For this set of reasons, it is possible to create an ecosystem, ready to support your manufacturing business without a set of strict and complicated rules and needs…

How Lean 4.0 Can Help Leverage Efficiency On Your Shop Floor

By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT Lean manufacturing or lean production is a methodology already accepted in the industrial context. It concerns a strict approach to the integration of humans in the manufacturing process through the continuous improvement and focus on activities that add value while eliminating waste. On the other hand, we already know about Industry 4.0 and how it has been emerging in the manufacturing sector. What we usually call 4.0 technologies allow the creation of smart networks of machines, products, components, individuals and ICT systems in the entire value chain to have an intelligent factory. What is the value of lean methodology for manufacturers? It helps manufacturers reduce operational complexity, eliminate waste and drive productivity improvements by empowering workers on the shop floor. The human element is a key principle of lean manufacturing because human analysis and flexibility produces the majority of the efficiency from these principles. When we think about the types of waste considered in this methodology we can find eight: transportation, inventory, motion, waiting time, overproduction, over processing, defects and unutilized talent. We can look at Industry 4.0 as the technology enabler and for lean manufacturing as the cultural application…

Covid-19 Pandemic Drives Manufacturers to adopt a Digital Transformation Strategy

By Mariana Costa, Marketing Specialist at PackIOT A study done by SYSPRO, a global provider of ERP software, is telling us that the covid-19 pandemic is accelerating the need for digital transformation among manufacturers. The study is called “The Inflection Point for the Factory of the Future” and you can find the report here. The survey was completed by 144 respondents at different managerial levels across different regions: USA, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific region. It gives us an overview into how manufacturers and distributors handled the shift caused by the pandemic. These actors have seen, overtime, an increased need for collaboration, supply chain disruptions and emerging trends to keep up with. Sounds interesting! Some key finding that are particularly interesting to look at: 47% OF BUSINESSES WERE UNABLE TO FUNCTION DUE TO OPERATIONAL STAFF RELIANCE ON-PREMISE. This comes to show us how unprepared the industry professionals were for a scenario where most of the workforce would have to work remote. Well, a pandemic came, unannounced and not a lot could be done to prevent it. The global lockdowns saw the rise of remote workforce and 47% of the businesses were not ready... the…

PackIOT Software Demo

Does your factory struggle with tons of paperwork or human errors on spreadsheets? Do you know your main downtime reasons or can you answer how is your production running right now? You can answer all of those question and even more with PackIOT. A plug-and-play software that helps you with real time data in your manufacturing industry. https://youtu.be/BK0kxRLfoH0 With our production analytics software, you can track your day by day production and easily compare it with your goal for the production order and monitor your trend line. You are able to compare how your production is running right now with your goals for that specific production order. Easily track your OEE, the changeovers you had in that period and your productivity on each shift. You can also keep track of all the production orders that are in progress at the moment. You can track planned or unplanned downtime reasons: by line, category, and machine. All informed by the operators on the shop floor. Those downtime inputs are very important to add context to the reasons that your machine isn’t working or your production line stopped. With our software you will have a high engagement of the operators…