How Manufacturing Visibility Can Empower Your Supply Chain

The industrial internet of things (IIoT) and its capacity to continuously optimize and improve processes will play an increasingly significant role across the factory and supply chain environment.

Adopting new technology can provide actionable data and insights to seamlessly connect demand to the manufacturing process, thereby giving increased visibility to stakeholders.

Manufacturing Visibility

Manufacturing visibility is the capacity to see critical information throughout a facility or supply chain, regardless of location.

Businesses that have established high levels of supply chain visibility gain insights into the daily functioning of their supply chains, including in areas like:

• Efficient production
• Quality Assurance (QA) and adherence
• Product flaws and supplier reliability
• Sources of raw materials
• Factory workers’ health and safety requirements

Key Features of Manufacturing Visibility

The complexity of manufacturing necessitates control, real-time visibility and in-depth analysis of specific parts of your business to boost productivity. Here are a few significant ways that end-to-end real-time production visibility can improve your manufacturing operations.

Traceability & Production Progress

Manufacturers are leveraging visibility to comply with regulations on commercial operations, environmental requirements, serialization and various track-and-trace legislation.

All manufacturing businesses can leverage supply chain visibility to reevaluate areas of inefficiency and disruption, thereby minimizing the risks of faulty products, process errors and other challenges.

Businesses can attain greater supply chain visibility to enhance performance and growth while lowering expenses at the same time.

Data Sovereignty

Data visibility helps manufacturing companies engage in more precise production planning and offer better product quality. It also results in fewer supply chain interruptions and outages.

Companies can also use data to study the behavior of repeat customers and assess the quantity and the type of goods that are more likely to sell in the market.

The data repository necessitates storing the company's data in the cloud for easy access by authorized users from any internet-connected device. It enhances data management and security while decreasing expenses.

Benefits of Gaining Manufacturing Visibility

Real-time factory performance monitoring can offer countless insights into how to boost performance. Visibility is the first step toward awareness of the current happenings, and once a clear image appears, businesses can start making process adjustments immediately.

1. Improved Production Load Utilization

Producers can better tackle problems, enhance workflows, and release latent capacity by leveraging real-time manufacturing visibility without spending a fortune on overtime or outsourcing.

Organizations can also boost capacity while reducing maintenance costs, raising quality standards and ensuring utilization of Capex only when present capacity is fully optimized.

2. Fast Response to Bottleneck Situations

Factories can identify bottlenecks early for quicker remedial action by having real-time visibility into production status and performance metrics.

By leveraging robust AI-driven technology, they can also eliminate the constantly shifting bottlenecks and reduce maintenance downtimes, lead time predictability and inventory holding costs, as well as implement actionable insights faster.

3. Simple Traceability of Parts

Tools, jigs and components, which are frequently used, are controlled and operated using traceability in parts management.

Each tool or part has a code or serial number for identification and is assigned information like usage and wear constraints, plant names, shelf numbers and serial numbers.

Simple traceability of parts is thus possible due to the availability of production, delivery, and quality data.

Manufacturing Visibility Practical Examples

One of the reasons manufacturers are moving toward the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is enhanced data visibility.

Production Progress Monitoring

During the pandemic, a major auto-parts manufacturer in the US could not meet the spike in demand for components for recreational vehicles due to inefficient order management methods, resulting in delays, order errors, and backorders.

It teamed up with GEP to restructure its order, inventory, and demand planning procedures and improve its demand forecasting and supply chain planning.

Result: The client is saving up to 12,000 labor hours yearly, and the order cycle time has dramatically decreased; the ROI is estimated at 275%.

Additionally, order input accuracy increased, and demand forecasting, planning, and inventory control improved. The client could also get visibility into SKU segmentation by value, throughput and strategic relevance.

Industrial Traceability

Linked devices and machines communicate to track and analyze data on industrial performance, enable real-time traceability, and even forecast something going wrong, making industrial IoT systems compelling.

Organizations can increase productivity, remotely monitor and standardize processes and metrics across locations, enhance reliability, and optimize operations in the factory and field due to a linked IIoT environment.

Parts Quality Integration

Supply chain visibility solutions employ QR codes, barcodes, and RFID labels as interface tools to integrate quality and efficiency and eliminate supply chain issues and weaknesses across the value chain.

Integrating cold-chain systems can simultaneously lower overall costs, increase sustainability, ensure quality and enhance regulatory compliance.

Conclusion

Various firms would likely have different visibility standards.

However, all companies must begin by determining the objectives and the degree of dedication to enabling information exchanges with essential stakeholders.

These two factors directly impact their advantages by expanding the breadth of visibility.

Frequently Asked Questions