New IDC PlanScape Tips Future Factory As Smart Manufacturing Based

The venerable factory is an important competitive weapon in the digital economy.

According to Robert Parker, group vice president at IDC Manufacturing Insights, “Smart manufacturing programs can deliver financial benefits that are tangible and auditable. More importantly, smart manufacturing transitions the production function from one that is capacity centric to one that is capability centric — able to serve global markets and discerning customers.” A new IDC Manufacturing Insights report, IDC PlanScape: Smart Manufacturing –

The Path to the Future Factory (Doc #MI253612), uses the IDC PlanScape methodology to provide the framework for a business strategy related to investment in smart manufacturing.

Manufacturing, specifically the processes involved in physically transforming materials into goods for sale, is becoming quite fashionable.

Not more than ten years ago, many companies considered their factories deadweight, assets to be arbitraged, while new production moved to low-cost regions, particularly in Asia.

A variety of factors has changed the perception of manufacturing.

What has emerged is a construct referred to as smart manufacturing. At its core, smart manufacturing is the convergence of data acquisition, analytics, and automated control to improve the overall effectiveness of a company’s factory network.

The intent of the IDC PlanScape methodology is to provide clients with a framework for creating a business plan by answering four essential questions — why, what, who, and how.

This IDC PlanScape provides a strategy guide for implementing smart manufacturing.

Key Findings Of The New Report Include:

§  Use the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) equation to understand the potential benefits, and tie those benefits to financial metrics such as revenue, costs, and asset levels to justify investment.

§  Broaden the OEE beyond individual pieces of equipment to look at the overall impact on product lines, factories, and the whole network of production facilities.

§  Technology investment can be separated into capabilities related to connectivity, data acquisition, analytics, and actuation.

§  A unifying architecture is required to bring the technology pieces together.

§  Move toward an integrated governance model that incorporates both operation technology (OT) and information technology (IT) resources.

§  Choose an investment cadence based on the level of executive support for smart manufacturing.