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Sponsored by:
Overview
Resilient Supply Chain
Customer Experience
Connected Products
Accelerate & Transform
Additional Resources
Explore Further
eBooks &
White Papers
White Papers
Promotions &
Infographics
Infographics
Assessments &
Quizzes
Quizzes
Calculators &
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Resilient, Connected and Customer Centric
The Future of Manufacturing Is Here
Rapidly changing market dynamics are accelerating Industry 4.0. How can you capitalize on these dynamics to transform your path forward?
Could reimagining disruption be your growth opportunity?
Rapidly changing market dynamics are accelerating Industry 4.0. How can you capitalize on these dynamics to transform your path forward? The idea of Industry 4.0 (4IR) has been with us for over a decade. It is certainly a journey, but over time the vision and approach have evolved. The pandemic has created challenges, but it has also accelerated many aspects key to 4IR.
The content that follows is a result of three roundtable conversations with industry luminaries from Ernst & Young LLP, IndustryWeek, and input from hundreds of manufacturers who attended the live events. The intent of these conversations was to equip manufacturers with key insights that will encourage their energy for—and focus your efforts on—the promise of 4IR.
Technology is vital to unleashing the potential 4IR, but it is also about humanity. In fact, it is increasingly about being able to offer more reliable, relevant, reachable, and real-time products and services that are created, delivered, used, and disposed of in a more sustainable, eco-friendly way. Within your own organization it’s about investing in technology as well as the talent that knows how to put that technology to work.
Build a More Resilient Supply Chain
Build a More Resilient
Supply Chain
The manufacturing industry, in pursuit of cost savings and productivity, has created very lean and linear supply chain designs. Although efficient, they tend to be vulnerable to unforeseen changes and disruptions. Further, the lack of accurate forecasting has resulted in the industry being unable to anticipate and respond to changes in customer demand. To create a more resilient supply chain, focus on:
The manufacturing industry, in pursuit of cost savings and productivity, has created very lean and linear supply chain designs. Although efficient, they tend to be vulnerable to unforeseen changes and disruptions. Further, the lack of accurate forecasting has resulted in the industry being unable to anticipate and respond to changes in customer demand. To create a more resilient supply chain, focus on:
Demand Insight
Historically, manufacturers use data to gain better insight into their supply chain, however a new generation of data is providing a much clearer picture of the market demand side of the equation, allowing manufacturers to better understand and anticipate what’s coming.
Making It All Visible
Invest in technology and information that lets you see a high-resolution and complete picture of the state of your supply chain and customer demand, from your suppliers to their suppliers.
Having a Just-in-Time and Just-in-Case Mindset
Look at each component—if it is available across multiple sources, then just-in-time works. If it is a single source and part of many things, perhaps inventory and redundancy are key.
Networked Ecosystem
Moving from a linear supply chain model to a networked ecosystem model—consider the whole landscape, geographic sources of materials, and the relationships between your supply chain, their sources, and their relationships to other industries, economies, and global influences like environment, taxes, and politics.
Test What Won't Happen
Testing scenarios that you think will never happen. Scenario testing is usually done for what we know is going to happen. Try looking at scenarios you can’t imagine happening, such as the pandemic we just experienced.
Results from Real-Time Polls
Results from Real-Time Polls
In your company, how transparent would you consider your supply chain?
Very Transparent
Moderately Transparent
Not Transparent
These polls were conducted during a live webinar with industry luminaries on July 21, 2021.
How important of a business priority is supply chain visibility?
A Top Priority
A Moderate Priority
Not a Priority
These polls were conducted during a live webinar with industry luminaries on August 11, 2021.
Which top technology are you implementing this year to improve visibility?
Control Tower/Supply Chain Orchestration
Internet of Things
Digital Twin or Other Simulation Technology
Data Analytics/Dashboards
Supply Chain Planning/Forecasting
These polls were conducted during a live webinar with industry luminaries on September 1, 2021.
In your company, how transparent would you consider your supply chain?
Very Transparent
Moderately Transparent
Not Transparent
These polls were conducted during a live webinar with industry luminaries on July 21, 2021.
How important of a business priority is supply chain visibility?
A Top Priority
A Moderate Priority
Not a Priority
These polls were conducted during a live webinar with industry luminaries on August 11, 2021.
Which top technology are you implementing this year to improve visibility?
Control Tower/Supply Chain Orchestration
Internet of Things
Digital Twin or Other Simulation Technology
Data Analytics/Dashboards
Supply Chain Planning/Forecasting
These polls were conducted during a live webinar with industry luminaries on September 1, 2021.
Solving Your Supply Chain Challenges & Building Resiliency
To learn more, watch this important webcast where Ernst & Young, IndustryWeek and FleetOwner panelists examine both global issues and actions individual companies can take to create tomorrow’s supply chain today.
Watch the Webinar
Put the Customer Experience at the Center of Everything
Put the Customer Experience at the Center of Everything
The manufacturing industry is far behind other industries when it comes to the customer journey and experience. The industry’s focus on operational excellence and product innovation have kept attention away from the more subtle art of creating a great experience for customers.
Customers now expect a results-driven, self-service, personalized, and responsive experience. The good news is that creating these kinds of experiences is nothing new, with approaches long perfected by the retail and service industries. There are also very mature technology solutions available to help create and deliver these experiences.
Before engaging in a technology solution, it is important to examine the customer journey that will create a roadmap for the ultimate customer experience and help identify which technology solution might be the best fit. To start, focus on:
THE CUSTOMER
THE JOURNEY
YOUR SOLUTION
Understanding the Customer
Gaining a much more nuanced and intimate understanding of who your internal and external customers are. Segment customers into relevant groups who share similar characteristics, look for a standard solution that serves most of them, and custom solutions for those who are most valuable and are willing to pay a premium for flexibility.
THE CUSTOMER
THE JOURNEY
YOUR SOLUTION
The Customer Journey
Examining the customer journey across the whole continuum—from before they become a customer to a long-term productive relationship—and how their business performance might improve because of your relationship. Know the kind of experience they are trying to create for their customer. Note the interactions that are most valuable and begin to design new approaches from there.
THE CUSTOMER
THE JOURNEY
YOUR SOLUTION
Considering Solutions
What you are promising—is it a product or an outcome? Customers of the future don’t just want the product delivered; they want to see their own business grow through your relationship. How can you help them increase productivity, market reach, margin, or customer retention?
What You Can Expect from Your Investment
The undeniable outcomes that a customer-centered approach to business include
The undeniable outcomes that a customer-centered approach to business include
Planning >
Improved demand planning
Anticipating >
The ability to anticipate customer needs before they ask
Exceeding >
Exceeding the expectations of the customer of the future
Advancing >
Becoming more relevant and operating your business at less cost
Which are regularly resulting in
Reduction of cycle times
Less order touching
Increase in customer satisfaction
Source: Jade Rodysill, EY Americas Chemicals & Advanced Materials Sector Leader
How Digitalization Can Drive Stronger Customer Engagement
Customer engagement and the customer experience are more important than ever. To learn more, watch this webcast where Ernst & Young and IndustryWeek panelists look at how digitalization can enhance communication and create more synergies between manufacturers and customers.
Watch the WebinarInnovate with Ecosystem Partners to Build a Connected Products Strategy
Innovate with Ecosystem Partners to Build a Connected Products Strategy
Consumer demand, societal pressure and governmental policy have vastly increased demand for more sustainable products, processes, and services. This demand is challenging the industry to accelerate its ability to respond, resulting in siloed models of innovation giving way to more vertically integrated approaches.
A NEW APPROACH
Digital
First
Consider connectivity as a path to more sustainable performance. Instead of designing digital connectivity after the fact, what if you considered it right from the start? What if the question focused on the long-term cost of products and services not being connected?
A NEW APPROACH
Human-Centered
A more human-centered approach is often a path to a higher-performing solution. What if you put the human beings who will interact with your product or service into the center of its design? What kind of solutions would not only perform, but also create a better experience?
A NEW APPROACH
Value-
Driven
Instead of prioritizing finding solutions to problems as your approach, what if you started with value? Ask, “What value am I trying to create with this product or service?” Who does that value matter to? Where are the opportunities to solve old problems with a digital-first, human-centered approach?
A NEW APPROACH
Digital First
Consider connectivity as a path to more sustainable performance. Instead of designing digital connectivity after the fact, what if you considered it right from the start? What if the question focused on the long-term cost of products and services not being connected?
A NEW APPROACH
Human-Centered
A more human-centered approach is often a path to a higher-performing solution. What if you put the human beings who will interact with your product or service into the center of its design? What kind of solutions would not only perform, but also create a better experience?
A NEW APPROACH
Value-Driven
Instead of prioritizing finding solutions to problems as your approach, what if you started with value? Ask, “What value am I trying to create with this product or service?” Who does that value matter to? Where are the opportunities to solve old problems with a digital-first, human-centered approach?
The Connected Innovation Ecosystem
1
1
Highly connected and modular products can adapt to changing circumstances and upgrade performance over time automatically. These products can communicate performance parameters and issues in real-time, often before a real problem occurs, where service can be requested even before a customer knows.
2
2
Detailed performance information can be gained from products in the field allowing for more fluid and effective software and hardware upgrades to be designed and deployed. This information can be used to not only shape innovation but also to better understand the performance of the entire supply chain.
3
3
Real-time field information can be aggregated to design better products and services. It can also help strengthen robust customer relationships over the product lifecycle and as you create more successful business models.
4
4
All the insights and innovations gained through this ecosystem can then be used to create a path to a more sustainable approach to launching products and providing services that increase in value over time and decrease their impact on the environment.
How Connected and Sustainable Products Are the Future of Manufacturing
To learn more, watch this important webcast where Ernst & Young and IndustryWeek panelists explore how product innovation needs a new more human-centered and connected model.
Watch the WebinarBest Practices for Transformative Projects
Best Practices for Transformative Projects
When it comes to the implementation of the kind of enterprise-wide transformative projects essential to Industry 4.0, scope creep is inevitable. However, these practices will help keep scope in check and ensure delivery of real business value that endures. In any critical project:
Business Case
Be clear on the value you are delivering, who that value matters to, and why.
Avoid Distractions
Stay focused on that value, make a practice of backlogging the ideas that come along to vet, and develop after the original promise is delivered.
Create Value
Aim for an MVP, not a pilot. Minimally viable products must deliver real value, not just test data.
Agile Over Perfection
Take an agile approach. Often the aim is the perfect solution—instead, look to take an iterative approach that allows you to develop, launch, and test quickly.
Enterprise-Wide
Communicate to everyone in the organization and involve stakeholders from everywhere as the silos of the past will limit success of any enterprise-wide efforts such as customer experience or supply chain solutions.
Simpler Is Better
Look for the simplest most elegant solution; just because it’s more complicated or feature-rich doesn’t make it better or more valuable.
Deliver to Win
Place bets on where you have proof you can deliver, not on the features that you hope to one day.
Easier Is Good
Aim to make doing business easier for your entire supply chain and partner ecosystem.
Center to the Customer
Empower everyone with the information and access they need to focus on the customer.
Be Honest
Know yourself and your organization’s proclivities for thinking or doing things a certain way—work with what will help, and work around what will hold you to the past.
Essential Skills for the Industry 4.0 Customer-Centric Workforce
The workforce of the future needs to understand technology and how to use it, but even more important are the softer skills which include
Communication
Communication
The ability to communicate clearly, and in ways that empower others to take ownership of their work.
Relationships
Relationships
How to create long-term multi-pronged productive relationships between complex systems.
Analysis
Analysis
To be able to look at complex data and find patterns and connections that are relevant to the business.
Decision-Making
Decision-Making
Competent decisiveness even when complete information isn’t available.
Additional Resources
How the Chip Crisis Is Driving Car Makers to Rethink Supply Chain
In this episode of the NextWave Global Trade podcast series, EY Global Automotive & Transportation Lead Analyst Anil Valsan discusses chipaggedon’s effects and how manufacturers are responding to it.
Listen to PodcastIntroducing the EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub
The EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub is a virtual experiences hub in Cleveland, OH, where processes, products and services and businesses can innovate to create a better working world.
Watch VideoHow the Factory of Today Becomes the Factory of the Future
The factory of the future centers people to plan and grow a resilient enterprise with a culture of innovation for now, next and beyond.
Read Article