Cloud adoption rates have been steadily increasing across several major industries in recent years, with research suggesting over 90% of modern organizations either currently utilize or are planning to implement some form of multi-cloud strategy in the near future. By migrating data and applications to the cloud, businesses can often measurably improve operational efficiency.
By enabling employees to both access and adjust core processes, as well as analyze live data from almost any location, business leaders are able to react to changing conditions and adapt their operations to maximize profitability. One industry in which these benefits can be observed is manufacturing, with an estimated 66% of manufacturers currently utilizing cloud-based tools.
Cloud manufacturing allows organizations to make data-informed decisions regarding the procurement of raw materials, the design of saleable products and the shipping of inventory to reduce downtime and safely navigate global supply chain issues. To learn how modern software systems are transforming this industry, this guide will explore the power of cloud manufacturing.
What is cloud manufacturing?
Cloud manufacturing simply describes the process of migrating traditional manufacturing tasks to be performed within a remote-access cloud-based platform. Most critical aspects of modern manufacturing, including resource procurement, general inventory management and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) can be moved from local servers to a cloud-based network, allowing business leaders to view, update and adjust specific metrics remotely in response to live data.
By providing management teams with a more holistic view of entire manufacturing operations, and ensuring that any significant changes to important metrics such as material costs, market demand and wider logistics considerations are identified promptly, teams are able to adjust key processes in response to accurate data, continuously improving the efficiency of core services.
Of course, some organizations may raise concerns regarding the accessibility of their data, with improperly secured cloud-based systems potentially becoming vulnerable to sophisticated cyber-attacks. However, with appropriate cybersecurity systems in place, cloud-based systems can be reliably secured. In addition, many cloud-based software tools and ERPs feature multiple deployment options including SaaS and on-premise solutions, Acumita being just one example.
How cloud computing enhances manufacturing
One of the major benefits of cloud computing deployed within manufacturing is the technology’s scalability, with cloud-based systems able to be developed to suit businesses of any size. Cloud systems also enable manufacturers to avoid many of the problems associated with on-premises IT operations, including increased maintenance costs and the risk of large-scale data loss, as cloud systems will typically receive automatic maintenance, updates and data backup services.
Additionally, as cloud manufacturing tools are specifically designed to continuously monitor live metrics such as production data, vendor performance, material usage and productivity, the use of these systems allows teams to develop intelligent insights and accurate predictive forecasts.
By comparing historic data to live fluctuations in market demand and material availability, teams can adjust ongoing processes to maximize profitability, cross-referencing these metrics with live inventory levels and equipment maintenance logs to reduce downtime and improve productivity.
To demonstrate the far-reaching capabilities of cloud manufacturing technologies, cloud-based systems can currently be integrated into the following processes to improve general operations:
- Inventory management
- Material procurement
- Supply chain management
- Sales and marketing
- Product development
- Customer service
- Manufacturing execution
Cloud manufacturing and the Internet of Things (IoT)
In order to further discuss the benefits of cloud manufacturing processes, it’s important to cover the role of the Internet of Things in the collection and utilization of actionable data. IoT devices are specially designed sensors capable of collecting real-time data pertaining to various metrics, with this information sent directly to wider software systems to help teams optimize operations.
Specialized IoT sensors can be deployed to monitor a range of essential metrics, including:
- Equipment performance
- Inventory levels
- Asset management
- Energy usage
- Production quality
The data collected by active IoT devices is automatically sent to wider cloud-based systems to provide teams with actionable information regarding manufacturing processes, with modern systems able to autonomously analyze data to suggest time and cost-efficiency improvements.
For example, full-scale cloud-based inventory management systems like Katana can collect data pertaining to inventory levels, material procurement, equipment performance and productivity, analyzing this data alongside additional information like vendor performance and real-time order records, helping manufacturers optimize essential processes to measurably improve profitability.
The efficacy of utilizing cloud-based inventory management software is clearly reflected in the increased adoption of these systems amongst manufacturing and logistics organizations. Data
Indicates 73% of warehouses plan to update inventory management systems to utilize mobile devices and modern software, whilst 42% of manufacturers intend to adopt similar solutions.
Use cases for cloud manufacturing technology
Manufacturers, warehouse managers and similarly positioned logistics organizations leverage cloud-based solutions to improve the management and execution of numerous key processes. To illustrate just how wide-reaching cloud manufacturing systems can be, below are a selection of common use cases for cloud manufacturing technology available to modern businesses.
Supply chain management
By combining live data pertaining to multiple logistics operations such as material procurement, resource allocation, demand forecasting and inventory management in a single remote-access cloud-based platform, manufacturers are provided much more visibility over their supply chains.
Teams can analyze changes to each of these metrics in real-time, and adjust related processes accordingly, ensuring operations remain cost-efficient. Additionally, accurate forecasts can be developed based on a combination of both historic and real-time information, with data analytics programs used to suggest optimization improvements to navigate potential supply chain issues.
Equipment monitoring
Equipment failure is one of the leading contributors to downtime in manufacturing, with research suggesting poorly maintained equipment may account for around 80% of unplanned production stoppages. By utilizing IoT devices and cloud-based systems to collect real-time machine data from active production lines, teams can optimize the allocation and maintenance of equipment.
Important metrics such as machine health, product quality and energy use can all be monitored and analyzed from a single remote-access platform, enabling production managers to schedule manufacturing processes in relation to equipment performance. Optimization here means teams can alter material orders and staff scheduling in line with the availability of necessary machines.
Information security
The utilization of cloud-based tools can help manufacturers to enhance cyber security and physical access control systems of manufacturing facilities as designing, adjusting and implementing security solutions within cloud-based servers is often much easier than with on-premises systems. Software is updated and maintained automatically to protect data from novel threats, and admins can view internal systems remotely at any time.
Additionally, most modern cloud computing software tools come with bespoke encryption and cybersecurity solutions deployed as standard, meaning all communications will be protected from common cyber-attacks, with options for admins to update protections whenever necessary.
Summary
For organizations to succeed in competitive and fast-paced industries such as manufacturing, business leaders and management teams must be positioned to not only react to changes efficiently, but also accurately predict possible future fluctuations to outmaneuver competitors.
By leveraging bespoke cloud-based technologies to analyze essential processes like material procurement, inventory management and equipment maintenance, manufacturers can optimize operations to improve productivity and profitability. With support from live data and automated processes, organizations are protected from instability and able to navigate issues appropriately.
