The South African manufacturing industry has come under significant pressure in the last decade, but the Internet of Things (IoT) offers a glimmer of hope.
According to Deloitte’s Global Manufacturing Competitiveness survey, South Africa is ranked 27th in the world, down three places from 2013 and we’re expected to slip further down the ranking in the next five to ten years. The rising cost of production combined with muted investments in technology are making it difficult for South African manufacturers to compete with their international peers.
However, Mike Vincent, Africa industrial products and services sector lleader at Deloitte, believes advanced technology and IoT can help manufacturers in South Africa and the rest of the continent be more globally competitive, streamline operations and increase productivity.
Vincent says: “Thanks to IoT, we have a positive outlook on the future of manufacturing in Africa on condition that appropriate investments are made. Innovative new sensory technology in the IoT space allows manufacturing companies to better monitor and analyse the manufacturing process. This includes how the end user interacts with the products. There is an exciting opportunity now to use this business knowledge and customer insight to improve the manufacturing process and most importantly the product itself.”
IoT’s new data processing technologies and availability of analytical forecasting models monitor the entire manufacturing value chain – from concept to completion and beyond. By adding innovative IoT sensors in the operation, connectivity is improved at all levels. The business becomes inherently smarter.
For example, sophisticated cars are built almost completely by machines using parts manufactured and imported from different parts of the world. This is a time consuming and costly process. Now the digital supply chain is supported by advanced predictive analytics that coordinate all principal partners, countries, individual parts, thousands of suppliers and even employees in the factories.
Vincent says: “As this example illustrates, IoT and analytics are innovating manufacturing, improving interoperability across a large set of assets and linking machines, products, computers, people, and analytical resources into one ecosystem. IoT and analytics are creating two important buckets of value in manufacturing: growing the business and operating the existing business more efficiently.”
To reap the benefits of IoT, African entrepreneurs who want to operate on a global scale should be increasing investment in IoT infrastructure. Doing this reduces the dependency on labour intensive and time consuming tasks and brings cost efficiencies and improved competence to the business. As a result, the business will make smarter decisions and realise better profits.
IoT in manufacturing can help companies realise the following efficiencies:
* Accelerate planning and pre-manufacturing – IoT and analytics can deliver insight to help companies gain a better grasp on selecting suppliers, considering risk, managing material costs, and fluctuations, potentially resulting in improved predictability and performance in the local and international market.
* Streamline manufacturing processes – Predictive tools and machine learning allow potential problems to be identified and corrected before they occur. The value of lean manufacturing and just-in-time processes improves exponentially when intelligence obtained via IoT analytics is applied.
* Improve post-manufacturing support and service – New levels of connectedness and the higher-level insights of IoT and analytics can help manufacturers gather information from customers effectively and improve service and support in the aftermarket. This enhanced support costs and builds long-term brand loyalty.
“Manufacturers that want to improve their competitiveness internationally should seriously consider applying IoT data processing and analytical forecasting technologies in their operations,” says Vincent. Technology-driven manufacturing innovations are evolving rapidly, which makes analytics and IoT a trend to watch in 2016 and beyond.”
IoT silver bullet in manufacturing
