Effective planning, management and execution in supply chains, manufacturing and operations is a complex puzzle for any organization. Companies need to evaluate the risks in any decision and reach optimal performance while optimizing to be more competitive.
Inadequate planning and management can lead to all kinds of issues such as bottlenecks in workforce capacity to mismatched demand and supply plans, avoidable supply chain disruptions, as well as operational inefficiencies that result in wasted time and added cost.
Meeting the rising demand and expectations of the market today requires companies to innovate and rethink how they operate. Companies that shift from manual processes and legacy systems to virtual solutions and increased automation will be equipped with the right technologies and strategies to drive greater agility, efficiency, resilience and optimal performance across their value network.
To help companies achieve this vision of an optimized value network, we’ve identified four industry trends essential to accelerating digital transformation in supply chain, manufacturing and operations.
1. Supply Chain Planning & Resilience
Efficient supply chains are necessary for industries to create, manufacture and deliver on time, within budget and to customer expectations. It’s essential to leverage advanced solutions in supply chain planning to minimize disruption to the global supply chain, which leads to improved profitability and optimal performance.
The integrated nature of supply chains leaves them vulnerable to disruption, especially when there are shortages in supply and the workforce. Advanced supply chain planning and optimization technology enables manufacturers to build agility and resilience—ensuring business continuity across their supply chains.
To tackle the complexity of creating a truly integrated supply chain where outsourcing and external collaboration is a necessity, some of the things modern planning solutions must be capable of include:
- Model-based virtual twins of the value network that represents metrics, processes and data
- End-to-end supply chain visibility and control through data science and optimization
- Supply chain planning that enables collaboration between all stakeholders using real-world data in real time
- World-class technology that uses artificial intelligence to automate basic decisions and identify risk factors
Discover DELMIA solutions for Supply Chain Planning and Optimization here.
2. Sustainable Manufacturing & Circular Economy
Government regulations, global trends and consumer expectations increase the pressure for manufacturers to work towards sustainable business operations by conserving resources and reducing unnecessary energy consumption.
The benefits of meeting corporate and social responsibility expectations for reducing environmental impact across global operations goes beyond strengthening a brand—optimizing the use of energy and resources in manufacturing requires efficient processes, which reduces production costs.
In order to meet sustainability goals, organizations need to embrace digital transformation that will enable:
- Product design with sustainability in mind
- The creation of the factory of the future
- The powering of the industry through renewable energy or more ethical material sourcing
- A circular economy that reduces waste and addresses recycling or second life product
- Improved regulatory compliance, long-term resilience and better growth opportunities
Discover DELMIA solutions for Sustainable Manufacturing here.
3. Virtual Twin Experience
Historically, building and testing physical prototypes of products and manufacturing facilities were costly and time-consuming endeavors. The Virtual Twin Experience is the digital solution to this, allowing manufacturers to do so much more in a dynamic virtual environment that uses real-world data in real time to accurately simulate real-world conditions.
With the Virtual Twin Experience, companies can represent their products, facilities and processes entirely in the virtual world. This allows them to simulate outcomes and compare multiple ‘what-if’ scenarios, which can help them to create and implement the best plans and reach optimal performance.
The Virtual Twin Experience also features:
- A closed-loop system that uses real-time updates to drive continuous improvement
- Simulation for workplace safety conditions to prevent repetitive strain injuries
- The flexibility to simulate changeovers and support decisions that minimize downtime
- A single source repository for all real-time data, accessible by all departments
Now enhanced by Diota solutions, users can leverage cutting-edge technologies like interactive 3D, augmented reality, computer vision, AI and deep learning to:
- Guide human operators in complex assembly tasks
- Automate quality inspections based on the product virtual twin
- Create automated reports from field data capture
Discover how DELMIA creates value through the Virtual Twin Experience here.
4. Integrated Business Planning
The profitability of a business enterprise is directly related to the level of efficiency and integration of its supply chain. Integrated Business Planning (IBP) connects the end-to-end supply chain with sales and operations planning, operations management and business performance in a collaborative ecosystem.
The increasing complexity in supply chain, manufacturing and operations today make it all the more important for companies to seek an integrated solution capable of aligning their supply chain, manufacturing and other operational functions with their business goals.
In order to drive responsive, agile and resilience supply chains, some defining factors of an effective IBP strategy that companies need to look for include:
- Collaboration in sales and operations planning to drive optimized fulfillment of customer demand
- Unobstructed end-to-end visibility of the supply chain in real time, using data science for decision support
- A collaborative supply chain planning environment that connects all stakeholders to enable effective execution
- World-class technology that leverages artificial intelligence to automate fundamental decision-making
Discover DELMIA solutions for Integrated Business Planning (IBP) here.
DELMIA creates solutions designed to help companies in a wide variety of industries to drive sustainable innovation across supply chain, manufacturing and operations. Powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform, DELMIA provides a holistic approach for companies to unlock new levels of efficiency, agility, resilience and sustainability. Explore our website to learn more about our solutions
DELMIA digital marketing expert, editor of the DELMIA blog, and a strategic marketer with a background in the manufacturing industry.