Digitalisation and effective networking are key factors enabling the manufacturing industry to make a successful shift to business outcomes and value.
Advances in manufacturing technology and new business models are realising new opportunities and creating added value for the whole manufacturing value chain.
New opportunities for manufacturing industry arise from the progress within ICT: AI-driven solutions, new means of visualizations (AR, VR), Internet-of-Things (IoT) as well as new production methods, such as collaborative robotics and additive manufacturing. Digital technologies that form a basis for smart factories and cognitive production include 5G based IoT connectivity, intelligent automation (e.g., advanced robotics) and cloud-scale data management and analytics (e.g., predictive analytics/AI). These technologies will significantly improve productivity, quality, flexibility and service, “closed-loop” and self-optimizing operations & effectiveness.
Through the developments above, new business-models emerge: with digital and data-based capabilities the manufacturing companies will be able to sell more and more services instead of only physical products. This means that given products with digital thread may be cared for over their entire lifetime, including product development, installation, maintenance and, if suitable, their reuse, recycling or remanufacturing - in line with circular economy strategy. Transparency and situational awareness - knowing what is happening in the manufacturing supply chain - requires efforts using adequate technology. The move towards a circular supply framework based on transparency involves the comprehensive use of new technological solutions and open manufacturing networks.
A crucial element for the success of manufacturing industry is workforce – in order to realize all new opportunities, the industry must be able to provide fulfilling careers and attract talented workforce, for example by creating new forms of collaborative factory work between humans and machines.
VTT can help the manufacturing industry in renewal of production, open manufacturing networks and supply chain, and from product to services thinking.
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