Adapting to Change through Cloud Manufacturing

While digitalization has become a crucial goal across sectors, the application of digital solutions in manufacturing comes with added complications. Given the material nature of industrial process assets and equipment, the emphasis for manufacturing investment has still been predominantly hardware based, with upgrading plant machinery essential to meet production demand. Cloud-based software is therefore on a growth trajectory within the manufacturing sector as more companies experience the efficiency and cost benefits of working in the cloud. Not only are they seeking greater insight into the availability of materials, but also predictability around costs to determine price competitiveness moving forward. Gaining greater control over both sides of the supply-demand equation is difficult to achieve in a conventional hardware-led manufacturing.