It’s no secret that advanced technology has managed to penetrate different business sectors, fields, and industries. Digital transformation in particular, is no longer a trend but a requirement as it can help companies gain and preserve competitive advantage. However, out of all sectors, the manufacturing industry hasn’t shown that much interest in embracing technology.
Little by little, business owners in this field are realizing that Industry 4.0 is here to stay. Combined with artificial intelligence, data analytics, IoT-enabled devices, business intelligence, and robotics, manufacturers are finally acknowledging that numerous manual processes can be automated. In turn, they can use automation to increase ROI, efficiency in performing certain tasks, and ultimately, living up to the expectations of the end consumer.
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Large scale automation & faster production with Power BI
Industry 4.0 is a rather new technological concept that promises to automate industrial practices and conventional manufacturing using modern technology. The IoT and large scale M2M (machine-to-machine) communication, self-monitoring, and smart machines capable of diagnosing issues without human help pave the way to faster production in the manufacturing industry.
As for Power BI (business intelligence), the goal of the technology is to provide advanced business intelligence and interactive visualization capabilities to end users. In simple terms, it provides data warehouse capabilities via interactive dashboards, data preparation, and data discovery. This way, process automation combined with big data analytics can speed production, at the same time enabling large scale automation of various manual tasks and activities.
Power BI, a sustainable approach to an optimized business model
Power BI and data analytics used together can help plant managers personalize their product lines, increasing efficiency and creating a more profitable and sustainable business model. Companies looking to align operations, smoothen their supply chain productions, and overcome production challenges can leverage power BI to make them happen.
Given that there are numerous processes involved in manufacturing, the data gathered from various sources is usually unstructured and inconsistent. This makes it difficult to interpret, not to mention that for workers the data is predisposed to flaws and inconsistencies. Integrating data analytics within existing processes is challenging enough. Even when companies use production planning and ERPs, the huge volumes of incoming data cannot be properly managed and coordinated.
Complex data analysis via Power BI helps streamline traditional processes
In manufacturing, more production triggers an increase in process handling. Inevitably, this makes the data gathered become overwhelming to trim down. Analytics and visualization tools can help, but the approach taken needs to be unified. A data system with limited capabilities and restricted computing power is predisposed to all kinds of threats, including online leaks, cyber attacks, and additional security issues.
With power BI at the core of a complex data system, companies can get detailed reports, charts, and graphs from where they can learn how to draw actionable results. Intuitive insights help craft better revenue streams, increase ROI, ultimately maintaining the quality of the product.
Actionable benefits of Power BI in manufacturing
Maintaining automation and human resources are just two of the actionable benefits of power BI in the manufacturing industry. Most manufacturers deal with a lot of pressure when handling warehouses and the associated processes involved. That’s because they must assign roles and divide human labor. Oftentimes, supervision is required to make sure the products are of the highest quality.
To make things easier, power BI integrated within workforce analytics solutions enable manufacturers to hire people in specific areas, thus evaluating their return on investment with a lot more precision. For ultimate services and time-sensitive product deliveries, power BI can help trim down logistics data pertaining to different supply chains. This way, shipments can easily be monitored and tracked for performance.
Although Big Data is the future in manufacturing, organizations must become more open to adopting a data-driven approach. Partnership up with a competent software development team such as App Maisters provides access to skilled power BI developers that don’t just understand the industry, but can also help manufacturers adopt a strategy fit for their business needs.