8 Questions Answered from Last Week's Global MOM Software Webinar

On October 28, LNS Research and Manufacturing.net hosted a webinar entitled “The Global State of Manufacturing Operations Management: Weaving the Digital Thread.” At the event’s conclusion, we had insufficient time to cover all of the many questions that were asked over the course of the hour. So, in this post, we’ll provide some insight into the top questions asked by attendees.

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For those who were unable to tune in live, here’s a little background information on the event focus. Drawing upon our research of industry best practices and data from our Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) survey (more than 500 responses to date), the webcast highlighted the resurgence in MOM application interest among manufacturers, driven both by the steady incremental increase of manufacturing demands and challenges imposed by customers, advancements of the market, and regulations alike, and also how technology advancements in areas like Big Data, Mobile, Cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are providing more value to manufacturers and becoming an increasingly attractive option.

The webcast drilled down into many specifics, including:

• The most pressing objectives and challenges facing the manufacturing industries today
• How next-generation MOM software solutions are enabling real-time, role-based KPIs that are driving maximum impact
• The current and future impacts of Cloud, Mobile, Big Data, and IoT on today's manufacturing operations
• Which MOM applications are delivering the most value to today’s manufacturers
• Recommendations for selecting and driving ROI with MOM software       

The full on-demand recording of the webcast can be accessed here.

Questions & Answers

Q. How important are sustainability reporting and LCA as drivers for MOM?

A. There is an important connection between MOM and sustainability reporting. Leading manufacturers have made public commitments to reduce energy and carbon intensity in operations and transparent reporting on these results is a critical factor for success. However, most companies are still most focused on MOM to drive cost, quality, and customer delivery improvements.

Q. Can you give examples of current applications of Digitization?

A. Two leading companies that have publicly discussed business digitization are P&G (digital molecule to shelf) and Lockheed Martin (digital thread).

Q. If manufacturing is still a paper-centric business why is unstructured data not a key point of opportunity with the latest technologies, such as Text Analytics?

A. Text analytics, sentiment analysis, social media monitoring, big data analytics, etc. will all become important parts of manufacturing operations management software but will likely be delivered by MOM vendors through the software development platforms and partnerships with other technology vendors.

Q. Since operations and processes rank so highly why do you think BPM isn’t a larger strategic initiative in manufacturing?

A. BPM is a large strategic initiative in manufacturing, it's just that the term BPM (Business Process Management) is an IT-centric term and not well understood by operations. There are many ongoing process modeling, harmonization, and optimization projects that exist as part of MOM software implementations--the term BPM just isn't used.

Q. You mentioned that 21% of companies are making investments in future technologies – SMLC, Industry 4.0  etc...  Who in the organization is typically making those investments?  Organizationally, who owns this problem space?

A. There are a number of roles that could be making these initial investments--Technical Fellows, Technology Centers of Excellence, Manufacturing IT, or the CTO.

Q. How do you influence people to use an interface that has mobile options when many people may be trying their best to avoid using the tool in the first place?

A. Influence is tricky. Many companies today are taking a page out of the Apple playbook, and are attempting to make the user interface so beautiful, intuitive, and valuable users actually do want to use it.

Q. How long does it take to implement a typical EMI application?

A. It’s difficult to give a concrete answer to this question as there are a number of factors at play, including the size of your organization, pre-existing process maturity, and extent of the EMI rollout. In the data, we’ve seen manufacturers roll-out EMI solutions in as little as three months. Of course this is for multi-site rollouts (Enterprise)--for a single line or asset the rollout can be measure in days.

Q. What do “ability to scale” and “proven references” mean?

A. Within the webcast I was referring to certain success factors around particular MOM solution providers that manufacturers should be aware of. Ability to scale refers to a particular solution's ease of extended roll-out, to either other plants or business areas—how resource-intensive and complex is this for the end-user. It’s an important consideration in the ultimate success of a MOM implementation. Proven references means ensuring your potential MOM solution providers have documented success stories relevant to your industry and business situation.

For more information on the trends in manufacturing and MOM software, be sure to check out our free eBook below.