Building business cases is often the first of many challenges today’s industrial companies have to face as part of their Industrial Transformation (IX) programs. The ideal business case should help companies identify and prioritize the correct problems and provide a clear roadmap for the solution.
Read MoreCategories: Business Process Management (BPM), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, IX Platform
Quality 4.0 is a concept LNS Research first introduced in 2017, and it has been gaining momentum ever since. However, the concept has also picked up some misconceptions along the way. To clear up any confusion, we will redefine Quality 4.0 here and answer several key questions about its scope, value, and role in Industrial Transformation (IX).
Read MoreCategories: Enterprise Quality Management System (EQMS), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, Quality 4.0, qualitymanagement
Industrie 4.0 is often referred to as the Renaissance of manufacturing. But many of us don’t realize how many parallels there really are between today’s Industrial Transformation (IX) programs and the Italian Renaissance period – a time famous for transitioning from the Middle Ages to modernity. In this blog post, we will describe three such parallels and explore how today’s manufacturing leaders can apply them in their IX programs.
Read MoreCategories: Industrial Automation, Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, IT/OT, Data Analytics, ConnectedFrontlineWorkforce
Industrial Transformation (IX) is the proactive and coordinated approach in leveraging digital technologies to create step-change improvement in industrial operations. Industrial Transformation has become a very real phenomena across industrial operations. More than two thirds of companies surveyed have implemented, are currently implementing, or plan to implement an Industrial Transformation (IX) program. The worldwide COVID pandemic is not slowing IX down with 78% of companies maintaining or accelerating their programs in the face of the economic turmoil created by the pandemic. IX Leaders are three times more likely to be increasing their IX budget in face of the pandemic.
Read MoreCategories: Continuous Improvement, Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, IT/OT, Operational Architecture, IX Platform
Every year, LNS Research analysts put forth predictions around the Industrial Transformation (IX) topics where we focus our research. In December 2020, I made five predictions for 2021. This year I am going to make only one prediction – in multiple parts – but I will drill into that one prediction more extensively. To help you to decide whether my multi-part prediction for 2022 is worth considering, I am concluding this blog post with an assessment of how I did in my 2021 predictions (spoiler alert: by my count, I was 4 out of 5 but you can decide).
Read MoreCategories: Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML), IIoT, IX Platform, Data Analytics
In a sign of the times, the topic of Sustainability was front and center at the 3rd annual LNS Research, The Industrial Transformation (IX) Event, held October 19-21, 2021. Keynote speakers on the morning of Day 1 included Michael Train, SVP and Chief Sustainability Officer of Emerson, and Ellis Jones, VP and Chief Sustainability Officer of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. These speakers highlighted the strategic importance of sustainability to enterprise strategy in their organizations, as well as the critical role of leadership in achieving the transformational results Sustainability initiatives often aspire to.
Read MoreCategories: Sustainability, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, IT/OT, Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), Data Analytics
As the year 2020 ended, LNS Research published a set of three Research Spotlights highlighting the three alternative architectural paths available for manufacturers around Industrial Transformation (IX). In the 3rd Spotlight we introduced the concept of Industrial Transformation Strategic Partners. As part of the run-up to the release of the LNS Research IX Strategic Partners Solution Selection Matrix™ let’s revisit our definition of IX Strategic Partners, highlight the criteria we use to evaluate these vendors, list the vendors, and conclude with advice to manufacturers.
Read MoreCategories: Solution Vendor / Software Vendor, Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML), IT/OT, IX Platform, Solution Selection Matrix
Four recent M&A announcements have prompted us to catch up on our view of where the industry is heading and follow up on our earlier predictions for 2021. They are:
Read MoreCategories: Operational Excellence, Risk Management, Enterprise Asset Management (EAM), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, Asset Performance Management (APM), Environment, Health and Safety (EHS), Internet of Things (IoT), cybersecurity
The way most industrial organizations manage risks in their operations is akin to driving a car forward while looking in the rearview mirror. This approach is useful for understanding what’s already happened but is of limited value in seeing what’s ahead and taking preventive action accordingly. The essential solution is to shift from a posture of risk hindsight to one of foresight and the ability to predict and prevent adverse events rather than respond after the fact.
Read MoreCategories: Risk Management, Predictive Maintenance (PM), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI/ML), Environment, Health and Safety (EHS)
Since the advent of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES, or MOM for those who prefer) in the late 1980s, life sciences, and especially pharmaceuticals finishing and packing, led the way in useful MES solutions. Some would argue that MES for pharma has reached maturity and there are few gains to be made. At LNS Research, we believe that change is just beginning and it is time for the pharma software industry to wake up or get severely disrupted by new players.
Many pharmaceutical companies, ranging from boutique startups to the global giants, have active Industrial Transformation (IX) programs that foresee structural changes in the way they operate. Existing pharma MES systems provide the necessary functionality for most operations but are hard to maintain, inflexible, and do not provide a data platform for other parts of the enterprise. Such integration will, inevitably, be a part of IX programs.
Read MoreCategories: Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM), Manufacturing Execution System (MES), Industrial Transformation / Digital Transformation, Industry 4.0 / Smart Manufacturing, Internet of Things (IoT), IX Platform, Big Pharma
