FOCUS ON SUPPLY CHAINS
A new model
Digitalisation and the strengthening of IT tools play a leading role in the smart factory model . In particular , the cloud represents a crucial element to strategically manage the production and logistics chain and integrate all the steps necessary for process optimisation .
In recent years and at increasing speed , the cloud is becoming the ideal tool to meet the challenges of the industry of the future . While a significant share of services continues to be based in traditional data processing centres , more and more companies rely on cloud technology to manage most of their services .
There are many benefits that make the cloud a tool destined to play a decisive role for the industries of the future , and the search for increasingly advanced solutions for its development is constant . The cloud favours speed , agility and scalability , and helps reduce production times and costs with a view to reducing waste during processing . The cloud connects more companies both internally and externally to suppliers and clients , and is key to designing , manufacturing and providing customised products and services , helping to increase customer loyalty .
Automation continues to play a central role for the industry of the future : it enables manufacturers to minimize errors , optimise time and improve working conditions for personnel involved in the production process . Automation also enables the identification and consequent resolution of critical issues , avoiding bottlenecks , delays and interruptions that undermine overall efficiency .
While traditional supply chains aimed to achieve stability , reliability and cost reductions , today ’ s model will have to be much more dynamic , agile and integrated . The ability
Automation plays a key role in the network .
to predict , process and respond to new market needs will play a large part in the success of any company in the ever-evolving manufacturing industry .
Gradual , not radical , change
It takes time to accomplish any great transformation . Only a strategic and integrated
PSBB automated line from Prima Power .
approach can truly change a process as complex as the one underlying the supply chain . Resilience , agility and flexibility are the cornerstones of a paradigm shift that is bound to affect the entire manufacturing industry sector and beyond in the coming years .
Digitalisation will increasingly be at the centre of this transformation , but the vision of those called on to decide which strategies should be adopted will play the most important role . Targeted investments , careful business planning and the implementation of software solutions that can also be adapted to preexisting management systems will allow companies to establish themselves in an increasingly global and challenging landscape .
The answer will not be in drastic and radical changes in the supply chain , but rather a gradual journey which , step by step , aims to achieve important goals for the future without jeopardising present productivity . n
About Prima Industrie
The Prima Industrie group has over 45 years of experience in the development , production and marketing of laser systems for industrial applications and sheetmetal processing machinery ; industrial electronics ; laser sources and additive manufacturing solutions . It has about 1,800 employees and production plants in Italy ; Finland ; China and USA as well as a global commercial and after-sales presence . Its main Business Unit , Prima Power , is a leading manufacturer of advanced solutions for laser processing , punching , bending , automation and software .