Shortly before the health crisis, Industry 4.0 and its applications along the supply chain were desirable technologies to digitize processes, proposing benefits through innovation and technology, having a focus on productivity, cost reduction and a competitive advantage. Now 4.0 technologies prove to be key to face the crisis in companies that integrated them into their processes, forcing organizations to accelerate their digital transformation programs.
COVID-19 was a warning call for companies that have not currently implemented these tools, which have faced unforeseen costs, sales losses, production stoppages, causing a financial impact in addition to adapting to mobility restrictions. and access for workers.
Derived from this prevailing need, it is important to focus technology efforts on four key business needs that must be covered and that will play a decisive role in responding effectively to future changes and achieving resilience:
1. Real-time information. The need for processes to be adapted to give visibility of key variables in real time, which is essential for making critical decisions in the organization, whether operational, strategic or commercial.
2. Scenarios for preventive decisions. Imagine being able to create a digital twin of your entire production process or of the entire supply chain to generate scenarios of lack of supply of raw materials, logistics resources or sudden closures of production plants and, based on these scenarios, have plans for preventive action to mitigate the impact.
3. Process automation. The use of robots for tasks that do not add value or are repetitive, the use of automated guided vehicles, autonomous vehicles, etc .; they are necessary to reduce the physical dependence of human personnel and to ensure the social distancing that we currently need.
Four. Technologies for remote work. Achieve accelerated efficiency, reduce costs, and minimize human contact through instruction overlap, remote assistance, better planning, visualization, and optimization of remote work.