The manufacturing industry is struggling to establish a data-driven strategy in the race for digital transformation. Manufacturers are facing difficulties such as the challenge to recover investments and drive innovation at a large scale to respond to changes in business models, or reduce customer churn rates.
Geesinknorba has risen to the challenge and excelled. The refuse truck manufacturer, in collaboration with Nimble Institute, transformed their idea of creating smart units into a working concept with automation. They revolutionized their smart manufacturing by using cloud-based, low-code applications and IoT techniques to streamline their factory operations. Hear more about their story in the webinar, Smart Factory Is Legacy: Data, Dump Trucks and a Deep Dive Into Smart Units Process Automation.
The first step to bringing an idea to life is to plan out your processes using a low-code platform. One of Europe’s leading Bizagi implementation partners, Nimble Institute, transformed serval leading manufacturers by creating a digital vision, leveraging low-code, and executing the concept using an intelligent automation platform.
According to Forrester, “General-purpose low-code development platforms allow application development and delivery (AD&D) professionals and their business partners to automate and continuously adapt their customer journeys, operations, and experiences — quickly”. By building processes with a low-code platform, organizations can adjust workflows and build in new features such as IoT data, machine learning, and sensor technology when needed.
After modeling the end-to-end process and mapping it to supporting technologies, the process improvements are clear. These eye-openers have provided insight into the additional benefits technology can bring to operations. A future strategy can be determined!
For advanced companies, it’s really important to develop a data-driven and future-proof strategy. This gives them the adaptability and flexibility to respond to new trends and tech developments. By using business intelligence tools, enterprises can utilize real-time data to be efficient, save money and continuously improve and adapt.
This was apparent at Geesinknorba, where 99% of the units created are customized. “No unit is the same,” says Henk van Sommeren, Quality Assurance Manager. This creates a huge complexity in the manufacturing process. Geesinknorba also realized that flexibility is an important aspect for efficiency and short lead times, due to their hybrid production setup with line production combined with bay production.
That’s why Geesinknorba and Nimble established the Smart Unit concept, which sees the unit as an individual component, rather than one of many in a production line, using its factory resources. Putting the unit in the center of the process and making sure everything is organized in such way that the unit can make its own decisions with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning is at the core of this approach. Since using the Smart Unit concept, the Geesinknorba factory has become an ecosystem that is capable of producing units in line with all customer needs and expectations, whether it is a custom-made refuse truck or serial order component, and increased production efficiency by 45%.
Intelligent Process Automation (IPA) makes it easy to link technologies such as RPA and AI to ERP systems and dashboards and realize results within a few weeks. This was seen at Geesinknorba, where van Sommeren said, “The smart unit’s concept was up and running in two months”.
Integrating technologies using IPA can boast impressive results. Dutch radiator manufacturer NRF, used Bizagi’s intelligent automation platform to integrate its AX ERP system, RPA, low-code MES, and a powerful overlay BI dashboard. As a result, the lead time for executing an order has been reduced by 50% and the large flow of the products can be executed completely digitally, almost a 100% reduction of labor.
More importantly, the customer experience at NRF has improved as email has been eliminated now all communication goes via the platform. This centralized way of working is used to send drawings, work orders, and information that must be approved by a customer before production can start, providing a secure, reliable way to communicate.
All great solutions start with a simple idea. But to bring an idea to life, organizations should first create a digital vision leveraging low-code platforms. They can then execute the concept using intelligent automation, continually adapt workflows, and new technologies to enhance efficiency.
To ensure success, CIOs must go beyond the hype of new technologies and develop future-proofed strategies to manage change and capitalize on opportunities.
Learn more about how to bring ideas to life using process automation in the webinar, Smart Factory Is Legacy: Data, Dump Trucks and a Deep Dive Into Smart Units Process Automation.
Bizagi and Nimble Institute have experiences with manufacturing customers including Adidas, Audi, DAF, Kyocera, ROYAL IHC, KION, Motrac, NRF, Geesinknorba, and more.
GUEST BLOG BY MARCO VAN PIJKEREN, CEO, NIMBLE INSTITUTE
