smart manufacturing

Written by Carlos Rojas, Global Industry Solutions Leader, Cisco Systems, Inc. What is Industry 4.0? Although many demands on manufacturers drive the need for change (increased customer preferences, improved methods of product access, new delivery and consumption models, and of course the neverendin…

When the largest Coca-Cola bottler in the United States recently increased their number of production centers from 5 to 13 (through acquisition) they knew that getting them to work together would be a challenge. With issues around proprietary infrastructure, an explosion of data, and the age old iss…

Strategy, Technology and Operations Delivering business outcomes for enterprise and IT buyers requires a new approach, new capabilities, and new relationships. An entirely new business solutions practice. Digital Systems Integrators (DSI) represent that new business practice as follows: These DSI’s…

There is no one size fits all view when it comes to manufacturing. Large, advanced plants are using a plethora of advanced manufacturing processes, robots and data as a core part of their operations. There are emerging startups who are lean and able to respond to changing customer demands quickly. T…

Cisco Live just wrapped this week, and we had a lot of great conversations with customers who are looking to evolve their manufacturing operations and achieve an “ultimate state.” Many of these conversations revolved around how to improve their factory network and reduce downtime, taking…

Manufacturing executives all over the world are looking at IIoT/Industry 4.0 (Industrial Internet of Things) as a way to transform their business. They understand the potential of the technology that can drive better overall equipment effectiveness (OEE), drive process improvements and reduce waste…

Digital transformation, digital business, digitization, digital disruption. There are countless ways to phrase it, but it boils down to this. When digital technologies enable new business models, that’s digital transformation. Digital factory initiatives are generating incredible business outcomes,…

Even though Industrie 4.0 and smart manufacturing concepts have been around for a few years, thought leaders are now agreeing that Industrie 4.0 is at an inflection point. In a recent issue of CloudComputing News, this passage was particularly striking: “Manufacturers are gaining the greatest value…

April showers brings May flowers but if you are in Germany in late April, Hannover Messe is the breeding ground for innovation in the global manufacturing industry. HM is the largest Manufacturing show in Europe and due to the advancements that are being made with Industrie 4.0 and Industrial IoT ar…