The rise of smart production

Making the most of the Industrial Internet of Things in manufacturing

Overview

Manufacturers can leverage the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to achieve "smart"—intelligent and connected—production processes.

The IIoT will transform manufacturing. In this point of view, we present a roadmap to help guide Industrial companies on that transformation journey.

We explore six key dimensions—Equipment, Workforce, Materials Supply Chain, Business Process, Platform and Facility & Environment—all of which are integral to achieving smart production.

Few manufacturers are yet ready for this transformation and the pace at which they progress toward smart production will vary greatly. We give guidance on how to accelerate it.

A solid business case, the ability to align Operational Technology and Information Technology, an affinity for technology change, the swift reskilling of the workforce and the agile deployment of industrial security solutions will be key to success.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SMART PRODUCTION  [PDF]

Background

A universe of intelligent products, processes and services that communicate with each other and with people over the Internet: That’s how Accenture defines the Industrial Internet of Things. It promises to be the most transformative industrial revolution yet for manufacturers, changing the way they think about resource allocation, production processes, materials handling, and the workforce.

The overall impact is staggering. Predictive maintenance will calculate when machines will break down before it happens, eliminating up to 70 percent of failures in manufacturing. First wave adoption of the IIoT could also help increase productivity by up to 30 percent. Combine with the aforementioned predictive maintenance and organizations could add savings up to 12 percent, while maintenance costs could come down by 30 percent.

But, just how big will it really be and more importantly, how do we address it?

Key Findings

Accenture research suggests that the evolution of the Industrial Internet of Things will follow four distinct phases as illustrated in the graphic below:

Accenture Connected Vehicle Value Growth

Operational efficiency (Phase 1) very often lays the foundational business case for IIoT adoption. It also builds the underlying infrastructure that enables manufacturers to advance in their IIoT journey, adapting their offerings and driving new revenue opportunities.

Ultimately, as the IIoT becomes more ingrained in production processes, new product and services business models (Phase 2) morph into the delivery of measureable outcomes (Phase 3). A pull-based economy (Phase 4) characterized by real-time demand sensing, enabled by intelligent machines and highly automated and flexible production and fulfillment networks will then emerge.

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