How Hershey used IoT to save $500K for every 1% of improved efficiency in making Twizzlers - TechRepublic

The Internet of Things (IoT) is good for business optimization, but could be bad for candy lovers. Twizzlers and eventually other Hershey's candies, such as Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, are going to get smaller now that Hershey is adding IoT sensors to its candy-making manufacturing facilities to make the process more efficient through machine learning. The process to start using machine learning and predictive analytics at Hershey, which makes Twizzlers and 79 other brands of candy, began on a single Twizzlers factory line. Hershey used Microsoft Azure to utilize algorithms to improve the manufacturing process. "We were able to utilize the precooked algorithms inside of Azure to wire up all of the machine learning. We literally were able to build this without a data scientist," said George Lenhart, senior manager, advanced productivity and collaboration, at Industry of Things World USA in San Diego, Calif.