Manufacturing & Logistics IT spoke with leading analysts and vendors about current developments within the manufacturing technology space and what future innovations might emerge over the next few years. The world of manufacturing technology is changing, and digital is certainly the watchword. As Rowan Litter, research analyst, enterprise mobility, VDC Research, points out, the primary development within the manufacturing technology space is Digital Transformation. This, he explains, can be as simple as upgrading from outdated/legacy systems or pen-and-paper or enabling an entire smart factory with automation, and machine learning/AI capabilities. "As these technologies become tested and proven, manufacturers are realising that correctly incorporating these innovations will lead to increased operational efficiency and greater production to meet rises in consumer demand," he says. Litter believes a very important piece that needs to be talked about is the enabler of these innovations and technology. "That enabler comes from connectivity and networks; what will allow businesses to adopt and connect more technologies, process data faster and provide the best security from a rise in cybersecurity threats, as well as the overall risks with digitalisation," he says. "Private Wireless Networks have emerged as the enabler for manufacturers who are interested in implementing these new technologies. A challenge for many organisations comes from not knowing what to prioritise and where to start. With labour critical to support operations in many of these environments and organisations challenged with optimising workflows, we find that enabling the mobile worker with digital tools is the optimal jumping off point." In terms of drivers for change, Litter maintains that the impacts of COVID-19 highlighted inefficiencies in the manufacturing sector.

AI can help further ameliorate this aspect of the business in more than one impact way; for example, it can assist companies with data optimization, i.e. ensuring all their data is not only updated but also optimized and complete. ERP solutions fortified with AI are also able to help companies close any gaps between various departments within the organization, empower executives to make sound, data-driven decisions, and so much more. AI-driven ERP solutions, then, offer solutions such as chatbots that can quickly learn from the company's data and then use it to improve customers' journeys and experiences with the brand. Plus, when you find a trusted provider for enterprise software development services, you will also have the requisite expertise that will further serve to ensure the success of your endeavor to fortify your ERP solution with AI. Not only that -- researchers have also found that as many as 83 percent of companies believe AI is critical to the success of their endeavors to ensure their business growth.

Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, self-driving automobiles, nanotechnology, SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud) and a lot more …businesses especially the manufacturing organisations are experiencing a downpour of disruptive tech trends in the business intelligence landscape. However, when it comes for manufacturing businesses to adopt these tech trends, there is a dire need for having a lucid understanding of the various tech trends in line with current gen's business ecosystem. IoT and Big data undoubtedly are enthralling tech concepts. The question is what do they have in store for manufacturing organisations? As digitisation takes the manufacturing arena by a storm, there seems to be an amazing potential to boost agility, responsiveness and embrace the quickly changing customers' demands. Here's how the trio of ERP, Big Data and IoT can deliver actionable intelligence: With Great Power Comes Great Stress!

The systems take what is already available and present it in an entirely new framework in order to take a quantum leap above legacy systems in terms of workflow support and analysis. There is a lot of confusion and misinformation about AI and its capabilities; here is a basic definition. AI is the "capacity of a computer to perform operations analogous to learning and decision making in human…for the perception and recognition of shapes in computer vision systems." So it is basically an advanced logic system, patterned after the human brain but constrained by hard-wired rules and data points. The underlying premise is Moore's Law, which states that processing power doubles every 18 months; as computers become more powerful, they can be used to run more complex AI programs.

In 1963, the American psychologist and computer scientist J. C. R. Licklider wrote a series of forward-thinking, perhaps even visionary, memos that he addressed to the "Members and Affiliates of the Intergalactic Computer Network." Just over half a century later, his foresight sits at the center of a global transformation as organizations strive to become truly intelligent. This transformation is both driven and underpinned by cloud computing technology – itself arguably representing a further iteration of Licklider's early theories. Simply put, cloud computing makes it possible for users to access data, applications, and services over the Internet and ultimately provides the foundation for the intelligent enterprise which is ready for tomorrow's world. The cloud eliminates the need for costly hardware, such as hard drives and servers – and gives users the ability to work from anywhere.As such, cloud software offers several distinct advantages that help sharpen a company'scompetitive edge: It speeds up processes, makes them easier, and above all smarter – all aiming at realizing a company's intelligent enterprise.

An old episode of The Simpsons predicted how smartphones would someday need to self-correct annoying spelling mishaps on the phone's keyboard. "Lisa on Ice" – a Season 6, Episode 8 show which aired way back in 1994- opens in a Springfield Elementary School assembly where Kearney asks fellow bully Dolph to take a memo on his Newton to "Beat up Martin." When the machine translates the message into "Eat up Martha," it is signaling how common text messaging errors can be blamed on their phone's lack of autocorrect technology. By 2013, Apple had perfected the autocorrect technology for smartphone keyboards. Nitin Ganatra, Apple's former director of engineering for iOS applications, explained "If you heard people talking and they used the words Eat up Martha, it was basically a reference to the fact that we needed to nail the keyboard. We needed to make sure the text input works on this thing otherwise- Here comes the Eat up Martha's."

The use of AI (artificial intelligence) in the enterprise technology ecosystem has always been a hot topic among industry gurus. It is the age of AI and its scope is traversing beyond smartphone use, as it has paved way into the realm of ERP (enterprise resource planning) technology as well. Yes, artificial intelligence is proving out to be an excellent tool to optimise operational models and transform business operations for organisations all over the world. A few years ago, advanced AI tech was exclusive and costly due to undeveloped and controlled tools. It required highly skilled people and gigantic data storage centres for pattern recognition.

"If you don't innovate fast, disrupt your industry, disrupt yourself, you will be left behind." To orchestrate this transformation, organizations must revamp their IT strategies and roadmaps and ingest the value of artificial intelligence and enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration. These technologies go hand in hand because they cover the same spectrum. AI-enabled ERP solutions will by default impact the heart and soul of day-to-day operations. The mix of people, process and technology is going to change.

"If you don't innovate fast, disrupt your industry, disrupt yourself, you will be left behind." To orchestrate this transformation, organizations must revamp their IT strategies and roadmaps and ingest the value of artificial intelligence and enterprise resource planning (ERP) integration. These technologies go hand in hand because they cover the same spectrum. AI-enabled ERP solutions will by default impact the heart and soul of day-to-day operations. The mix of people, process and technology is going to change.

Many companies still have a patchwork of ERP solutions across their business. Rationalizing these applications can deliver economies of scale via global standardization, while leveraging the cloud to adopt faster. In this first in a series of blogs, I will discuss the two-tier ERP approach and how a modern Enterprise management solution can support and improve this often rather complex model. Global organizations are increasingly adopting a two-tier enterprise resource planning (ERP) strategy. Two-tier ERP is the practice of running a deployment model to serve the requirements of both the headquarter and the subsidiary - in other words, one at the corporate level (to handle more complex business requirements), and one at the plant, division, or subsidiary level (usually a lighter solution focused specifically on the requirements of small subsidiaries).