Process optimization using ERP software.
Author: Dirk Bingler, CEO of the GUS Group.
4.0 in the focus of politics.
For years, the German government has been emphasizing the importance of Industry 4.0.
In particular, initiatives that should benefit small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in various sectors are being supported to the best of their ability. The following topics are the main focus:
- Digital business models
- Standardization
- Technology and research
- Security of networked systems
- Legal framework
- Work design
One prominent example is the Industry 4.0 platform of the same name, founded in 2013
But to what extent do SMEs really benefit from such initiatives?
Practical benefits for SMEs in demand
In practice, the technologies and standardizations behind the Industry 4.0 paradigm only reach SMEs to a limited extent.
The concrete benefit of a technological solution in production is often disproportionate to the degree of complexity of the upcoming optimization. Cyber-physical production systems (CPS) - a combination of software and mechanical/electronic components that communicate via the network - form the technical core of Industry 4.0. However, CPS-related applications are still the exception rather than the rule. Here, it is primarily the "low hanging fruits", potentials that can be achieved easily and quickly, that have been able to establish themselves in recent years. Examples include
- Mobile access and networking of machines via WLAN
- Predictive maintenance based on machine and sensor data
- Location tracking, e.g. of workpieces on the store floor
Such pragmatic but also partially delimited applications bring rapid benefits by significantly relieving the burden on users in particular. In addition, the ROI is not long in coming.
Highly automated and therefore relatively complex processes, on the other hand, have so far received little attention in most investment decisions - even within the process industry. In addition to technological solutions, the current focus of production companies is on supply chain optimization and less on production automation. Projects that aim to achieve fully automated production and connect existing ERP systems with Industry 4.0 are still isolated cases in practice - especially among SMEs.
However, it is precisely the "networking" between ERP systems and Industry 4.0 solutions that could provide valuable support for many SMEs in the process industry.
ERP data hub: smart machines - smart processes
ERP systems connect the world of business management with Industry 4.0 applications, making the implementation of Industry 4.0 possible in the first place. ERP systems are the central data hub in production companies. The value flow associated with the flow of goods in production is exclusively on the ERP side - including all relevant master and transaction data. It also has additional, e.g. semantic context information. This is required in order to be able to interpret the existing data.
Requirements for ERP systems
All of this is only possible if the ERP system used is as standardized and update-capable as possible. It is true that some companies make do with highly individualized ERP software by transferring a large part of the necessary ERP control functions to the respective IoT platform. In this way, they only use the legacy ERP system as a mere data storage system. However, such approaches are not sustainable. In the long term, it is more economical to rely on a modern ERP system at an early stage, which offers the necessary openness, stability and update capability.
ERP and Industry 4.0: A conclusion
Even if the focus of companies has so far been more on the "quick wins" of Industry 4.0, the journey is moving step by step towards self-optimizing cyber-physical production systems (CPS) and applications - albeit slowly. ERP solutions as a central data hub and single-source-of-truth for business data play a decisive role in the implementation of I4.0.
What cannot be automated, even in the medium and long term, is the creative problem-solving skills of people. This, coupled with a high degree of flexibility, is still urgently needed.
