Why do manufacturers need to use data better?
Manufacturing is a key pillar of economic growth and innovation, and naturally, it’s rapidly evolving. If you're not keeping up, you're falling behind. One of the best ways to stay ahead of the curve is by harnessing the power of your data, but why is that so crucial?
Thriving in a competitive landscape
- Globalisation and Market Competition: You're not just competing with the factory down the road anymore, or even in the next town over. You're up against manufacturers from across the globe. With markets opening everywhere, understanding how to outmanoeuvre international competition is essential. With data, you can grasp market trends, examine supply chain dynamics, and get a sense of what your competitors are up to.
- Increasing Customer Expectations: Gone are the days when you could get away with sub-par products, lengthy shipping time and hiding a bad review. Data helps you anticipate customer needs, allowing you to design products that meet and exceed expectations.
Operational Efficiency
- Cost-Effectiveness: We all know manufacturing involves an abundance of costs — raw materials, labour, overheads, you name it. Using your data to identify inefficiencies, excess spending and waste in your processes can help to reduce costs. For example, predictive analytics can help you foresee machine breakdowns, allowing you to carry out preventative maintenance and avoid downtime.
- Process Optimisation: Real-time data offers instant feedback on how things are going. Are you producing too slowly? Is your quality control up to snuff? Are your inventory levels just right? Data helps you adjust on the fly, averting costly mistakes and enhancing productivity.
Strategic Decision-Making
- Long-term Planning: Any kind of long-term planning without proper data is like driving blindfolded, backwards and with a missing wheel. You wouldn't do that, would you? When put to good use, your data can give you a crystal-clear view of market demands, emerging tech, and promising investment opportunities. This way, you can craft a strategic plan that's not just wishful thinking but grounded in real insights.
- Risk Assessment: Whether it's fluctuating raw material prices, changing regulations and legislation, or potential supply chain disruptions, unlocking your data lets you weigh the risks effectively. By identifying potential challenges and uncertainties, you can take steps to mitigate those risks, be they financial, operational, or compliance related.
Using data virtualization as a solution
Data virtualisation gives you an instant, cohesive snapshot of your company's data, drawn from across all areas of operation. It’s time to move away from outdated, clunky processes to a world of quick, well-informed decisions enabled by the latest in technological innovation. Put simply, data virtualisation streamlines your access to data, allowing you to manage and utilise information without having to understand the technical specifics of how it’s formatted or where it physically resides. So, what exactly can data virtualization help you achieve as a business?
Integrated view of all your data, for all data consumers
Data virtualization brings together all your scattered pieces of data into one easy-to-view picture, making it simpler for everyone in your company to get the information they need. It grants data users from various departments within your organisation the ability to access a comprehensive view of all data - whether compartmentalised or otherwise - as though it were contained within one digital repository. This all-encompassing outlook ensures that decisions are made on the strength of a complete dataset, enhancing the precision and efficacy of both strategic and operational decisions.
Modernising your business applications
Data virtualisation is the springboard for modernisation, deftly bridging the old and the new. It allows your enterprise to continue reaping value from existing data and technological investments whilst steadily retiring obsolete systems. This transition paves the way for a dynamic and adaptable infrastructure that can keep pace with evolving business requirements. By streamlining your operations in this way, your enterprise is endowed with the agility to respond swiftly to market fluctuations and tech advancements with the least amount of friction.
