Understanding the challenges of connecting outbound and inbound logistics activities while connecting the frontline with the rest of the enterprise and making the most of digitization tools:  Part 1

As with most organizational projects, digitization has clearly defined priorities. Manufacturers tend to focus their digitization efforts on the production process and only move toward other functional areas after they have been able to establish a clear digital baseline for their operations. For functional areas beyond the shop floor like sales, marketing, customer service, supply chain, purchase, finance, and administration, there are software applications to partially, if not fully, control activities. However, even in highly digital value chains, logistical functions are either overlooked or kept at the end of the line for digitization.

In manufacturing, the frontline is responsible for executing tasks and following clear guidelines and SOPs. 

While doing so, they use their experience and judgement to ensure results are compliant with intended specifications and work instructions. Manufacturing operations evolve to incorporate more digital tech equipment like IIoT sensors, automation, and robotics. As it becomes more normalized to use advanced IT tools to extract manufacturing data, the frontline and the decisions they make on a day-to-day and minute-to-minute basis will play a key role in ensuring that optimal results are obtained from digital transformation and automation efforts.

When we hear the terms “Industry 4.0” and “digitalization,” we imagine fully automated, lifeless factories churning out products in a lights-out kind of manufacturing environment. The reality, however, is far from that image. The digital transformation of any enterprise is more like a journey than a step change, and achieving such a transformation is only possible through the empowerment of an organization’s number one resource: its workers.