In a pandemic, Industry 4.0 technologies help businesses survive

For companies, the demand to increase real-time visibility and boost flexibility is no longer just about finding new competitive advantage. It’s about developing resilience in the fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0.

How did this happen?

It’s the pandemic. We’re all accustomed to the steady drumbeat of expert advice, encouraging businesses to change and adapt. But here at the end of a tumultuous 2020, this drumbeat has become more of a shrieking siren’s warning.

COVID-19 is accelerating the move towards Industry 4.0 technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing. The good news: companies that have embraced these technologies are finding them essential to new innovation – and survival.

I recently talked about this shift with Elvira Wallis, Senior Vice President and Global Head of IoT at SAP, who is seeing pandemic-driven change play out at customers sites around the world.

“The IoT is a huge enabler,” she says. “In a pandemic, the notions of remote assistance and service, human transparency, remote asset access, and production agility have become essential aspects of how to do business – especially when people can’t access the physical facilities. The IoT provides data from business assets, products, machines, and devices that a worker wears – making it easier to understand their usage. That’s an essential aspect of doing business now.”

I was excited to chat again with Wallis as a part of our new SAP Global Influencer Marketing LinkedIn Live series, “Tech Unknown: Stories from the Inside.” You can watch the whole video on the SAP Industries LinkedIn Page.

Staying cool in a pandemic

Early in the pandemic, supply chain disruption made a difficult situation worse. It’s true that some problems were caused by people hoarding goods like toilet paper and bleach. But certain products were out of stock because manufacturers couldn’t keep up with demand or transportation providers struggled to make deliveries on time.

Not everyone was willing to accept that status quo, though. A logistics provider that transports goods needed to make sure items were kept cold on its trucks. The company invested in IoT technology – sensors that measure and track the temperatures of products during shipping and cloud-based solutions that share the cooling data with the firm’s customers.

“Now the company is afloat during the pandemic because they invested early in IoT,” says Wallis. “They understand what works, the supply chain is functioning well, and they have no production shortages.”

What’s more, IoT became a competitive advantage.

“According to the CIO, two things are happening,” she adds. “Some of the competitors’ customers are approaching the logistics company. And when further investment is suggested in Industry 4.0 technologies, it is very clear that it has to be done. It’s essential for business.”

Weighing the impact of human vulnerability

There’s a human element to this, too. Before the pandemic, any talk about the future of work and automation in manufacturing was seen as a polarizing topic.

Once the pandemic hit and human workforces weren’t able to go into the manufacturing plant – or someone got sick with COVID-19 and the facility had to be closed down – executives began considering the impact of human vulnerabilities on the business.

Remember how COVID-19 sickened workers at pork plants?

Most executives had never before considered the business challenges of human vulnerability. Those who did – the early adopters of Industry 4.0 technologies – didn’t experience nearly the same degree of disruption as those pork plants. 

Locating new opportunities with spatial data

Another Industry 4.0 technology playing a part in this pandemic-driven change is geolocation. Sensor data can help companies understand where certain assets are at any point in time. With that insight, they can adjust or adapt their business processes.

One manufacturer of high-end food flavorings and fragrances ships its products using industrial bulk containers.

The company’s customers have 20,000 to 30,000 of its containers in warehouses and plants all over the world – and that’s a lot to track and trace. IoT sensors on the containers help the manufacturer pinpoint container locations, determine how full or empty the containers are, and identify the materials within.

“The company’s goal was to use this knowledge to increase their annual container turnover from six to eight times to eight to 10 times with each customer,” says Wallis. “Now they can do just-in-time replenishment. They can reduce overstocks and make sure they never understock a product. That insight increased profitability and provided customers with necessary products. Those benefits are not a luxury in times of a pandemic.” 

Industry 4.0 technologies: Blending technology and creativity for a more intelligent enterprise

I love it when companies deploy innovative technologies in creative new ways. For example, one beverage bottler in Mexico combined edge technologies with geolocation and IoT sensors to improve both worker safety and warehouse logistics.

Here’s how it works:

1. Sensors on rechargeable forklifts help the bottler identify the location of the forklifts and when they need a battery charge.
2. Workers also wear sensor-enabled devices, which helps the company understand where employees are positioned.
3. By correlating the forklift data with the worker data, the company was able to better protect workers from the constant movement of forklifts.

“It’s brilliant,” says Wallis. “By understanding worker proximity to forklifts, you can improve their safety. And you can also collect other data about their health and well-being. This company provided a useful service for forklift recharging while also helping create a safer employee environment.”

Finding that sweet spot of IoT technology and business benefit may take some time, but it pays to listen to that drumbeat now.

“Customers often ask, ‘Where do I start?,’ but we never say where that should be,” says Wallis. “Every company has its own journey. The most important thing about the journey is to take the first step. Analysis paralysis has never taken us to the end of the path. Whatever you do, just make sure you start.”