Industry 4.0 makes manufacturing easier and more customizable

Thanks to digitalization and the implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions, even the smallest SMEs can streamline their manufacturing processes and enable greater customization of their products. This is what the SAP Academic Competence Center at HES-SO Valais/Wallis, headed by Cassandre Payen, is proving. It has just set up an automation system for Valais SME ETK, with very convincing results. 

"We' re in a fiercely competitive environment today. Customers are looking for personalized, individual experiences. And this is possible thanks to Industry 4.0," notes Cassandre Payen. In her opinion, Industry 4.0 is perfectly feasible for SMEs. " There are certainly some challenges in terms of training and personnel, as well as financing certain costs, but it's feasible."

Since 1996, the SAP Academin Competence Center has been assisting companies with their digitalization needs, using the SAP tool. It is currently developing a concrete project with ETK, a small and medium-sized electrical switchboard manufacturer employing 11 people. " The idea was to take advantage of the renewal of the company's information system (ERP) to take a broader look at internal processes.

Production order automatically transmitted to the workshop

Thanks to the IT solution deployed by the SAP Center, ETK is able to produce different variants of switchgear according to customer requirements. Procurement and stocks are also managed and anticipated by the system. The entry point is the customer order. Customers can enter their own personalized electrical panel order. A product configurator then generates all the necessary data once the offer has been accepted. " A manufacturing order is generated automatically, and the electrical diagrams go directly to the workshops to launch production," explains Cassandre Payen.

This automation has been achieved with very few changes on the shop floor. " We're making life easier on the shop floor, with accurate and precise component lists to limit errors". Work is also simpler in terms of administration, orders and stock management.

Source : The Ark