Three ways AI is changing the manufacturing industry

Artificial intelligence (AI)

AI offers the manufacturing industry further ways to stay competitive and efficient in an ever-changing landscape. Transforming the way the industry operates and functions, manufacturers are seeing more ways to optimize operations and boost productivity, while reducing costs. While AI helps to utilize digital technology and improve manufacturers core operations by integrating seamlessly within the era of smart manufacturing, it also enables more efficient work by augmenting human abilities to enable humans and machines to work together, instead of replacing human workers.

AI within the manufacturing industry is another addition in the era of smart manufacturing, working with other digital enhancements such as the digital twin model, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT). However, generative AI is revolutionary in the ways it can continuously update these models and reflect an ever-changing production environment with smarter processes to progress the manufacturing industry even further.

Three ways AI is changing the manufacturing industry

1. Operational efficiency

AI increases operational efficiency for manufacturers by minimizing, or completely removing, repetitive tasks. Employees can focus on high-value activities that require more resources, while AI reduces the time spent on low-value tasks to increase the speed of production and business output.

Operating with more streamlined processes targeted at each manufacturers’ unique system reduces downtime to ensure there is an optimal resource allocation to provide significant efficiency and operational gain. AI helps reduce unnecessary energy consumption through efficient scheduling of processes within high-resource times with less delays or long response times. Using predictive maintenance to schedule repair works to quieter hours and understanding downtimes contributes to lower operational costs too.

Manufacturers can utilize their business insights with AI to operate more efficiently, based on the information their business already provides.

2. Greater agility and quality

Agile manufacturing refers to the ability of manufacturers to adapt to a changing market and demands, manage, and navigate unexpected disruptions and remain fluid through shifts in requirements. AI offers manufacturers greater agility in how they face industry changes and business requests by learning and understanding information that humans could overlook, promoting a smoother collaborative process between teams and departments to help automate complex production activities and improve quality control.

Using predictive quality control minimizes defects and ensures consistent product quality as well as giving business results that are precise in real-time. AI provides the adaptability and quality advancements needed for businesses to move forward, meet customers’ expectations and remain competitive.

3. Decision making

AI-generated insights empower manufacturing leaders to make informed, data-driven decisions by providing the connectivity, tools and automation that manufacturers need to provide unprecedented precision and excellence to customers.

AI systems use machine learning algorithms to detect customers’ buying patterns to then report back insights to business leaders. This data can then be used to alter processes to best suit customers’ needs and requirements. AI data inspection tools can search for defects on production lines and detect faults as soon as they happen, alerting human workers to any issues before moving to the next section. This provides time for manufacturers to decide the next steps and provide a fix before the error continues. Similarly, detecting and tracking supplies and preventing bottlenecks within processes gives manufacturers the real-time information to make future-proof decisions that have the smallest impact on production lines.

The ability for AI to analyze vast amounts of data, recognize and understand customer buying patterns and recommend optimal production solutions vastly changes the way manufacturers work by influencing leaders’ decision-making with key business insights.

How AI is transforming ERP systems

AI offers additional enhancements to ERP systems, transforming the way they operate and function within a business. AI-enabled ERP systems offer improved efficiency, smart data processing and analytics and further forecasting for better decision making. An ERP system that has been integrated with AI has additional functionality that enhances all business areas, as AI can automate processes further, increase personalization for users and improve adaptability of systems.

AI is transforming ERP systems by streamlining complicated processes that ERP systems still take time to process and it is expected that future ERP systems will be based on AI foundations to provide innovative tools that optimize businesses performance.

AI with IFS Cloud

IFS Cloud, the latest ERP solution from IFS, is already harnessing the benefits of AI within ERP systems to benefit the manufacturing industry. IFS Cloud for Manufacturing leverages AI technology to improve manufacturing scheduling and optimization by making the process smarter and more adaptable to changing environments.

IFS Cloud’s Intelligent Automation offers manufacturers improved operational efficiency, enhanced product quality, greater agility and adaptability, efficient cost savings and data-driven decision making. Embracing IFS Cloud with intelligent automation capabilities is essential for manufacturers to stay innovative and competitive within an ever digitally transforming industry.

How we can help

Baker Tilly can digitally transform your business and provide the integration to IFS Cloud, the integrated ERP solution that will empower you to successfully compete in today’s digitally advanced world. Providing your manufacturing business the kick-start to AI you need to keep ahead of the competition.