With rising raw material, energy and labour costs, more consumers are shopping around for value. Unable to increase selling prices by enough to cover these increases makes life more challenging for manufacturers of consumer packaged goods.
But that does not apply to all consumers. Despite some just managing to get by, others remain affluent and want what they want. Consumers still want to know where their food has come from. Is it from an ethical and sustainable source, and does it conform to the regulations? If not from you, then another supplier will.
Consumer packaged goods
Manufacturing food, beverages, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products at the right price in a changing market is challenging. Rarely more so than this year yet finding ways of producing more products with fewer workers is achievable. Improving plant performance through digital transformation brings flexibility to operations and adds responsiveness.
According to Schneider Electric, plant performance means more than operational efficiency. It also includes agile, traceable production. The good news is the technology available now means producers can improve efficiency while also making operations more agile.
Using IIoT to improve plant performance
So how do manufacturers of consumer packaged goods meet operational performance levels to give consumers what they want? Digital solutions allow them to optimise processes and plant performance to reduce waste, lower energy use and lower labour costs, whilst increasing production efficiency. These same digital solutions are also a step towards more agile, sustainable operations.
IIoT solutions can help with three key aspects of smart operations:
- Agile Production: digitally connected, flexible assets which can respond to supply chain and marketing demands.
- Optimised scheduling: a scheduling system that can react to changing demands in real time, whether driven by the supply chain, customers, or maintenance needs.
- Digital supply chain: secure digital links to a plant’s scheduling and operation to the separate entities in the supply chain so production can respond in real-time.
Practical examples
Augmented reality (AR) ensures that workers have the right information when and where they need it, including maintenance data and in case of a problem, visual guidance on where the fault is and how to rectify it. With maintenance personnel spending up to 50% of their time today searching for information, AR can pay off through reduced downtime and improved overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
Digitalisation is as much about changing people’s mindset as it is about technology. Some plants have changed their production output to produce various products that are similar but respond to different market segments. As with working from home, some businesses who werf willing to make the shift before, are now seeing real benefits.
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