manufacturers boosted by smart supply chains

The manufacturing sector, seen as a bellwether for global financial health, is performing poorly following two years of post-recession recovery. Depressed consumer spending, high commodity prices, public sector austerity, stiff competition and the fallout from the Japanese tsunami have resulted...

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Consequently, many manufacturers are looking to improve their business processes. "The flat growth in the sector just makes it even more important to remove costs and improve efficiency in all parts of the supply chains," says Leonard Carey, Head of M2M Europe, Orange Business Services.

Key to efficiency and visibility is intelligent use of wireless technology in the supply chain. Today, a range of mature wireless standards is helping manufacturers ensure their products are delivered on time and without damage or theft, while helping customers gain greater insight into what is happening to their orders.

"With a combination of M2M communications, mobile computing and automatic identification and data capture technologies, we are now moving into an age where we can track a product from design all the way through to use and then disposal. For some manufacturers, visibility into the entire lifecycle of a product - whether it is a widget or crane - will completely change their business model," says Jean-Francois Fava-Verde, Head of Innovation, Orange Business Services. "You can become a service provider offering on-going diagnostics, repair, and innovative financing."

demanding customers

Manufacturers are under pressure from customers wanting increased visibility. "If I buy a Dell PC, I can see when it is being built, when it is shipped, and when it arrives. This is the degree of visibility that we want now," says Fava-Verde. "We want to know that the products we buy are genuine and where they come from."

Food and beverage manufacturing is an area where visibility is crucial, as goods typically need to arrive without being damaged and within a tightly controlled temperature range. "With food safety, regulations are tightening so we need more visibility, not just where the palette is, but what the conditions are. You have to be able to prove that the delivery has not been tampered with en route," adds Fava-Verde.

Building a smart supply chain.

The challenge is designing an end-to-end system that works with multiple stakeholders and then figuring how to collect and make sense of all the data.

"Our expertise lies in systems integration and understanding the supply chain," says Carey. "We are a global company with global integration skills and experience of manufacturing supply chains. We can help you identify what technologies match your needs."

For instance, active RFID tags at $50-$100 are too expensive to attach to low-cost items, but you could attach one to a container. You could then combine the passive tags attached to low-value items with data from a temperature sensor installed in the container to create "aggregated events" that would track the temperature of each individual item up to the point of delivery. All the data could be relayed, via M2M, to a control center.

"Our consultants help you understand your business challenges and opportunities and design a technological solution around them. The right solution will add to your value, volume and velocity," says Carey.

As one of the world's leading M2M service providers and global network operator, Orange has partnerships with leading component suppliers so can validate that all communications equipment works seamlessly on the network. Data from smart tags, barcodes and SIM-based devices can be aggregated and relayed to customers' networks via an array of access methods, including SMS, 3G, Wi-Fi, powerline, DSL and satellite. Orange also has extensive experience in application development and integration through its IT&Labs business unit. And finally, consulting, devices, connectivity, application integration and network are all drawn together in an ITIL� service model. This combination of capabilities can help manufacturers take their next great leap forward.

article date:
September 19, 2011