Henry Ford introduced the first assembly line on Dec. 1, 1913 and organizations have been looking for ways to improve their manufacturing processes ever since. Major breakthroughs came about in the 1970s with the adoption of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). PLCs allowed organizations to connect to machines within their plants, extract data and use it to maximize system uptime. Shortly after, Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) technology was introduced, allowing manufacturers to share inventory data with vendors and suppliers in near real-time.

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This enabled manufacturers to integrate to the supply chain and further improve the efficiency and agility of their operation. These innovations were revolutionary in terms of improving business efficiency on the plant floor. However, in order to have maximum impact on the business, manufacturers must look beyond their own operations and consider how to leverage connectivity for their distributors and customers.

The next paradigm shift in manufacturing is towards connecting manufacturing operations across the value chain. To do so, organizations will not only need to connect their plant equipment and supply chain, but also their demand chain. This can be achieved by connecting the products they create using machine-to-machine (M2M) technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). If an enterprise is connecting the assets it creates, it can gain powerful insights into its customers, business processes, distributors, maintenance requirements, product warranties and much more.

This white paper will discuss how organizations can connect their operations by leveraging the Internet of Things. It will provide insights into the evolution of manufacturing technology, the benefits of being a connected manufacturer, key enabling technologies and review important use cases.

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