Frequently mentioned pain points from manufacturers – and how IIoT can help

Manufacturing isn’t a static field. Things change. Processes improve. And through these changes and improvements, new issues arise that leave manufacturers scratching their heads and rubbing their brow.

To get the pulse of the industry, the Panasonic IIoT Solutions group has been asking our customers to share the most pressing, keep-you-up-at-night pain points affecting their material flow management today. In no particular order, some of the most common responses include:

• Late replenishment of parts to the line
• Slow and error-prone kitting
• Difficulty locating assets, containers and tools
• Reducing labor and training time
• Lack of visibility to key metrics
• Inability to detect when work items are sent to the incorrect station or storage area

These issues are complex and enduring. However, much like the headaches they inspire, they aren’t without a solution – the Panasonic Logiscend System.

How Logiscend can help alleviate these pain points

Using the Panasonic Logiscend platform to move your operations towards Smart Manufacturing and Industry 4.0 is a great way to address these common issues, as shown by the chart below. Five main application modules make up the Logiscend material flow solution: Pick, Replenishment, Work Instructions, Asset Tracking and Smart Container. An additional analytics module, Panasonic InSights Software, includes visualization and data analytics tools.For example, Logiscend’s Pick application generates immediate reduction in labor and process costs, from paper savings to improved accuracy. The electronic workflow also provides operators with on-screen instructions, decreasing the time and cost of training as well.

Each of Logiscend’s applications address various manufacturing pain points in a different way. However, one of the most important for operational transformation is the analytics that are now available from the digital data collected. Plant managers and other executives can view and act upon key information, such as average delivery time, total picks and total completed calls, allowing them to make much-needed changes to optimize their processes. This data is much more difficult, if not impossible, to obtain from paper-based workflows and is one of the key benefits of moving to IIoT for material flow management.

Another benefit of the Logiscend platform is the ability to use the applications that are most important to your operation. As seen above, the replenishment application addresses nearly all these common pain points with the exception of locating assets and tools. However, adding the Asset Tracking capability to your Logiscend solution takes care of that in a hurry. Each of the applications run from the same server, use the same GUI and are modular by design. This makes it easy to extend the Logiscend platform to another area in your manufacturing facility.

Let’s get started

Interested in a deeper dive on how the Logiscend platform can address the most common manufacturing pain points? Our team would love to show you in greater detail.

Contact us through the website, and we’ll reach out to set up a demo.

With one simple step, you could already be moving towards your Industry 4.0 transformation.