Heartland Blogs & News

Deep Dive: Why Manufacturers Depend on Actionable Insights

Written by Heartland | May 9, 2023 3:00:00 PM

You’ve heard knowledge is power. In this case, knowledge is insight. 

To drive a successful customer experience, it’s becoming increasingly imperative for manufacturing organizations to understand analytics and use data to steer their global and local business affairs. It aids executives in getting an aerial view of what customers are buying, where shipments are going, and what the future holds short-term (seasonal) and long-term (year-end and beyond). 

From there, key stakeholders could translate these pieces of data into responses to make better business decisions. 

A look into manufacturing’s current state reveals an uptick in the usage of smart technology, such as integrating the cloud, edge computing, and 5G networks. Connectivity services such as those provided by AlwaysConnected support your 5G network with connectivity solutions that make it easy to monitor your network, secure installation, run network diagnostics, and optimize voice technology solutions. It’s the perfect method to connect all your wireless systems. 

Why is this so important? Data shows 60% of surveyed executives are partnering with specialized technological companies to further smart manufacturing and install augmented reality. Companies in the space use their specialty to fuel their involvement, with relevancy as a massive catalyst for these changes. According to Deloitte, one aerospace leader uses drones, cloud, and sensor technologies with AR for quality control processes. It’s becoming important now more than ever to progress and automate operations, with automatic wireless scanners becoming the epicenter of the future of manufacturing. 

 

How Cybersecurity Plays A Part in The Era of Technology 

That only scrapes the surface because the truth gets its own universe. Some leaders are experimenting with digital, cultivating a metaverse platform for their products and distributions. What does this mean for cybersecurity? You probably guessed it---there is a greater need to stay ahead of cyberattacks in the event there is a breach. 

Going digital and becoming more technologically advanced requires monitoring activity with a more diligent eye. With a more remote-based society emerging, cybersecurity is vital to the health of many manufacturing leaders. Hackers are constantly finding new ways to exploit, divide and conquer. The total cost of security breaches worldwide in 2020 averaged $3.86 million, indicating a catastrophic reality on the other side of not being completely safeguarded.

Heartland has security solutions to identify potential risks and mitigate digital maturity. Knowing that technology is dominating this industry, an actionable insight would be to use this information to intensify cybersecurity and utilize a unified platform, making it straightforward for everyone who needs to access and record information for inventory management.

All businesses should consider the following when conducting targeted research and testing the efficacy of data that is useful for making business model changes:

  • Gather—Collect the quantitative and quantitative metrics to draw conclusions 
  • Examine—Ask the question, “Why”? What do these performance insights show us about patterns and potential pitfalls or opportunities to grow 
  • Predict—If these insights hold true, we can predict the next course of action and what will happen with predictive analytics that gives us a glimpse into the future
  • Ideate—What should be done immediately and what should be done in incremental steps across a longer timeframe

 

Each one of these steps is crucial to understanding how research and data affect manufacturing decisions in the supply chain. As businesses get ready to uncover the data necessary to consider approaching the 2023 peak season, connect with our team to discuss strategies to maintain sustainability and environmental responsibility in the process.