FMCG companies are under constant pressure to produce more for less, but often have limited budgets in terms of adopting new technologies. Retail World spoke with technology experts from the Open IIoT Group at CEBIT 2019 and asked: what area of technology do you believe would give them the biggest bang for their buck? That is, where should they be investing?
Here’s what NORD Drivesystems Director Max Jarmatz had to say. 
“The investment of production technology is normally a long-term investment so you you will have to rely on it for 10 to 15 years. So, basically what you want to do is you want to invest in a modular concept. That means you have the flexibility to exchange and upgrade or upscale according to your demands and needs. Looking at NORD as a gearbox company, for example, we can offer you a concept of a gearbox, the motor and efficiency inverter.
“Also KPIs on your company’s operations become more and more important. So, having a component that collects data about your production and gives you a warning, for example, if a breakdown is going to occur. That gives you a time to plan your maintenance according to your real needs. It also shortens the maintenance time, which means you have more time for production, and you save maintenance costs.
“Another idea behind IoT is that you get this data also to improve your processes because for many companies their production is like a blind spot. They know their daily output, but they don’t know where they have bottlenecks, which machines are overloading, and which ones have capacity left. By incorporating sensors and intelligence into the actual components and communicating this to a cloud where you can analyse this data according to your needs, you get control and insights about your workshop.”
Explore advice from other experts
- Zi-Argus Industry 4.0 Operations Manager Richard Roberts
- SMC Corporation Digital Transformation Leader Jozef Ceh
- Beckhoff Senior Technical Sales Engineer John Wan
- Balluff National Business Development Manager Robert Prince
About Open IIot
Open IIoT can help customers implement an Industry 4.0 solution which will leave their business smarter, leaner and more profitable. Stay in touch with the group by visiting www.openiiot.com.au or following them on www.linkedin.com/company/open-iiot-australia.