Cloud computing has become the key driver of the ‘4th Industry Revolution’ in which advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain are blurring the lines between the physical and digital world. Cloud computing technology is driving change and innovation in all the business sectors across the world. This holds true for the manufacturing industry too. According to a report by Market research future , the cloud manufacturing market is expected to grow to a value of USD 111.90 billion by 2024. The rapidly evolving business environment and the need to keep up with the demands of the diverse customer base present a huge set of challenges and opportunities to the manufacturing industry. For these reasons, many manufacturers are leveraging cloud computing technology to monitor and improve their overall process.  

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Enhanced product development

Product planning and development is something that needs the most attention when it comes to manufacturing. Traditionally, the product development process involves manually building prototypes, testing, and experimenting. This is an expensive and time-consuming process. With the help of cloud computing in the manufacturing industry, manufacturers can merge product planning and development information into supply chain data and communications. AI technology powered by cloud computing solutions enables manufacturers to conceive solutions by comparing and analyzing vast data sets quickly. This way, they can prepare the operations for full production in less time. Moreover, with the capability of accessing all the crucial data instantly, products can move from idea to engineering to prototype to production and finally to full-scale manufacturing to shipping much faster. 

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Productivity management

One of the pressing issues that the manufacturing industry has been struggling to deal with is consistent productivity. Manufacturing companies can rarely maintain the same level of production for all products throughout the year. With the changing needs of customers and high demand in the market, manufacturers can use cloud-based applications to effectively monitor and manage production. These cloud software solutions ensure that they have the required amount of raw materials on hand needed for production and enable them to readily change their orders to match their future productivity levels. Cloud computing in the manufacturing industry not just helps with production, easy and instant access to all the information and seamless communication also ensures that the employees are productive. 

Supply chain management.

The adoption of cloud computing in the manufacturing industry for improving supply chain management has dramatically increased in the past few years. Cloud-based supply management can significantly benefit the manufacturing industry in many ways. With the help of cloud computing solutions, manufacturers can cut ‘lost products’ by locating a shipment during any stage of transport. Since cloud solutions enable quick and effective communication, manufacturers and vendors can operate seamlessly. Moreover, cloud-based supply chain management connects the entire supply chain providing a more strategic approach for inventory deployment. 

Cloud-based Marketing

The nature of cloud technology makes it a natural match for the intricacies of marketing campaigns. Cloud-based applications help manufacturers in planning to execute and managing marketing campaigns. With the help of cloud computing applications deployed in the manufacturing plant, manufacturers can obtain the data on production and sales and analyze it to make the marketing campaign more effective.  

The manufacturing industry across the globe is gradually using cloud computing solutions to manage day-to-day activities and to improve efficiency and productivity. Thus, it is no surprise that the development of technologies like cloud computing in the manufacturing industry has had a positive effect on its growth and evolution. With more than 15 years of deep manufacturing industry expertise, we, at Intone, combine our manufacturing and technology knowledge with the latest industry trends to apply innovation, transformation, and digitization to enable superior growth, differentiation, and unsurpassed operating performance. Whether it’s helping global manufacturing and chemical companies with mergers & acquisitions, optimizing plant operations, implementing SAP S/4HANA for business transformation, creating solutions for RPA and supply chain optimization, digital engineering and manufacturing, artificial intelligence and data-driven analytics, and optimizing the office of the CFO through GRC and continuous controls monitoring solutions to create more data visibility, we have dedicated partnerships across the globe and are driving positive change through the world’s largest manufacturing companies. We are creating agile and intelligent operating models and redefining the way the manufacturing industry works.