No matter how dazzling a new technology seems, it’s meaningless if you aren’t using it to solve a business problem. That’s why it’s so important to begin with the business in mind as you decide which technologies to deploy, what you want the technologies to do and how you want them to help you achieve your business goals.

This is critical when creating a smart manufacturing strategy, where the risk of being overwhelmed by the possibilities and the tendency to overthink or delay projects is high. There are two specific elements of smart manufacturing — the data and “the now” — that combine to serve a specific business objective: the need for speed.

This is intended to jolt executives from traditional thinking so you can get your mind around a topic that can often seem too abstract. Thinking through how smart manufacturing characteristics can help achieve specific business objectives will help executives identify the smart manufacturing strategy that will transform your business.

The Need For Speed

Perhaps the most celebrated benefit of smart manufacturing is its ability to increase the velocity of business. Deployed effectively, it speeds up decision making, production, innovation and just about every other aspect of business.

Central to this is data, where everything begins and ends with regard to smart manufacturing. Data is the spark to smart technology’s accelerant. The Internet of Things, big data, analytics and the cloud give people and machines faster access to the data they need to run their businesses. They also provide the ability to more quickly deliver that data to the right place, at the right time.

Right Data, Right Place, Right Time

A smart manufacturing strategy designed for speed starts with how your company leverages data throughout every aspect of the business, including: