The Confluence of Metalworking And Digitalization

Metalworking companies have long provided critical support to major sectors—from semiconductor and aerospace to heavy industrial and construction. “Metalworking companies are actually one of our best-fit industries,” says Wee. “A lot of our customers come from this sector.”

A key success factor, especially in Singapore, is the ability to link operations across complex production lines and serve high-tech verticals such as semiconductor manufacturing. Where once metal fabrication was primarily about machining and finishing, modern-day metalworking must cater to intricate, nanometer-scale tolerances and advanced materials.

Wee observes:

“Metalworking shops that serve the semiconductor industry need to manage extremely fine tolerances. They want the shop-floor data to flow seamlessly back into their ERP system, ensuring real-time visibility into materials usage, process parameters, and cost structures. That’s where the power of a fully integrated software platform becomes indispensable.”

Industry 4.0 And ERP Interconnectivity

Traditionally, ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems were siloed, limiting manufacturers’ ability to glean timely insights from the production floor. Today, manufacturers demand integrated connectivity from sensors, automation systems, and supply chains through to the top-level financial dashboards. As Wee puts it:

“Integration or interconnectivity used to be a major barrier to adoption of technology. But now, with Industry 4.0, open protocols, REST APIs, and platforms like our Automation Studio, manufacturers can ‘snap in’ new software tools quite easily. They no longer have to worry about the complexities of older ERP structures that were never built for real-time data collection.”

This flexibility allows high-mix, low-volume shops (common in Singapore’s precision engineering ecosystem) to rapidly scale or pivot—crucial if they are handling contract manufacturing projects across aerospace, oil and gas, or consumer electronics.

Shifting From Siloed Data To Actionable Insights

IoT devices, collaborative robots, and advanced process controls can generate an avalanche of machine data. The real challenge is separating the “signal” from the “noise” and using that data to guide decision-making.

Wee explains how Epicor’s ERP solution helps:

“The data collection on the shop floor—whether it is cycle time, machine usage, quality checks, or scheduling—feeds directly back into the ERP. Previously, teams were reluctant to adopt new technology because they feared the complexity of integration. But with modern solutions, you gain a single source of truth. And that single source of truth is what powers actionable insights.”

For metalworking companies, those insights might include better real-time scheduling (e.g., re-routing a job to another CNC machine if a lathe is nearing capacity), more accurate job costing (capturing every step in the production process), and improved traceability of materials.

Addressing Common Pain Points

Many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggle to fund large capital investments in digital infrastructure while also grappling with workforce upskilling. “Manufacturers face multiple pressures right now,” says Wee. “At the SMF Summit, I sensed a genuine urgency around adopting the right technologies and also training their employees to handle these systems.”

In parallel, environmental and sustainability demands are intensifying. Government initiatives, such as Singapore’s commitment to net-zero by or around mid-century, challenge companies to track carbon footprints, waste management, and energy usage more closely. This data, too, is best tracked through comprehensive, integrated software.

“Sustainability, AI, interoperability—everything is converging at the same time,” Wee notes. “And the manufacturers we speak to are seeing that an advanced ERP system helps them thread all these issues together. When you have end-to-end visibility, you can build accurate audits, reduce waste, and optimize production flows.”

Global Ambitions And Local Footprints

For local Singaporean or ASEAN metalworking outfits eyeing new markets, advanced ERP solutions can accelerate expansion. When a domestic shop secures a contract from overseas, it faces the immediate need to scale planning, warehousing, and compliance reporting.

“Internationalization is also a conversation,” Wee says. “As companies branch out from Singapore, they’re often dealing with multi-site operations, multiple currencies, and complex shipping channels. An ERP system that handles compliance in various jurisdictions while offering a unified operational view can literally open doors for them.”

SMF’s Role And Forward Momentum

The Singapore Manufacturing Federation’s Manufacturing Day Summit 2025 served as a focal point for these discussions. SMEs, MNCs, and government bodies alike shared best practices and tackled urgent questions about productivity, AI, and workforce development.

Wee commends the SMF’s efforts:

“I think they have a lot of influence on manufacturers, especially in conveying the right message about where Singapore’s industrial base needs to be headed. This year’s theme is absolutely on-point because 2025 is indeed a turning point. With multiple disruptions coming together—technology, skilled labor, and sustainability—it’s critical for the entire ecosystem to be aligned.”

Looking Ahead: Transform Or Be Left Behind

Even as economic headwinds rise and global supply chains remain volatile, the consensus is that digitalization will define the winners in the manufacturing arena. Many of Epicor’s customers have realized that adopting an ERP system is not a “nice-to-have” but the backbone of future growth and competitiveness.

Wee sums it up well:

“Metalworking companies are right at the crossroads. They need to adopt technologies, upskill their workforce, and incorporate sustainability measures—all at once. That can be daunting. But with the right integrated solutions, it’s entirely achievable. And the companies that get it right now will shape the next decade of manufacturing.”

This vision resonates strongly with the objectives of APMEN, which has consistently championed advanced manufacturing, digital transformation, and best practices in the metalworking ecosystem. As we continue to highlight stories of industrial innovation, it’s clear that software-driven solutions—in everything from AI-based scheduling to shop-floor IoT—are rapidly becoming the linchpin of future-ready metalworking.

Conclusion

The takeaway from our discussion with Lorraine Wee is that digital integration is not a one-time investment—it’s an iterative journey that must be embraced holistically. With open APIs, cloud capabilities, and automation platforms readily available, integration hurdles have been lowered considerably. By leveraging these modern ERP solutions, metalworking shops can gather real-time data, unify disparate operations, and position themselves for global competitiveness.

Yet this shift demands more than just tech spend; it requires upskilled talent, top-down leadership, and ecosystems of support from organizations like the SMF. The manufacturing sector is indeed at a turning point—one where technological enablement, sustainability mandates, and workforce readiness converge. Companies that harness the power of integrated ERP stand poised to evolve beyond mere metal shops to become agile, digitally driven innovators.

APMEN will continue to track these transitions, celebrating the companies that embrace digital transformation and highlighting solutions that pave the way for Industry 4.0. Keep an eye on our upcoming features for more deep dives into real-world applications, lessons learned, and success stories from the metalworking frontlines.

The post Driving Digital Transformation In Metalworking: Insights From Epicor’s Lorraine Wee appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

By Vincent Tang, regional VP, Asia, Epicor.

Technology is changing the manufacturing landscape. With data as the driving force, new technologies are paving the way for the rise of smart manufacturing. Smart manufacturing integrates individual work components to create an adaptable, data-rich manufacturing process. The good news is that the shift to smart manufacturing is not all or nothing.

Companies can start small and add components gradually as the business grows. To begin the process and ensure that businesses are ready for the future,

Finding the right technology partner is an essential first step>> https://bit.ly/30e7YPh 

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The truth of the matter is, however, that business buyers increasingly expect a purchasing experience that’s as close as possible to that of a consumer—one that’s based around ‘me’ and ‘now’. This is a bi-product of our ‘have it all now’ culture of instant messaging and one-day, or even one-hour, deliveries.

Buyers want to be able to research, order and configure items online—with no need to phone up or exchange emails. Then, once the order has been placed, they want to be able to track its status online—and receive it by the promised delivery date.

Easy to do business with

No matter how specialised or customised the products an MTO manufacturer makes, that may no longer be enough to retain customers. The additional challenge is to be as easy as possible to do business with.

That means having the agility to react quickly to new customer requests and orders. Improving day-to-day processes—such as increasing productivity through better matching required resources with demand and developing a more responsive supplier network—can deliver meaningful improvements in production scheduling that translate to shorter delivery timeframes.

Above all, it means giving customers the buying experience they want, to drive customer loyalty and win new business. A study from Salesforce found that 81 percent of business buyers say that the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. Three quarters (77 percent) are ready to share good customer experiences with others; and 74 percent will actually pay more to get a better customer experience.

Capitalise on the Amazon effect

MTO manufacturers looking to capitalise on the Amazon effect to boost business should consider:

• Providing online capabilities for customers to design and configure products, as well as place and track orders
• Ensuring teams can respond quickly to customer queries at any time

One way to make great strides is to implement a manufacturing-specific enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution that’s designed to help you provide customers with Amazon-like self-service capabilities.

Rainier Industries, a manufacturer of custom-made display, shade and shelter products, relies on Epicor ERP to automate customer orders and improve the customer experience by accelerating time-to-delivery. Rapid growth meant it could not hire new customer service team members at the same rate that new orders were being placed. This left many employees not doing their intended job of offering customer service, but instead being inundated with order entry requests. The company can now process online orders helping to increase sales and drive revenue growth.

ERP has the power to incorporate eCommerce functionality and create configurator portals, as well as empower teams to answer customers’ queries at any time, from any location. Furthermore, customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities provide a 360-degree view of each customer relationship that puts customers at the center of a business’s objectives—just as they expect.

By Mr Vincent Tang, Regional Vice President, Asia, Epicor

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1. Can you sum up Epicor’s focus and achievements in 2018?

Globally, we had a good year in 2018, and we expect the momentum to continue next year. One of our major achievements in 2018 was our announcement of an expanded strategic partnership with Microsoft that allowed us to deliver enterprise-class solutions globally in the public cloud leveraging the Microsoft Azure platform. For customers, choosing Azure means more reliability, faster access to innovation, less disruption, greater ability to scale, and higher performance. Running Epicor ERP on the world’s most trusted cloud platform makes it even easier to focus on driving business growth.

We have also had two updates to Epicor ERP this year. The latest version of Epicor ERP supports omnichannel commerce strategy for manufacturers and dealers, and Epicor Kinetic Design is a three-pronged common cross-platform user experience (UX) framework.

2. What are your expectations on the regional economy in 2019?

I believe we will continue to see companies expanding their operations, particularly in Southeast Asia, where a higher growth path can be expected for 2019. This is coupled with the strong economic integration through the continued focus and commitment of the ASEAN nations to the AEC Blueprint which is aimed towards achieving the vision of having a highly integrated and cohesive economy by 2025.

I also see the expansion of the digital economy in this region particularly around the convergence of communication networks and increased connectivity of devices. The increased use of ICT in manufacturing and services will continue to be a big enabler of growth and that will help boost the economy of the region.

3. What business trends in Asia capture your interest for growth next year?

Asia, and particularly Southeast Asia, plays a very important role in the global economic landscape. The region is expected to become even more competitive as an industrial centre with deeper regional economic integration. This will be brought about by the ASEAN Economic Community focus on increasing trade and investment, integrating MSMEs in global value chains, and developing an innovation-driven economy.

The focus on digitisation, especially for manufacturers, in this region will be an opportunity for all. About 40 percent of the industrial companies in Southeast Asia rate their level of digitisation as high – it is believed that this will rise to 69 percent in the next five years.

Coupled with fast moving global markets, Southeast Asian manufacturers need to respond quickly to changing demands to maximise new market opportunities. Our product vision is designed to drive industry forward with an intelligent business platform primed for global customers to embrace cloud, IoT, mobility, and predictive analytics—likewise, we strive to be ahead of the curve on trends like artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and machine learning, so we can help our customers embrace them when they are ready.

The unique strengths of the Epicor industry-specific ERP platforms are underpinned by a modern service fabric and topped with cross-platform applications that enable our customers to achieve digital transformation and raise the bar for automation, analytics, and customer experience.

Innovative ERP solutions, combined with Industry 4.0 developments, are already helping to automate production lines, streamline supply chains, and provide the intelligent data manufacturers and distributors need to react quickly to changing consumer demands. One example include what Epicor customer Cladtek Singapore  is doing to embrace these trends.

4. What do you think is the key industry trend to watch out for 2019?

Manufacturers in Asia, and mainly in Southeast Asia, are beginning to understand the business imperative of the Internet of Things (IoT), as well as artificial intelligence and data science. Done right, Industry 4.0 will enable them to improve efficiencies whilst reducing costs.

By 2020, there will be 30 billion connected devices on earth. This is leading to a Big Data mountain growing beyond recognition. Machines communicating with people—and other machines—are creating so much data that we have generated more in the past two years than in the previous 5,000 years of human history.

5. What potential and opportunity do you see in the industry next year?

There’s solid proof that prioritising technology will help businesses grow. This year, Epicor delivered its second Global Growth Index, and discovered that around the globe, manufacturing businesses are showing healthy signs of growth.

In Singapore:

• 69 percent of companies said they’d experienced growth in sales/turnover in FY18
• 64 percent said they’d experienced growth in their product range in FY18
• 71 percent said they’d experienced growth in profits in FY18
• 67 percent said they are experiencing growth in exports/overseas sales in FY18
• 50 percent said they’d experienced growth in their workforce in FY18
• 67 percent said they’d experienced growth in geographic coverage in FY18

The report also showed 2018 saw up to 3.7 percent year-on-year business growth worldwide.  Global growth rates were impressive—with the proportion of businesses that have reported an increase in their sales/turnover up five percent, and with three percent more businesses experiencing profit growth, as well as product range growth, compared with the previous year.

Overall, more than a third (36 percent) of all businesses agree that investment in IT is a high priority. But interestingly, the prioritisation of technology investment, when comparing companies with high and weak growth, differs starkly—the figure rises to 57 percent among those experiencing strong growth, but drops to just 20 percent among companies with weak growth. It is therefore conclusive that, per the results of the Global Growth Index, companies that consider technology investment as critical to their strategic growth are reaping the benefits.

Technology is, after all, crucial to overall business growth in the manufacturing sector because it provides leaders with vital insight into their business operations, enabling them to make better decisions faster. Technology can also automate otherwise manual tasks, freeing up employee time—valuable to a growing company with a stretched workforce.

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THE industrial revolution is far from surprising. By 2020, there will be 30 billion connected devices on earth. This will lead to the creation of a big data mountain that would have grown beyond recognition. Machines communicating with people as well as with other machines are creating so much data that we have generated more data in the past two years than in the previous 5,000 years of human history.

It is now up to manufacturers to unlock the potential of this data. The information generated by the increase numbers of connected devices and machines represents a significant opportunity. By determining how to best identify, capture and interpret this increased volume of data, it can help organisations understand their market and customers better, as well as gain market share.

Southeast Asia alone accounts for five percent of global manufacturing activity, and with deeper regional economic integration brought about by the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, it is poised to become a more competitive industrial centre. Two fifths (40 percent) of the industrial companies in Southeast Asia have already rated their level of digitisation as high, and this value is expected to rise to 69 percent within the next five years.

Manufacturers in Southeast Asia have an opportunity to leapfrog ahead of those in developed economies because they have fewer legacy issues such as outdated systems, processes, and technological capabilities that need to be addressed.

In today’s fast moving global markets, Southeast Asian manufacturers need to respond quickly to changing demands and maximise new market opportunities. From all indications, we are in an era of significant convergence, where information technology, operational technology, and global megatrends are on a collision course. This will drive changes in how we do business and how we interact with customers and suppliers.

Megatrend #1—Demographic Shifts

We are witnessing population growth in some nations and shrinkage in others as well as a growing middle class, consumer markets shifting from the west to the east and an ageing population with fewer people entering the manufacturing field.  Take heart though as the technology we are developing continues to make it easier to collaborate and is helping to attract the discerning millennial generation, which is anticipated to account for 75 per cent of the global workforce in 2025, and will play an important role in manufacturing as it continues to evolve.

Megatrend #2—The Globalisation Of Future Markets

Companies will expand their operations globally, with worldwide exports expected to triple by 2030. Exports from emerging and developing countries will quadruple, and regional and bilateral trade agreements are likely to further open the world’s borders. The share of GDP generated by the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) countries will grow. Sub-cluster countries comprising Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey (MINT) and Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey (MIST) are in a position to outperform the advanced world. Technology will continue to be a big enabler of globalisation. Not only through eCommerce and the opening up of additional markets, but also with regards to having enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in place to support cross-border trading and multi-country manufacturing processes.

Megatrend #3—Scarce Resources

Due to increased energy use and requirements, we’re going to need more power. Resources are growing scarcer despite the focus on climate change and sustainability, and there will be continued reliance on fossil fuels. The majority of critical raw materials will be likely supplied by China by 2030, and certainly by countries outside the US and Europe. This could potentially be mitigated by innovative recycling technologies, and using technology platforms to streamline processes and improve efficiency so as to facilitate this shift.

Megatrend #4—Knowledge And Gender Gap

Manufacturers will feel the challenges incurred by a decreasing talent pool. As there may not be enough skilled people to perform the jobs of the future. The available pool of workers will likely come from developing countries as we see greater percentages of the population earning post-secondary degrees than their more developed counterparts. An ever increasing mobile workforce will continue to present challenges to employers and may lead to a global struggle for talent. Their wants and needs are very different to those of the generation before. Attracting millennials requires enhanced mobility, technology that meets their expectations with a sophisticated user experience and having more flexible working patterns than ever before.

Industry 4.0, ERP And The Transition Ahead

These four global megatrends, when combined with new and converging technologies, will require manufacturers to transform themselves. We are quickly entering an era of a new type of customer, a global customer who could be based anywhere in the world rather than in the countries that manufacturers have traditionally traded with. This new customer is more mobile, more aware, and more demanding.

In addition to the changing demographic of customers, new game-changing business models will cause continued disruption. Just take a look at what Uber has done to the taxi industry, Airbnb to the hotel industry, and Amazon to the retail sector. The frantic pace of change in every industry demands business owners to adopt new ways of thinking and execution.

There is a tremendous opportunity for manufacturers. However, it can only be realised by using emerging information technologies like social, mobile, analytics, and cloud alongside operational technologies like sensors, machine-to-machine communication, additive manufacturing, and robotics.

Industry 4.0 challenges the way that manufacturing, which is at its very core a risk averse sector, functions with centralised and offline systems that are not interconnected. We would further predict that their factories will soon evolve to become ‘smart’ with the capability to self-manage issues and internal processes.

Crucially, manufacturers need to address whether their existing ERP environment is ready to support their journey towards Industry 4.0.

For manufacturers, growth in an Industry 4.0 environment will be intrinsically linked with a business’s ERP system. Certainly, the boundaries between production and management must disappear, and ERP and manufacturing execution systems (MES) must form an integrated unit if businesses are to realise the growth opportunities presented by this new age of intelligent manufacturing. Taking a critical look at the existing IT environment in your business is the first step towards understanding how ready or unprepared you are for Industry 4.0.

The post The Megatrends That Push Manufacturers Towards Industry 4.0 appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

1. In your opinion, what are the top three megatrends that are shaping Industry 4.0 in Southeast Asia?

Industry 4.0 is a hot topic in Southeast Asia, North Asia as well as regions outside of Asia such as the U.S. The term originated in Germany and is known by different names globally. For example, in China it is known as “Made In China 2025” and in the U.S it is known as smart manufacturing.

The trends shaping Industry 4.0 does not just involve ERP systems, it involves manufacturing execution systems, the extraction of data and its translation into meaningful information, big data, product lifecycle management (PLM) and the integration of robotics into processes. This means that Industry 4.0 is a long journey and companies begin their journeys at different points. For example, some companies may begin first with the implementation of an ERP system while others may not.

In Southeast Asia, Industry 4.0 is encouraged by government support through means such as grants and funding. This has allowed the region to advance in terms of the manufacturing technologies.

2. What are the key challenges that prevent manufacturers in Southeast Asia from digitalising and integrating artificial intelligence as well as data science into their manufacturing processes?

Retaining and attracting talent is the top challenge that prevents manufacturers from digitalising. In factories that are not fully automated, factors such as the increased amount of paperwork and high surrounding temperatures and harsh external environments may contribute to staff turnovers.

Additionally, the integrated implementation of automation is a challenge to some manufacturers in the region. This can occur because manufacturers may implement automation as a phase by phase process instead of as an integrated solution. For example, the accountancy department may be automated first before the inventory control department is automated.

Finally, manufacturers may find it challenging to successfully implement ERP systems. This could be because the successful implementation of ERP systems involves more than one key user, as it is a team effort. One that involves more than monetary investments and individual contributions. For mid-market companies, they possess limited ERP resources and budgets for ERP implementation and also require ERP systems to be installed in a short period of time – typically within six to nine months. These companies also tend to require flexibility.

3. How do you suggest that the above challenges be solved?

Departments can be integrated to increase the opportunities for rapid decision making and for different issues to be highlighted.

Productivity can also be increased due to the shortage of labour globally, especially in China which is also the largest manufacturer in the world. Although labour costs in China used to be lower, factors such as the one child policy has caused labour shortages and increased labour costs. While in Southeast Asia labour shortages are less severe and labour costs are cheaper, as in the case of countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand.

Overall, the solution that is applied needs to be an integrated end to end solution. For example, processes that range from manufacturing to scheduling to finances have to be integrated. The solution that is applied has to also be multi-dimensional, multi-language based and focused on multi-localisation. This is because of the differing regulations in different countries that would require localised solutions to cater to it.

4. In 5 to 10 years time, how do you think the manufacturing industry in Southeast Asia will evolve?

The industry will continue to grow. This is because of the China-US trade war, as a lot of manufacturing companies are considering subcontracting their manufacturing operations to countries outside of China, such as Vietnam, to overcome restrictions when it comes to exporting to the U.S. This can be seen in the case of South Korean manufacturer, Samsung, which has moved its operations to Vietnam.

Thus, in Southeast Asia, manufacturing will continue to grow and this will be facilitated by Industry 4.0 and infrastructural developments such as the Belt and Road Initiative that will connect Bangkok and China via a high speed train.

5. What are your thoughts on the Industrial Transformation Asia Pacific event? Do you think this is the right time for an event like this?

The event occurred at just the right time. Different countries are at different stages of their development and the delegates that attend the event are keen to find out how they can engage in Industry 4.0 and where they are in their journeys towards Industry 4.0.

The event has also attracted over 1,800 registrations and I am able to meet a lot of individuals from Indonesia, Thailand and China. Everybody is working around the concept of industrial automation and it involves areas such as PLM, big data, manufacturing execution systems (MES), robotics, ERPs and integrated solutions.

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While enterprise resource planning (ERP) is often seen as the domain of large-scale manufacturers, manufacturers of all sizes can benefit from digitising operations with modern software and the latest ERP automation with digital scheduling and production analysis tools.

Today, more companies are looking at connecting machine tools and other devices to a computer network so machine-generated data can be collected for analysis and reporting. This data can enable manufacturers to boost productivity and reduce downtime. Benefits can include boosted sales, achieving manufacturing production goals and building high-quality parts, and in turn satisfying customers whilst making a profit.

Q:If the younger generation holds the key to economic growth, what are some of the ways for them to learn the right skills in a career path leaned in manufacturing?

Vincent Tang (VT): If the younger generation wants to pursue a career in manufacturing, there are two areas they can focus on. The first is that they need to be equipped with industry knowledge. Having industry knowledge is very important as when they embark on a career in the manufacturing industry, they will need to understand the challenges and obstacles that arise in this field.

The second area would be to understand the latest technologies and developments in the industry as this will enable them to solve problems that arise in the company, as well as help their companies move into the next phase of manufacturing technology.

Some of the key manufacturers in the industry also have programs which allow them to collaborate with universities and education institutions, and they train students on the skills and knowledge they will need once they enter the workforce.

Our company views this industry collaboration with universities as essential in training the talent pool as after all, they are the future of the economy.

We have this initiative in a few countries—Korea, China, Vietnam, and we have recently begun this initiative in Singapore as well. We will definitely continue this industry collaboration program and we hope that through this, we can provide more opportunities for the younger generation to learn more about Industry 4.0 and automation.

Q: What advice do you have for manufacturers trying to understand how their strategies fit into the digital economy and how they can seize the digital opportunity?

VT: Manufacturers have to be open-minded and the involvement of top management is very important. I have experienced many cases in which the head of the company has very little involvement in creating a digital strategy for the company. For example, the chief executive officer (CEO) would give his management staff a digitalisation budget and let them take the reins on how the budget should be allocated. Digitalisation tools such as an ERP system needs interdepartmental cooperation from all staff and involvement from top management as well. The CEO should play a huge role in making the decision—in terms of process flows and procedures—in the type of system that the company needs to implement.

Manufacturers also need to continually keep themselves updated on the latest industry developments and technologies. They can do this by attending industry conferences and seminars, and they can then bring the knowledge that they have learned and apply these in their manufacturing processes.

Q: What are some of the smaller steps that manufacturers can take to begin their digitalisation journey?

VT: Manufacturers should utilise any government funding or grants that support automation in the industry. There is an organisation in Hong Kong called the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), and its objective is to assist SMEs in automation and adopt the latest technologies such as Industry 4.0, and even ISO certification.

The way this is promoted is through seminars, and most of these seminars are free of charge and manufacturers can benefit significantly from this. It is also important that all employees including the top management, especially the CEO, understand what is going on in the current market and they should also keep themselves updated on the types of government grants available for them.

The HKPC has also set up an Industry 4.0 solutions centre and manufacturers can visit the centre to learn and understand how the latest industry technologies can improve their processes. The technology simulation at the centres provides for easier visualisation on how the technology can be implemented—such as how ERP and MES systems can increase manufacturing productivity.

It is also vital for manufacturers to understand what their competitors are doing. If manufacturers want to be the leader in the sector that they are in, they need to compare their progress and strategies to their competitors and improve their businesses from there.

Digitalisation tools such as an ERP system needs interdepartmental cooperation.

Q: Where do you see the manufacturing industry heading in the next five years in Asia Pacific?

VT: I read in the papers recently that the Chinese government should not only consider the US as their main competitor, and that China should not ignore Vietnam as it is a fast-growing market in the industry. Moreover, a survey done in China revealed that its ageing population is becoming a huge issue.

Looking at Vietnam, the situation there is different from China as there are many young people in the workforce and the labour power is stronger. The younger generation in Vietnam are able to communicate in the universal language—English—much better than their Chinese counterparts, giving them an advantage in the manufacturing industry.

Labour costs in the nation are also much lower as compared to China, which is seeing significantly increasing labour costs. Vietnam is definitely the market to watch and that is why our company is also considering investing more in the nation to prepare ourselves for this growing market.

Another market to look out for in the manufacturing industry is Indonesia. It has a large population of capable workers, and labour costs there are lower as compared to China. And truth be told, when I was in Jakarta, I was impressed by how well the potential customers I spoke to were able to communicate in English. Moreover, the customers I talked to were keen on learning how cloud adoption can help their businesses, especially compared to other nations in Asia Pacific.

ERP systems can improve manufacturing productivity.

SIDE STORY: MES System Provides Real-Time Production Data

Information does not make decisions; it is the raw material of decisions. The more applicable and timely it is, the better the decision-making. In Chrysler’s die casting facility located in Ontario, US, managers have been using real-time data collected by a production monitoring system by Epicor called the Mattec manufacturing execution system (MES).

The plant is an aluminium diecasting facility, producing automobile engine components, such as housings, pistons and connecting rods for Chrysler, Mercedes and AMG. Sam Mahon, the plant’s production control manager, is principally responsible for logistics, scheduling and productivity for this manufacturing environment consisting of 62 machines, from high- and low-pressure die cast machines to heat-treat furnaces and machining centres.

Identifying Trends

Mr Mahon and his staff typically utilise the MES-produced reports in twice-daily production meetings, where they scrutinise production, scrap, cost-to-ship ratios and downtime issues.

Using this information allows them to prioritise maintenance activities or adjust production schedules and machine allocation on a shift-by-shift basis. Due to the data’s real-time nature, managers can retrieve updated metrics—sorted by part, resource, shift or any defined parameter— at any point throughout the day.

“From a scheduling perspective, every hour, every shift, every day, the MES tracks the quantity of a given part we actually made versus what we planned, so we are reacting to the real-time data we are getting,” said Mr Mahon.

Leveraging the information collected, Mr Mahon also analyses trends over a longer-term. In a weekly throughput meeting, his group focuses on trends in areas like overall uptime and scrap rates.

The group’s analysis extends to historical quality and productivity comparisons as well. Some production processes at the plant are weather related.

For instance, hot, humid conditions may raise the metal’s moisture content, impacting quality. After instituting corrective actions, Mr Mahon uses the MES reports to compare the current year’s quality data to previous years’ under similar conditions.

Improved Uptime, Cycle Times And Scrap

Identifying an early-stage issue or predicting when a problem could arise allows Mr Mahon to take steps to mitigate any possible negative impact on his primary areas of responsibility: uptime and scrap. In fact, over the past three years, the plant has realised a 30-percent reduction in costs due to improved uptime and cycle times and reduced scrap.

At this plant, one crucial element of both uptime and scrap is the condition of each die. The MES tracks the number of cycles on a particular die, as well as its scrap rate and downtime, enabling production control personnel to predict the end of that die’s effective life and order a new die accordingly. The replacement cost may reach hundreds of thousands of dollars and require a six-month lead-time, so the integrity and timeliness of the data collected by the MES is critical to optimising each die’s productive life and avoiding unscheduled downtime due to die failure.

“It does not solve our problems for us, but you have to know you have a problem before you can solve it,” said Mr Mahon, who added that the MES helps to focus their decisions and resources.

The post Connecting Systems & Talent: Digitalisation In Manufacturing appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

Many companies in metal fabrication prioritise two things for survival: keeping operational costs under control, and increasing profitability. In recent times, both things have been harder to achieve due to fluctuating raw material costs and continued downward pressure on product prices. Customers are also demanding more complex and often bespoke products and configurations in an effort to move these processes up the supply chain. As a result, many soon find that a strategy to compete purely on price is not sustainable, and that a different approach is needed.

Controlling Costs, Protecting Profits

To get out of competing solely on price, leading companies are planning to launch initiatives aimed at achieving more profitable growth. Today, this is normally done through adopting disruptive technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things. With the ability to analyse detailed, real-time data on things such as inventory, shipments and downstream customer demand, businesses can increase productivity on the plant floor, optimise their supply chains and leverage global sourcing opportunities to keep costs in check.

At the same time, manufacturers are also trying to be more customer-oriented by adding more value and differentiation to their offering to defend against competition on both price and the ability to replicate standard products quickly. The shift toward providing more value-added services has been a steady trend for the past few years, and it is usually done by offering services such as Research & Development (R&D) capabilities and the ability to manufacture configurable or customised products. Today, more and more businesses are going even further with initiatives that help to improve the customer experience for greater client loyalty and longer lasting relationships between supplier and purchaser.

The Customer Experience

The customer experience represents an opportunity for manufacturers to really get ahead of their competition, especially in industries that are traditionally cost-oriented. An IDC Manufacturing Insights white paper stated that only the top nine percent of manufacturers worldwide understand the importance of how creating a customer-centric culture and process workflows can turn the customer experience into a competitive advantage.

In metal fabrication, the customer experience extends beyond meeting specified product features and specifications. It also includes any of the interaction that a business might have with their customer. This can encompass things like ease of doing business with the company, reliability in terms of quality and consistency, speed of interaction and the accuracy and timeliness of delivery. These could prove to be the essential difference that puts businesses above the competition.

The Role Of ERP

The right Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system can be key to supporting these initiatives. For example, it can enable companies to manage costs and control quality as more customisation and configurations can lead to increased complexity of the manufacturing and logistics processes.

While a traditional ERP system might be able to help with operational cost control, it is limited in its capability to support growth in an environment which requires more customisation and a closer customer relationship. This was the experience of leading industrial pump manufacturer Ensival Moret, who’s traditional ERP could not support their need to produce a large variety of products at very low volumes, all within very short lead times. When they opened their new plant in China, they took the opportunity to invest in a modern ERP system to meet the requirements of their complicated production processes. Today, Ensival Moret reports being able to provide better quality and delivery times to their customers, and they have attributed these successes to their modern, fully integrated and flexible ERP system.

A modern ERP system impacts a business in a few ways. Firstly, it can help by giving operations increased visibility and better access to data from the plant floor for more accurate decision making. Lead times, supply lines and quality can all be compromised without this visibility. It also supports greater internal collaboration that can reduce errors and inefficiencies in the manufacturing process. This helps streamline operational processes and improves efficiency.

Secondly, it has a direct impact on customer experience. Like the example above, providing better quality, accuracy and speed all contribute to a positive customer experience. However, this may prove hard to achieve, especially where higher levels of customisation are expected, and requirements might change from job to job. A company that can effectively offer a better customer experience might wield a highly differentiated offering that is not easy to replicate.

Closer collaboration can also be achieved as a fully integrated ERP acts as a link between the back and front offices, enabling integrated customer relationship management (CRM), warranty management and aftermarket management functionalities. In the Ensival Moret example, their sales teams can offer customers quick and complete responses to their queries on their order, as the data gets pulled through in real-time. They are also able to give more exact delivery times to these customers based on detailed information.

What The Future Holds

Using a modern ERP system need not be painful, neither in terms of resource requirements nor implementation. So when choosing a system for one’s business, look out for ERP systems that offer flexibility in terms of deployment and architecture, which allow for future expansion and manageable costs. Also, make sure to select an ERP which is easy-to-use to reduce training time and improve employee engagement. For example, Epicor’s ERP 10 contains intuitive navigation and configurable dashboards that users of today’s consumer apps and devices will find familiar.

ERP systems have been a fixture in the manufacturing sector for years now, and have helped support companies in being efficient and streamlined. Modern ERP systems can support what is potentially the most important initiative of all – making your business adaptable to customer demands and their increasing expectations. The ultimate goal is to win their respect and continued business with a customer experience that represents a strong, measurable competitive advantage.

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The post Gaining Competitive Advantage With Modern ERP Systems appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

As the manufacturing sector continues to recover, the focus of operations is changing. The economic upturn has brought an end to low volume and harsh rationalisation. Volume has suddenly shot up for many manufacturers, and now they face a problem much different from cost cutting, ie: how to meet increasing demand after a long period of resource slashing and little or no investment in productivity?

Historically, businesses did one of two things to meet new demand: build capacity with capital investment or outsource. But there is a third option that is far less cost-prohibitive and more sustainable: meet demand with better utilisation of assets on hand.

This involves eliminating loss — random and chronic — to free up resources and capacity. To do this, manufacturers need accurate, real-time manufacturing information so they can uncover and prioritise production problems and create new capacity using the same resources they already have.

Boosting Capacity

A recent Epicor whitepaper lays out a four-step process to boost capacity:

• Stop unplanned and operational downtime. In a world where reliability is key and unplanned downtime can cost thousands of dollars per minute, reducing unplanned and operational downtime can yield great results.
• In addition to financial savings, reducing changeover time and operational downtime leads to proportional increases in manufacturing capacity. Best practices implemented on a single line can often be transferred to similar lines, multiplying the impact and creating even more needed capacity.
• Wipe out minor stops. Minor stops are short hesitations and stops that are usually less than five minutes. They are short enough to be ‘unnoticed’, but long enough to have a significant impact on line performance and capacity. Minor stops can add up to significant loss, especially if you do not have visibility into the frequency, duration, and reasons for them.
• Eliminate production variability and quality loss. Quality loss and rejected product has a double impact: material and labour. A standard Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) calculation includes a production reject as a lost opportunity for production, which impacts capacity. Therefore, when calculating OEE, consider the cost of both material and labour.
• Establish improvement priorities in a financial context. Not all downtime is equal. Applying cost information to downtime analysis may reveal a new perspective: the cost of downtime. A cost-of-downtime analysis can be used to establish priorities with a financial context. Moreover, a probability of success analysis across loss categories will prepare operations professionals to prioritise efforts and achieve sustainable improvements.

Capping Inefficiency With MES

This can be further illustrated by manufacturers such as Australia’s Caps & Closures — a company that utilises technology to enhance the four-step process.

The company has grown fairly quickly over the past few years and now deals with global markets. They understood that in order to handle the expansion, a centralised solution was required to review and obtain information such as variations in cycle times and scrap rates in real-time. As such, the company decided to implement the Mattec MES (Manufacturing Execution System).

The solution collects production data directly from equipment and allows operators on the shop floor to enter other data using touch screen technology in real-time, eliminating inaccurate and time-consuming manual data collection.

With real-time information and alerts, the system helped the manufacturer pinpoint critical issues, reduce waste and improve quality and customer services.

“Our injection moulders and assembly machines are connected to the system which then records each pulse from each machine measuring cycle time, calculating the number of units produced, downtime and OEE. From a planting point of view, the solution is critical to ensure that we meet our customers’ lead time expectations and provide that extra level of service,” said Robert McArthur, GM of Caps & Closures.

He also commented that the deployment of the system has also helped to plan their jobs better, minimise tool changes and run jobs for longer periods.

Much more than OEE, MES also helps with real strategies for improvement. It can be used to reduce waste, inventory and downtime in order to optimise equipment, capital and worker resources. At the end of the day, MES drives performance.

Injecting A New Monitoring Solution

But what if you already have a production monitoring system in place? Stop there for a moment, it might be worthwhile to reevaluate if the solution is reaping the benefits that it should and not impeding your production process.

Some pitfalls that a traditional production monitoring system can bring include insufficient reaction to machine downtime, no integration with existing ERP system, limited real-time reporting capabilities and limited network accessibility which resulted in limited availability to users to key in data.

These weaknesses were the driving force behind a global injection moulding company’s search for a new production and process monitoring solution.

“We were concerned about the vendor’s sustainability, given the size of the existing user base and the number of new users they were bringing in,” says Steve Boeder, director of operations at the Vollrath Dane Facility.

“That seemed to impact product enhancements because they had become few and far between. We also had no process monitoring capability. We had paid for that module as part of an upgrade, but we just couldn’t get the functionality to work.”

As such, Vollrath concluded that the new production monitoring system has to fulfill the following criteria :

• Real-time processing alerts
• Comprehensive Statistical Process Control (SPC)
• A quality system module
• Easy-to-use Machine Interface Units (MIUs) for the employees on the floor.

Upon much evaluation, they decided to choose Mattec MES as the solution fulfills the above requirements. The system provides them with real-time production monitoring to capture downtime reasons, reject reasons and reject quantities. Real-time reporting is available to users on the network, improving accessibility to key information.

The greatest influence on improved uptime at the company has been the use of the alerting and voice paging system of the MES.

“We use manual alerts for paging the necessary resources, like maintenance staff, quality staff, supervisors and first responders to a machine. We also have automatic alerts based on cycle times. If the MES finds that a machine is running out of cycle, these key alerts let the technicians know that something needs to be changed.

The voice paging and alerting system has had the most impact on our ability to improve uptime,” says Mr Boeder. “Prior to the software installation, our uptime (of our planned run time) was at 79 percent. As we implemented and rolled out the MES in the middle of the year, it rose to about 81 percent. By the next year that number was 90 percent. This year-to-date we’re averaging 91 percent uptime. That’s just from the alerting capability, which allows us to get the right personnel over to the affected machine immediately.”

By minimising down machine response times through the real-time voice paging and alerting functionality of the MES, the company has steadily improved OEE to 87 percent, and uptime to 91 percent. Real-time reporting has improved accessibility to key information to the people who need it.

To sum it up, the best way to create capacity is to scrutinise line performance with manufacturing intelligence applications that monitor and analyse manufacturing processes accurately, and in real time. These applications provide crucial information to help find the capacity needed, without costly investments for new machinery, additional labour, or contract manufacturing.

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The post There’s No Time For Downtime appeared first on Asia Pacific Metalworking Equipment News | Manufacturing | Automation | Quality Control.

Manufacturing has come a long way since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th Century. The second Industrial Revolution in the 1900s saw the introduction of mass production. In the late 1960s, electronics and the automation of production lines entered the industrial environment. Now, we are benefitting from robotics and are beginning to discover the value of 3D printing. We are on the cusp of Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution.

Over the next decade, Industry 4.0 will emerge to meet consumer demand for tailor made products at affordable prices – from mobile phones, to cars and from household goods to wood ceiling installations. At the same time it will give manufacturers access to highly flexible mass production processes that can be rapidly adapted to market changes.

This will happen by marrying the world of production and networking in an Internet of Things (IoT) environment. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) will become even more central to production in this environment. The ERP system will become the backbone to the network; connecting smart machines, logistics systems, production facilities, sensors and devices as products and machines communicate with each other and exchange commands as products move the production line.

ERP vendors need to move away from pre-built interfaces and formulas to develop highly connected systems that conduct operations at the production line level, whilst giving business decision makers the real-time data they require. So what would this ERP system look like, how exactly would it behave and how should we go about embracing systems like it?

The Industry 4.0 ERP system will fully integrate with manufacturing execution systems (MES). As a result, it will be possible to track and document the transformation of raw materials through to finished goods.

Taking a bottling plant as an example, each bottle will have a RFID chip for the manufacturing process. This will contain all of the information about the product including the drink that will go in the bottle, the label it needs and the lid colour. When the bottle reaches the first workstation in the production line, the RFID chip will send a message to the MES, which will direct the machine to fill the bottle with the correct liquid. Once complete, the action will be registered on the RFID chip and the bottle will move onto the next work station.

With this level of intelligent connectivity, the ERP will be able to process production analytics data and line status reporting. Sales teams and management staff will be able to access this real-time information via an ERP dashboard to optimise conditions on the plant floor and improve orders and production output as well as inform sales processes and business forecasting.

Industry 4.0 means we will need to access ERP in new ways. In recent research 65 percent of business decision makers said that mobile access to ERP will become increasingly important, with 43 percent wanting that access through their smartphone and 38 percent via a tablet device.

The ERP for Industry 4.0 will allow employees to network around projects, using the system as a social collaboration tool. According to research over half (57 percent) say this will be beneficial in terms of customer and supplier communication as staff will be able to use the ERP to share knowledge and find solutions to problems on a project-by-project basis.

ERP will act as a single source for business intelligence in the age of Industry 4.0, presenting business decision makers with know-how, context or benefits, when they need it. An intelligent Industry 4.0 factory will, for example, remove the data discontinuities between a customer order and the production scheduling/ raw materials process, allowing all elements of the business to benefit from its data – whether that’s sales teams or production.

In order to benefit from the ERP systems of Industry 4.0 already today, businesses can follow these simple steps

Analyse current ERP use:

If your business is already using ERP, it’s time to think about how it fits with your business. How many users engage with it? Can this be improved with training? Is it time to start using ERP on mobile devices to take utilisation to the next level?

Embrace the latest technology:

When it comes to manufacturing, the industry is currently benefitting from exciting new innovations. 3D printing is already starting to change how we make things, as manufacturers use the technology to build models before production begins. Using the latest technology will help prepare a business for Industry 4.0 and its ERP.

Set goals:

As with any new implementation, it’s important to set KPIs. Measuring the effects of the new ERP will help businesses to understand its benefits and ROI. In Germany, the National Academy of Science and Engineering has estimated that Industry 4.0 could lead to a 30 per cent increase in industrial productivity, so if a business is able to meet the challenge of Industry 4.0 with an integrated and intelligent ERP at its core, it can expect to benefit significantly.

Collaborate across all business departments:

To get the most out of ERP in the world on Industry 4.0, businesses need to start sharing their knowledge across departments now. For example, knowledge of sales targets can improve the performance on the production line and stock data can help manage delivery planning.

The fourth Industrial Revolution hasn’t been fully embraced by the manufacturing world yet but when it does, we will see intelligent factories, with machines and products cooperatively driving production. Those businesses that have the technology – and processes – in place to optimise the new environment will thrive and we can expect ERP to be the glue pulling all operations together.

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