Supply Chain Education Focused on Tech

“COVID accelerated our move into more technology,” Schulz said. “Our students have to be ready to implement the latest software and tools. They need to understand data and develop great strategies leading to great results.”

Schulz said the recent supply chain crunch was driven by the pandemic, but it’s been strained because of a move towards e-commerce and home delivery. 

“When people stayed home, they ordered doorstep service, and our system just couldn’t turn on a dime like that,” he said. “We’re becoming agile. The need for supply chain professionals is huge right now.”

Technology may be the path to “catch up,” he said. It requires assembling reliable data and deciphering it into actionable intelligence. Schulz also cautioned against "information overload," pointing to an open sharing of information over the cloud.

What is Industry 4.0?

Manufacturers have been transforming their operations and technologies since before the pandemic. The speed of change has increased due to labor and component shortages, inflation, and supply chain woes. One answer is Industry 4.0, which revolutionizes automation and data exchange in manufacturing processes. 

This includes IoT, the Internet of Things, plus cloud computing, cognitive computing, and artificial intelligence.

Industry 4.0 Concepts

• The IoT cloud pulls software, sensors, devices, and people together
• Employees have comprehensive data to make decisions with transparency
• Connectivity allows for the convergence of data from multiple manufacturing points
• Better data helps people point their energy toward the best processes
• Decentralized workers make decisions on their own to perform tasks autonomously
• Enables better delegation to lower levels
• Tech assistance simplifies or automates decision-making, reducing human intervention

“BinMaster was Industry 4.0 before the term got popular, said Nathan Grube, BinMaster Regional VP. “The biggest leap in technology has been our cloud integration. We devoted an entire department to constantly improving our platform. We have programmers and a UX/IX designer constantly collaborating to make the user experience effective. Software shouldn’t get in the way of data. Our report can feed into other reporting tools, or we can bring data into the BinCloud® application for customers to get one report for all of their their inventory data.”

Sensors and cloud software are considered a foundation of Industry 4.0 and Inventory 4.0. BinMaster technology fits into the category of IoT, which describes a wireless network of devices embedded with sensors for the purpose of connecting and exchanging data.

IoT is growing in the manufacturing industry, but many processes have yet to incorporate the potential.

BinMaster IoT inventory sensors and software:

• Provide insights for data-driven decisions, increasing efficiency and driving down costs
• Shorten lead times for production
• Reduce carrying costs and last-minute purchases
• Reduce waste on bulk inventory that could spoil
• Accurate inventory feeds data to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
• Streamline transportation and timely ordering

Sensors and instrumentation drive the central forces of innovation—not only for Industry 4.0, but also for other “smart” megatrends like smart production, smart logistics, and smart factories. Smart sensors generate data and allow further functionality through the use of cloud-based processing power.

With the added capability of wireless communication, these sensors greatly reduce installation effort, helping streamline a wide array of manual tasks.

“I’m working with IT people more and more,” Grube said. “Production and inventory managers are combining their efforts with technology managers. They understand the importance of continuously improving their understanding of the supply chain. They know technology can help with the worker shortage and continue to challenge us to get better. We love it.”

Grube said IT is heavily involved with sensors and software because of a heavy emphasis on integration into cloud systems. He said BinMaster can ease security concerns and simplify software maintenance.

Case in Point: an Agrichemical Plant

An agrochemical plant in the southeast U.S. maintained more than 150 stainless steel tanks, each about 30 feet tall. Their end products included chemicals, fertilizers, seed treatments, and biological nutrition for farms.

Grube said that, for years, the company was feeling the “stress of success” with more need than capacity. Several years ago, owners made technology an operational priority. While they didn’t declare a move to Industry 4.0, their purchases and newly implemented systems reflected a change.

“It was all about automation,” said Grube. “Early on, they looked at the beginning of the process, and it was all about bulk inventory. They wanted our sensors right away.”

Grube said sensor technology freed a lot of time for on-site employees, but it took time to develop practices to properly put the data to use.

“We’ve learned from each other. As other technology entered the picture, we knew the way to get inventory data integrated into their processes was going to be the cloud,” Grube said. “In fact, some features of our BinCloud and Binventory® softwares were a result of companies like this that are breaking ground on high-tech production.”

Now fully implemented, BinMaster systems allow the plant to anticipate inventory with quick turnover. Purchasing can keep up with orders and deliveries. Low or out-of-stock tanks no longer stop production. Inventory time taking was cut by 75%. 

The agrochemical plant increased the speed of automation as the pandemic hit. Inventory is coupled with multiple cloud-based reports that employee can monitor from their phones, whereas suppliers and truckers are still able to view activity on site.