After three important industrial revolutions, mechanical, electrical, and digital, the fourth industrial revolution is finally here. Industry 4.0 is a term used for the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 3.0 introduced computers in the manufacturing industries and now Industry 4.0 introduced a system where computers are connected in a way that they can communicate with one another to ultimately make decisions without human involvement.
What is Industry 4.0?
Also known as Smart Factory, Industry 4.0 is the latest market trend that is here to stay. It is a concept that includes the digital transformation of the field to deliver better productivity, flexibility, agility and real-time decision-making. It includes process automation and data exchange in the manufacturing industries with the help of cyber-physical systems, internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI) etc. This market trend is going to transform the entire manufacturing industry and not a single segment can remain unaffected.
Need of Industry 4.0 in the Apparel Industry
Things that make the 4th industrial revolution different include its ability to accelerate, expand, and drastically change the critical aspects of production and manufacturing. Due to the new and constantly increasing demands of the customers, there are a number of new challenges in the apparel industry. And the need for smart factories is being felt more than ever now.
With Industry 4.0, you can create smart factories that will be completely automated with self-servicing and self-repairing structures, reducing the requirement for human intervention. This is the reason why it is finally the time for the apparel industry to go into a transformation mode.
Benefits
However, there are a few challenges with Industry 4.0 implementation but the benefits always overweigh them. So, it is always a great idea to find the appropriate industry 4.0 solutions for your business. Here are some advantages of Industry 4.0 or smart factory implementation:
Scalability
As time passes, every business needs to be scaled up and this is exactly what Industry 4.0 can help you with. With the help of process automation and machine learning, it gets easier to integrate new technologies and systems, making it easy to scale and expand the business. Using these highly-efficient systems, you can better utilize your resources and transfer them to places where more assistance is required. By delegating a few jobs to these automated systems, it gets a lot easier to achieve the desired rate of production.
Security
When using on-site servers, the security of data becomes an issue. Data theft and power outages are two major issues that businesses come across, but things are different with the modern industry revolution. With Industry 4.0, the major emphasis is on using cloud technology for storing and managing data. The cloud-hosted software gives your information the maximum amount of security, protecting it from every possible situation.
Customer Satisfaction
With automated systems and optimized processes, your business can more effectively meet the specific requirements of your customers. And, it also gets easier to build long-term relationship with them.
Visibility
By implementing a cloud server for data management, the information becomes easily accessible. This gives you greater control and better data visibility. When the digital records are made available and accessible to all points of the production system, it gets easier for other people in the team to access any information and update it in real-time.
Industry 4.0 brings a number of innovative solutions for the manufacturing industry that can be used by companies to optimize their existing systems and processes. Given all these benefits, it is high time that businesses in the apparel industry start using industrial engineering solutions to enhance their overall productivity and meet the ever-rising demands of their customers.
