Fit for Industry 4.0 with Smart Factory Logistics

While many still discuss the term and meaning of Industry 4.0, Bossard launches a concrete methodology that prepares manufacturers for change: Smart Factory Logistics. 

Increased economic demands force Swiss companies in particular towards leaner, faster, and better production. Manufacturers today focus on customized massproduction, real-time automation and gap-free process transparency.

New factories emerge: Smart Factories
A new thinking revolutionizes manufacturing and production. “A new type of factories, so-called Smart Factories, are emerging worldwide. Manufacturers require flexible production lines and sites,” explains Urs Güttinger, Head of Smart Factory Logistics at Bossard. “Smart technologies enable this agile production at a fraction of the cost and time.”

Bossard helps shape the future
This is where Bossard’s new Smart Factory Logistics methodology comes in. The holistic approach supports companies worldwide in further developing a lean and error free implementation. Bossard prepares companies for the next steps with the following three specific and field-tested solutions:

1. Intelligent systems communicate along the supply chain
   Highly developed technical systems, such as SmartBin or SmartLabel, link the production and supply chain. Containers with integrated weight sensors continuously communicate the current demand at a customer’s production or in the warehouse. Bossard receives this data and delivers the respective replenishment automatically, even directly to the point of use. The customer only notices the consistent stock of B- and C-parts.
    
2. Customer-specific solutions for all needs
   Bossard seeks to make the customer faster, better, and more productive on a daily basis. This does not only amount to the delivery of B- and C-parts. The Smart Factory Logistics approach includes a comprehensive logistics management analysis of delivery, supplier consolidation, operation and maintenance, and even encompasses strategic customer consultation.
    
3. Big data software creates transparency
   Bossard’s very own supply chain collaborative software, ARIMS, collects, processes and delivers big data on a large scale. This core element of Smart Factory Logistics creates transparency and brings the customer closer to processes. Thanks to the latest ARIMS release, customers receive real time information online and can complete modifications, such as demand adjustments or container rearrangements, interactively. This typical Industry 4.0 technology enables the customer to optimize the supply chain and to improve planning.

 
“With these three core competencies, Bossard offers customers a complete package for tackling the challenges of the fourth industrial revolution,” states Urs Güttinger. Bossard supplements these services with a comprehensive product portfolio of mechanical and electrical fasteners, along with engineering and consulting services for sustainable production and manufacturing process optimization. Thanks to its global presence, Bossard can fully support internationally operating customers locally and globally at a consistently high level of quality.