Software for companies – assumptions of Industry 4.0 in practice

Software for companies more and more often takes the form of custom solutions. This is especially visible in the case of those enterprises where traditional subscription solutions are no longer sufficient. We are talking about situations where the functionalities of generally available SaaS systems become too limited. The need to operate several of them significantly extends the time needed to find the necessary information. Software for companies operating in such dynamic times as today must be flexible and tailored to individual needs.

Specific expectations, flexible approach

These elements are the basis for creating dedicated software for companies. Large enterprises often use personalized solutions. How to prepare for the modernization of your enterprise? This question is often asked by representatives of Polish companies. Proper preparation for digital transformation is essential. It is also worth identifying three basic fields on which changes related to Industry 4.0 should have the greatest impact. Talking about:

• technology
• access to reliable data and operational knowledge
• employee attitudes and company culture

Custom software allows you to easily combine all these elements and optimize their operation.

Example:

• place: container terminal
• scale of activities: one of the largest container terminals in the Baltic Sea in terms of reloading
• optimization 1: increasing the efficiency of the halls operation
• optimization 2: introducing improvements for the management staff
•  description of activities for optimization 1: advanced software connected with monitors installed directly in the halls. The pursued goals are: early information about the possible occurrence of a failure and increasing the efficiency level of repairs
•  description of activities for optimization 2: a mobile application that works online and offline, ensuring constant access to information updated in real time. The pursued goal is facilitating the work of foremen by: enabling quick verification of current tasks, automatic calculation of employees’ time needed to perform specific orders, preview of the list of employees along with information about their occupancy rate and types of tasks performer
• was it possible to optimize the company’s operations in the 3 previously indicated areas?
• technology: yes – a modern dedicated system and a mobile application
• access to knowledge: yes – streamlining the activities of foremen, quick access to information about employees and tasks to be performed
• approach to employees: yes – functionalities that improve the work of service technicians, foremen and employees delegated to perform specific tasks + convenience of use: a mobile application on phones, operating 24/7, constant access to current information

Software for companies and Industry 4.0

introducing improvements that enable the modern achievements of the IT world. It is worth approaching this issue while being properly prepared or cooperating with an experienced business partner. The assumptions of Industry 4.0 are related to issues such as: modernization, digitization, machine learning, etc. In order for them to bring significant support to a specific enterprise, they should be extremely carefully thought out. After all, business software must be useful. In order to be able to talk about such usefulness, it is necessary to adopt a broad perspective at the stage of designing the system:

• understanding the challenges faced by employees today
• establishing short and long-term goals of the enterprise
• analysis of the brand’s business environment along with defining the company’s position against the competition
• identifying the company’s capabilities in the context of the scope of modernization possible in the first stage of IT improvements
• defining the needs, challenges and problems that should be improved / eliminated thanks to the new software
• designing the initial architecture of new software for the company
• creating a system prototype (MVP – Minimum Viable Product) – providing this basic version of the software for testing on a selected group of users
• work on creating a full version of the product
• conducting tests of the proposed solution: tests at the production stage and post-implementation tests
• implementation of ready-made, verified software in the enterprise

Software for companies – useful materials

In practice, we call the entire process of designing a new system product design. More information on this and the usability of the software for businesses can be found here:

• product design – short information
• product design – you need to know
• Forbes article: the art of IT usability
• Business Insider article: Mobile applications will give you an advantage. What and when to invest?

Useful software for companies can only be created when we thoroughly analyze a specific company and the entire sector of the economy in which it operates. Collecting such comprehensive knowledge at the design stage significantly facilitates work and leads to a faster return on investment.

Putting the assumptions of Industry 4.0 into practice

Based on our design experience, we can clearly see that the process of modernization of enterprises should be carried out in stages. Digital transformation is an investment that needs to be carefully timed. The first step should be to implement the pilot project. The possibility to test personalized functionalities in practice is a big advantage. The knowledge gained in this way will make it easier to make a decision to carry out further improvements. For manufacturing companies, solutions that optimize the product manufacturing process will be particularly valuable. Improving communication, collecting and analyzing detailed data on the technical condition of devices, increasing the efficiency of services (optimal time for replacing parts, history of repairs in digital form), better coordination of the supply chain of necessary parts or raw materials – these elements should be improved in the first place.