Cloud Solutions in industrial plants

In the sheet metal industry, preparing the quotation for an order is complex, not only because the customer wants the quotation as soon as possible, but also because it involves several variables that, like a puzzle, must fit together perfectly to maximize the use of the material and adjust the offer to the customer profile with an adequate margin.

Not so long ago we were asking ourselves whether the industry was mature enough to deal with digitization processes. It wasn’t long before the market gave us its response, just like in many other areas, those that were ready were few, the majority found themselves in the middle ground waiting for others to get going to see whether the digitization process is as interesting as suggested or whether it failed to meet expectations, and then there was a third group of "deniers", a term that has become popular over the last few weeks and which includes those that systematically tend to apply the same phase for almost everything: "this isn’t for me".

Most managers of manufacturing companies will have heard of Industry 4.0, but what does it really mean and why is it important? Rob Powell the Commercial Director for Lantek in Malvern, UK is in an ideal position to explain as Lantek specialises in CADCAM (Computer Aided Design and Manufacture) and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software for sheet metal manufacturers, helping them to program their sheet metal machinery, optimise material usage and run their businesses more efficiently.