Ah, industry challenges! These challenges bind us as a community of like-minded people, they force us to find answers to the difficult questions and they make us stronger.

Without these challenges, we wouldn’t have best practices. We wouldn’t have the innovative technology that simplifies the very complex supply chain operations we handle day to day. Without challenges, we wouldn’t be where we are today!

If you’re in manufacturing, you’re undergoing a fourth industrial revolution. Exciting and groundbreaking technology and automation is causing unprecedented change.

Perhaps not surprisingly, this revolution – which began in response to myriad manufacturing-related challenges – is in turn causing even more challenges. Manufacturers are dealing with an increased pace of technology adoption and having to implement change management globally, all while customer expectations keep growing and room for error continues to shrink.

Smart and intelligent automation – like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Advanced Robotics, and Augmented Reality (or Mixed Reality) – is helping manufacturers stay lean and more efficient. Did you know that manufacturers realize an average of a 47% increase in uptime as the result of implementing smart device usage?

There’s no doubt about it: it’s easy to get excited about all that technology can do. But first, it’s critical to have a strategic plan and a solid technology platform that can handle all that the future will bring to bear.

• Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a fully integrated and end-to-end ERP and CRM solution making waves in the manufacturing industry. Not only can you connect IoT telemetry to business actions, you can spin up intuitive dashboards in real-time to ensure all parts of the business are consistently on the same page, from the back office and upper management to the warehouse and field techs.

• Change management can prevent so many major issues with technology implementation and user adoption. If you’re better prepared for the change, manage the change, and reinforce that change, your manufacturing operations can handle scaling to a global environment and improving customer satisfaction, all while staying lean and efficient.

PowerObjects is a leader in delivering Microsoft Business Applications solutions and Dynamics 365 workloads through unparalleled offerings of service, support, education, and add-ons. This powerful platform combined with our unique implementation approach sets the stage for manufacturers to enter the new world of smart manufacturing, delivering new services, optimizing digital operations, and transforming their workforce.