International Research Forum 2009

Changing business models, coupled with an explosion of demand-side and supply-side production information requirements, have forced manufacturers to rethink their plant systems deployments. The capacity to adapt to change represents the greatest challenge here. While manufacturers' priority in the area of innovation will be on reducing time to market, the interaction of the core manufacturing processes will increasingly lead to decomposed value chains. The need to touch all aspects – from requirements engineering through distributed design to end-of-life management of manufactured goods – complicates the picture considerably.

The Internet of Things may help manufacturers master this situation as accurate, timely, and relevant information is a key solution component. Vertical integration between manufacturing executions and enterprise resource planning systems, from the shop floor to the boardroom, seems to be a common solution approach.

Key questions raised by this topic include:

• Are the previously separated worlds of real-time production control and execution and the more traditional business systems ready for such an integrated and distributed world?
• Do we understand the requirements needed for the interaction with users, ranging from shop-floor workers to business specialists, in order to understand complex, fast-changing scenarios and requirements in a dynamic manufacturing chain?
• What role can real-world integration, made possible through smart-embedded systems, play in closing the gaps?

Visiting the Future Factory

In relation to this topic, the SAP Research Future Factory Living Lab, managed by the SAP Research Center in Dresden, was visited during the IRF 2009. With the Future Factory Initiative, SAP Research is exploring next-generation manufacturing solutions, covering the whole product value chain in a real-life setting. The Initiative also offers a glimpse into the future of IT in manufacturing.