Resolving big data issues in the manufacturing industry is more complex than ever before.
The recent advances in technology and the changes in the population have led to many industries booming and growing. While this has been a good thing for most businesses, the manufacturing industry is actually facing some severe and intricate issues. Some of the major challenges facing the manufacturing industry at the moment are as follows:
Factory Closures
It seems that each month brings news of more factories closing. Far too many people in this country have been left without jobs thanks to this frustrating trend.
Labor Disputes
When companies can’t agree on reasonable pricing and contract agreements, it can throw a wrench into many different deals. With all the companies clamoring for more work, the cut-throat disputes are causing far more problems than they are solving.
Management Arguments
Within companies, there are managers competing for advancements and sale credits. These arguments tend to lower their credibility and reduce the productivity at their particular facilities.
Reduction of Staff
Even the factories that are not shutting down are having to reduce the amount of people that are on staff. Many of the people getting laid off are only trained for the industrial world, and are having a hard time finding good employment anywhere.
Outsourcing
When push comes to shove, even the most patriotic companies are finding that they can save a few bucks by having their manufacturing work handled in other countries where the wages can be drastically lower.
Environmental Laws
New legislature to protect the environment might seem like a good idea in theory, but the dirty truth of it is that it costs the manufacturing world a lot of money to get things up to the new compliance standards. Where does this money come from? In most cases, it will come from higher prices on the products, fewer employees at the facility and more and more work being sent outside the country.
Lack of Skilled Workers
With the industry struggling, fewer and fewer people are getting the education needed to be a skilled worker in the manufacturing world. This means that the staff of these facilities is getting less and less skilled. The lack of good workers is leading to a lot of different struggles with communication, obedience to laws and the public image of certain companies.
Higher Employee Costs
When things like insurance, taxes and Worker’s Compensation come into play, they can quickly eat at the profit margin of a company. All of these things are making it harder for many manufacturing companies to stay on their feet even with all the most frugal and logistically correct decisions being made from within.
Mistakes with Inventory Reports
Inventory discrepancies in the manufacturing world are nothing new, but for some reason, they are becoming more and more of a problem at the moment. The market is changing so rapidly that many companies are making far too large quantities of certain products, only to see them sit. Other mistakes are not making enough of hot-ticket items in an effort to avoid the large stacks of products not moving.
Resolving Big Data Issues in the Manufacturing Industry through Better Management
While all of these issues are causing some major struggles for the industry, it is agreed all across the board that the most frustrating and consequential challenges facing the manufacturing industry at the moment is big data management.
More and more information is flooding the industry, and the workers at these companies are clearly unsure and unprepared to properly handle it.
Data is now a common by-product of all business transactions. The problems in this industry are coming from their lack of ability to properly capitalize on what this information can do to improve their sales and nullify some of the aforementioned industry failings.
Think about all the information that passes through these companies every day. Sales statistics, demographic information, geographical sales numbers, cost of transportation, cost of materials, employee information, etc. At this time, none of this big data is being properly managed, which means a huge opportunity to heal the industry is being left underutilized.
In addition to the lost opportunities, there are some very real security risks involved with the industry’s lack of handle on all of this vital and often sensitive data.
The Need for the Document Management System
Resolving big data issues in the manufacturing industry requires information management at the document level. In order to properly manage all of the big data coming through the manufacturing industry, it is important to invest in a good system that can properly organize, analyze and present the information in a usable format. This is the only way for all of that data to be properly optimized.
Eric Auschitzky, Markus Hammer and Agesan Rajagopaul with McKinsey & Company have stated, “Most manufacturing companies collect vast troves of process data but typically use them only for tracking purposes, not as a basis for improving operations. This signifies a fundamental difference in the way managers are resolving big data issues in the manufacturing industry.
“For these players, the challenge is to invest in the systems and skill sets that will allow them to optimize their use of existing process information — for instance, centralizing or indexing data from multiple sources so they can be analyzed more easily.”
Document Management Software or DMS programs are precisely what the doctor ordered for these struggling companies. These programs will be easy to use and can quickly take the mountain of information and turn them into marketing, hiring, production and purchasing decisions that can lead to a major upswing in the industry while also keeping those sensitive files totally secure from prying eyes.
Jesse Wood is the CEO of eFileCabinet, Inc.
