SmarterChains / Media
SmarterChains Appoints Scott DeGroot to Strategic Advisory Board
SmarterChains, a global leader in smart manufacturing transformation, is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott DeGroot to its Strategic Advisory Board. With nearly four decades of leadership at Kimberly-Clark Corporation culminating in his role as Vice President of Global Distribution & Planning, DeGroot brings profound supply chain expertise and executional strength to SmarterChains....
SmarterChains / Media
SmarterChains Appoints Finance & Transformation Leader Heidrun Wechter-Essig to Strategic Advisory Board copy
With over 30 years of international leadership in finance, operations, and transformation in Fortune 25 companies & private equity–backed businesses, Wechter-Essig brings a rare blend of strategic and practical supply chain expertise. She is valued for her ability to combine financial rigor, operational depth, and digital transformation expertise, when partnering with supply chain leaders....
SmarterChains / Advanced Manufacturing Technologies
Operational Excellence and Technology Adoption: A Unified Path for Manufacturers
Manufacturers today face unprecedented challenges: supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, labor shortages, and rapid technological change. In the middle of this turbulence, leadership teams are often confronted with what feels like a difficult choice: Should we continue focusing on operational excellence in manufacturing, or should we shift resources to technology adoption in manufacturing?...
Vasilis Karamalegos / Industry 4.0
Harnessing the Power of Learning and Technology for Successful Industry 4.0 Implementation
Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution, is reshaping the business landscape with its advanced technologies and interconnected systems. To fully embrace the opportunities presented by Industry 4.0, organizations must develop an enterprise-wide strategy that integrates learning, aligns top-down and bottom-up approaches, focuses on value creation, and eliminates manufacturing losses. By connecting these key elements, organizations can unlock the true potential of Industry 4.0 and drive success in the digital age....
SmarterChains Adds Veteran Global Supply Chain Executive Sami Pascal Naffakh to Strategic Advisory Board
SmarterChains, a leading smart manufacturing transformation platform, today announced the appointment of Sami Pascal Naffakh to its Strategic Advisory Board. With over 30 years of global leadership in supply chain and operational excellence, most recently as Chief Supply Chain Officer at Reckitt, Naffakh brings deep domain expertise and a proven track record in transformational change....
Rethinking the Smart Factory: Why Intelligence Beats Technology Every Time—And How SmarterChains Puts It on Rails
The manufacturing world has fallen in love with a seductive narrative: that a "smart factory" is simply a traditional factory stuffed with as much cutting‑edge technology as possible. Walk through any industrial trade show, and you'll be bombarded with promises of AI‑powered robots, IoT sensors on every surface, and digital twins that mirror reality in perfect detail. The message is clear—more technology equals more intelligence....
Building High-Performance Teams in Manufacturing: The Strategic Power of Skills Inventory
Manufacturing leaders are increasingly recognizing that sustainable success hinges on continuous manufacturing workforce development. But how do you effectively identify, grow, and apply the capabilities your teams need to thrive? Let’s explore how skills inventories, strategic role design, and ongoing upskilling manufacturing strategies can unlock the full potential of your workforce....
Solving the Manufacturing Talent Crisis: A Roadmap for Workforce Development and Education Reform
Why the Future of Manufacturing Depends on Rethinking Talent and Education Manufacturing is at a turning point. As the industry undergoes a digital and technological transformation, it’s facing a widespread manufacturing talent crisis that threatens its ability to compete globally. This crisis is not just a short-term labor shortage—it’s a fundamental gap between the skills people have and the capabilities modern operations demand....
The 7 Deadly Sins of Modern Manufacturing
Many companies have committed one (or more) of what could be described as the 7 deadly sins of modern manufacturing....
Manufacturing's Next Step: From CoE To Ecosystem of Excellence
A CoE is a business investment: A team that develops and shares best practices and orchestrates end-to-end transformation. In SmarterChains’ experience, however, it is only a stepping stone....
5 Actionable Steps to Create Competitive Advantage for Smaller Manufacturing Operations
In today’s highly competitive manufacturing landscape, smaller operations often wonder how they can hold their own against larger players. The secret lies not in having the largest budgets or the most advanced facilities but in focusing on operational efficiency, adopting lean manufacturing principles, and leveraging digital transformation to level the playing field....
Loss Analysis: From Early Days to Advanced Tools for Manufacturing Efficiency
Loss analysis has come a long way in the manufacturing industry. From its humble beginnings to today’s advanced methodologies, it has transformed the way we uncover opportunities, eliminate waste, and drive value creation in manufacturing. In this post, we’ll explore how loss analysis evolved—from small manual efforts to data-driven systems leveraging loss analysis software—and why it’s critical for boosting manufacturing efficiency....
What is a Loss in Manufacturing? How to Identify and Eliminate Hidden Inefficiencies
In the world of manufacturing, one question often arises: What really is a loss? It’s an important question—and one that opens the door to transforming operations. A loss is more than just waste; it represents an opportunity. Whether you call it waste, inefficiency, or rework, the essence remains the same. Data suggests that nearly 30% of what we do in manufacturing involves waste. This could be wasted materials, time, effort, or energy. But instead of viewing it purely as waste, consider it as the distance between where you are and where you could be—a gap waiting to be bridged....
Robotic and Automatic Changeover: top 5 solutions
5 companies providing faster and more efficient Robotic and Automatic Changeover to manufacturers....
Industry 4.0 Complexity and Uncertainty – Why Some Manufacturers Thrive
Why do some manufacturing companies gain more value from Industry 4.0 than others? Because they regard the adoption of Industry 4.0 as an overall strategic business objective....
Factory Culture of the Future: A sensible guide to Adhocracy
Imagine a synergistic organization, where silos are broken by common customer-centric objectives and a transparent flow of information....
Industry 4.0 in Consumer Packaged Goods Manufacturing
Industry 4.0, above all, is opening up new and exciting pathways for companies to level up their capabilities and performance but it is also accelerating the demise of companies that cannot successfully leverage these possibilities and adapt fast enough to the changing landscapes around them....
Embracing the possibilities of Industry 4.0 in the COVID-19 era
Clearly, the time to move, to get ahead of the curve, is now by preparing and defining your future capabilities for what is next and beyond. At SmarterChains, our three-stage approach – Prepare, Define, Execute – helps manufacturers embrace the possibilities of Industry 4.0....
Ten Factory of the Future Dimensions – Your way to Industry 4.0 transformation
At SmarterChains we call these areas the 10 Factory of the Future dimensions....
