Industrial Smart Operations Management Systems

At a high level, ISOM systems are an evolution in industrial operations tracking and management methods, from manual operations tracking and process flow management methods, using paper forms and Excel spreadsheets, through ERP systems, which provide a central database which links finance, human resources, inventory, and customer relations, to using a variety of Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods to automate the tracking and management of manufacturing and distribution operations.

ISOM systems are third-generation systems that automate operational decision-making, coordinate process flow, and eliminate “intelligent grunt work” in manufacturing, distribution, and other industrial organizations.

In practice ISOM systems are mostly used by short-run, quick-turn make-to-order manufacturers and industrial distributors that do secondary operations such as repackaging, kitting and light assembly for their customers. ISOM systems are especially applicable to smaller and mid-size (SME) industrial enterprises which need to keep their administrative overhead costs down and do not have large centralized support organizations.

Typically, smaller enterprises deploy stand-alone ISOM systems to replace the use of paper forms and Excel-based processes while mid-sized enterprises use them to augment and extend their ERP systems.

The driving forces behind the adoption of ISOM systems by these organizations include:

• Increase sales by enabling lower prices and faster delivery than competitors
• Drive repeat business by ensuring accurate, on-time, defect-free shipments
• Reduce overhead costs by automating routine operational coordination and support tasks
• Ensure regulatory compliance through automated data capture, traceability, and reporting
• Prevent costly errors by alerting managers before critical mistakes occur

For many of these SMEs, initial cost justification for adopting ISOM systems, comes from the labor savings by automating the collection and fusion of production tracking data, as well automating many “intelligent grunt work” tasks, such as maintaining information in multiple incompatible systems. Subsequently, once operating for a short while, ISOM systems often result in increased competitive advantage through improved customer satisfaction and reduced overhead cost in making and distributing products

However, probably the most important aspect of ISOM systems is that they make managing operations in manufacturing plants, distribution warehouses, and other industrial organizations much easier for managers and their staff by automating many of the necessary but time-consuming “intelligent grunt work” tasks and can result in the elimination of many time-wasting “coordination” meetings.

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