The online event, June 9 at 9 a.m., U.S. Central Time, will explore Industry 4.0 through virtual keynote addresses, panel discussions and technology demonstrations in the ISG Exhibit Hall. Discussions will cover digitization of the product lifecycle; smart manufacturing ecosystems and operating models; how to augment and empower the workforce with technology; the industrial internet of things, and the factory of the future.
David Lewis, partner in the ISG Manufacturing practice, will open the day-long event with a presentation forecasting the accelerated adoption of smart manufacturing, post-pandemic.
“In the first quarter of 2020, the smart manufacturing industry was experiencing exceptional growth, with a compounded annual growth rate of 12.4 percent forecasted through 2025,” Lewis said. “Since then, workflows and processes have changed dramatically, as manufacturers have repurposed facilities and manufacturing lines to assist with pandemic response.”
As the world starts to emerge from the shutdown, Lewis said this is an ideal time to hear what experts across manufacturing have to say about the post-COVID-19 environment. “We’ll take a look at the forecasts, trends and options for smart manufacturers to mitigate the turbulence of today and prepare to maximize value and return on investment (ROI) in the new future,” he said.
Frank Piller, professor of management and head of the Institute for Technology and Innovation Management at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, will discuss how to draft a smart manufacturing strategy in the age of COVID-19 in “Industry 4.0 in the Post-Corona Economy: The Future of Digital Business Models for Smart Manufacturing.” In his keynote presentation, Piller will assert that the pandemic will act as a catalyst, reinforcing existing trends and fundamentally changing industrial value creation.
Carsten Baumann, director of strategic initiatives and solution architect at Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and automation, will share his expertise helping clients define their industrial IoT and microgrid initiatives in “Industrial Edge Computing – The Data Center Perspective,” covering data needs, challenges and possibilities for successful smart manufacturing implementations.
Catherine Hayes, industry manager with the South Carolina Research Authority, will present, “Race to Innovate and Implement Digital Technologies that Meet Your ROI,” on how to select and implement digital technologies with an acceptable return on investment while containing manufacturing costs.
Other speakers include Peter Bilello of CIMdata; Dennis Hodges, Inteva Products; Lynn Kier, Diebold Nixdorf; Stephen Mellor, Industrial Internet Consortium; Karen Norheim, American Crane and Equipment; Pin Ni, Wanxiang America Corporation, and Dr. Charles Shearrow, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
Entrepreneurs with Optezo, an RPA-as-a-Service platform provider; Acerta Analytics, which uses machine learning to uncover actionable insights from vehicle and production data, and Plethora, a groundbreaking parts Manufacturing-as-a-Service provider, will pitch their innovative approaches in the ISG Startup Challenge. The winner will be chosen through a live audience poll.
Manufacturing Tomorrow, Supply Chain Movement and the Women in Manufacturing trade association are media partners of the ISG TechXchange. The event will be streamed live in U.S. Central Standard Time and will be available on-demand post-event. Attendance is reserved and complimentary for enterprise IT and business executives. For more information or to register, visit the event website.
