Smart Supply: the road to even greater integration
The "Connect & Collaborate" lead theme for HANNOVER MESSE 2018 fits the industrial subcontracting sector like a glove. Subcontractors have always been integral parts of extensive value chains spanning multiple players from multiple industries. Their customers are their partners, and their core business is collaboration. And now, in the age of digitization, that's truer than ever.
10 Jan 2018Share
Hannover. The
"The industrial subcontracting sector has changed enormously in recent years. Subcontractors are now providers of solutions, not just products," commented Olaf Daebler, Deutsche Messe's Global Director Industrial Supply for HANNOVER MESSE. "Thanks to their immense capacity for innovation, they have rapidly transitioned from mere suppliers of parts to development partners for integrated solutions. And now, with the latest advances in digitization and Industry 4.0 technology, the way is clear to integrate, connect and transform collaborative processes across all areas, including development and production."
A good example of this cross-disciplinary integration and connectivity is the "e-WORLD" system developed by German steel provider
Meanwhile, German plastics specialist
The big players in the industrial subcontracting sector are well aware of the benefits of digital technologies in terms of making their processes and solutions smarter. But that doesn't mean that all companies in the sector have embraced integrated industry. Far from it – as
The digitization of the economy is also transforming relationships between corporate procurement and suppliers. According to Dr. Silvius Grobosch, Deputy Chairman of the German Association for Materials Management, Purchasing and Logistics (BME), close integration between procurement and suppliers promises enormous scope for added value. "Procurement departments should be doing more to leverage the benefits of cross-company integration and use cloud-based IT solutions in combination with big data and self-learning algorithms," he said. "That is the key to achieving intelligent, flexible integration across a wide range of partners and systems. Procurement departments that take the initiative and implement value creation networks in this way will become enablers of new directions in innovation, technology and quality."
These Smart Supply themes will feature alongside lightweight construction solutions at Industrial Supply 2018. As the leading trade fair for innovative subcontracting solutions, Industrial Supply is a wide-ranging show that spans all key industrial processes and materials, giving participants a quick yet comprehensive overview of all the various alternative and complementary technologies available to them.
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