Industrial agility is your organization’s ability to respond to change without operational disruption. It means adopting AI, automating decisions, and delivering mobile experiences while your core systems keep running.
The challenge isn’t lack of ambition or technical skill. It’s that your core systems determine your ability to be agile. When those systems are inflexible, your entire operation becomes rigid.
Think about your PLM, ERP, or MES systems. They’re complex, require constant maintenance, and customization is difficult and time-consuming.
As Panorama Consulting points out, system integration problems create long-term consequences:
Without agility, you can’t respond to disruptions that impact production, manufacturing, and supply chains. Real industrial agility gives you the ability to scale, outpace competitors, maintain compliance, and innovate for employees and customers.
Every industrial organization faces similar obstacles when pursuing digital transformation:
The persistent IT/OT gap: Operational technology and information teams speak different languages, use different tools, and have conflicting priorities. This divide slows every initiative.
Operational and customization complexities: Your processes are unique. Off-the-shelf solutions rarely fit, requiring expensive custom developments that take months to deliver.
Inflexible systems and rigid processes: Legacy systems weren’t built for rapid change. Modifying them disrupts operations or requires vendor dependencies that slow you down.
“That’s the way we’ve always done it.” A change mindset can be difficult to spread company-wide. People can be reluctant to a change in a process or system, or they’re ready for a change but the technology isn’t there.
The prevailing narrative emphasizes ripping everything out and starting over. A more effective approach recognizes the value already embedded in your systems.
True value emerges when you close the gap between siloed data and the people who need it. This means making data accessible, actionable, and relevant to frontline workers, engineers, and decision-makers.
According to Snowflake’s “Data Trends 2024: Manufacturing” report, simply collecting data isn’t enough. “Manufacturers will need to first break down internal data silos.”
The two-pronged approach:
Leverage existing data and domain knowledge already embedded in your organization
Use modern development platforms that integrate with your systems of record without replacing them
This isn’t about clinging to outdated technology. It’s about strategically using the data, talent, and expertise you already possess to support your digital goals.
AI-powered low code platforms like Mendix help you overcome the four challenges by enabling:
Rapid development and deployment: Build and launch applications in weeks, not months. Speed of delivery directly impacts your operational agility.
AI-powered automation: Integrate machine learning for predictive maintenance, quality prediction, and intelligent decision-making without requiring deep AI expertise.
IT/OT Collaboration: Provide a common development environment where IT and OT teams collaborate with shared understanding of business processes.
Microservices architecture: Build modular, scalable applications that adapt as your needs change. This composability creates flexibility and resilience.
“In addition to our new rapid development capabilities, we can innovate with Mendix because we don’t need to worry about things like security that are inherent to the platform. We plan to integrate even more AWS services and create more smart apps with AI to create barrier-free data workflows.”
Aristoteles Terceiro Neto, Industrial Transformation Manager, Vivix Vidros Planos
According to AWS research, cloud-deployed applications reduce time to actionable insight by 60%, accelerate time to market, and increase adoption of agile practices by up to 50%.
Shop floor visibility: Modernize legacy MES Interfaces with role-based mobile experiences. Give operators real-time production data, quality metrics, and the ability to report issues instantly.
Asset management and predictive maintenance: Connect IoT sensors to existing systems. Use AI to predict equipment failures before they happen, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
Supply chain optimization: Extend SCM systems with real-time tracking, supplier collaboration portals, and demand forecasting. Optimize inventory levels and mitigate supply chain risks.
“Today, the drawing document is a one-stop shop of information for the supply chain on how to design or manufacture that component.”
Mammoet
Connected worker initiatives: Provide field technicians with wearable devices that display real-time data, visual guidance, and voice-command capabilities. AI enables systems to continuously learn and adapt to changing conditions.
Disruption is relentless. Completely replacing legacy systems won’t work, and new technology layered onto broken processes deliver the same poor results faster.
By leveraging existing data, talent, and domain knowledge, you build a solid foundation for sustainable digital transformation. The challenges are significant, but adapting and extending your systems with an AI-enabled platform helps you respond to constant disruption with the speed and precision today’s world demands.
Inside the full eBook, you’ll find detailed implementation strategies, real manufacturer case studies, and a practical roadmap for building industrial agility in your operation.
Success in industrial manufacturing means being able to quickly respond to world events and market shifts. There’s a lot you need to do to achieve true industrial agility, however, and it starts with your tech stack.
Download the complete PDF to understand how Mendix helps your rapidly build fit-for-purpose software by adapting and extending your data across your entire organization.
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