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The fourth revolution has already occurred in manufacturing.
Industry 4.0 is a fact, and the different industries must focus on adapting the new technologies in their processes. The new technology revolution will and has indeed already affected businesses. Take a look at its impact on the Pharma industry. But first:
What is Industry 4.0?
Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution is a phase that is characterized by interoperability, interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data. All terms related to the Pharma industry. However, this phase is also known as a digital transformation of the business. The 4 core components, IoT (Internet of Things), smart factory, cyber-physical systems and IOS (Internet of Services), are intended to create smart manufacturing and better supply chain management.
Which aspects could impact Industry 4.0?
Let`s start with the data. From one point of view, Industry 4.0 will replace the old method of collecting information on paper, using the data. The use of paper has so many disadvantages for you, your business, and the environment. Data collection is a great step towards better management at all levels. Of course, it will be an investment, but the effectiveness of the result is worth it. The digital collection of data will give opportunity for your employees to have all of the information at the same time. This process benefits all sides, provides real-time management and reduces the risks of unauthorized information leaks. Indeed, we have to look specifically at the better management of data which thanks to Industry 4.0 are simply achievable. The old method of collection data created “digital silos”, which in some moments could lead to complications with outdated data, causing a variety of issues and resulting in high IT maintenance expenses. The new unified platforms provide greater process intelligence, eliminating the potential complications, simplifying the data collection and sharing it between all parties through common data models, codes, tools, architecture.
Industry 4.0 would also impact the validation and regulatory aspect of the business. The regulatory compliance creates a need for inventing a platform that will be in compliance with GMP standards. As a result, the platform will be up 80% validated, the last 20% will be validated from the customers` side. This will give the opportunity to upgrade the platform with no-codes apps.
How does Industry 4.0 benefit the pharma industry?
Increased productivity
The automation of processes will lead to increased productivity and performance, reducing the downtimes. Thanks to the new technologies, the systems could predict any potential issues and unexpected failures. The real-time data will give important visibility and will make the processes through the supply chain more efficient.
Improved quality
Here the benefits of real-time visibility come again – the continuous monitoring will lead to fewer errors and respectively better end-product. Furthermore, it will affect the inventory visibility and will give an opportunity for better planning of product distributions. From another point of view, real-time monitoring will eliminate the chance of fake or poor-quality products reaching the end-user.
Easy Regulatory Compliance
Industry 4.0 will make regulatory compliance simply achievable for every supply chain participant thanks to the implementation of Track & Trace systems/ serialization solutions. The automated reports would aggregate and collect the data from your manufacturing, and the real-time alerts would detect any errors – this “package” will ensure you the easy process of compliance, resolving the issues before it becomes a problem.
Business development
Real-time data “enhance business oversight”, giving better perspectives on where to invest/ improve your business. Industry 4.0 will make it possible to integrate your traceability system easily and seamlessly, but meantime highly efficient in improving the production results at all levels. In the end, your business would increase its profitability, making you more competitive and ready for new horizons.
Sources:
https://slcontrols.com/how-industry-4-0-will-benefit-the-pharmaceutical-industry/