IoT in the Industry and Its Main Challenges in the Sector

According to the latest data available from Eurostat, it is the fifth European nation in terms of turnover in the industrial sector and GVA in the sector. Experts estimate that the economic impact of IoT on the industry will reach $11.1 trillion by 2025.

The application of IoT in the industry as a strategic sector is essential to achieve this goal. With it, devices acquire and analyze data from corresponding locations, people and assets to act on insights at the industrial edge.

These are the challenges of IoT in the industry.

The objective to be achieved by incorporating IoT lies in improving the efficiency of the industrial sector and optimizing its production. Likewise, IoT technology in the industrial field offers the ability to have real-time information, making decisions based on updated and corresponding data from all the value chain elements.

Some of the great competitive advantages that IoT offers to the industry are clear:

• Precise information in real-time and with high availability for decision making
• Quality improvement: reduction of incidents and manufacturing defects (15% less)
• Increase in global productive capacity (18% more).

Are we prepared to achieve its implementation? Yes, if we overcome six great challenges :

1. Technology and productivity

Process automation and traceability, optimize production resources, create new business opportunities, and maximize efficiency and agility throughout the value chain.

2. Supply chain

Strengthening and flexibility of the entire chain using robotics and IoT. Digital replicas to reduce risks and analyze hypotheses to guarantee success.

3. Product and customer

Predictions to improve the user’s relationship with our product or service and explore the pay-per-use option.

4. Security

Increase in the technological security layer, focusing on software design.

5. Skills and culture

Incorporation of new work methodologies and new collaborative tools. Reorganize the industry based on a cultural change that affects all levels.

6. Energy transition

Optimizing the demand for energy consumption at all points of the production chain and reducing waste generation or achieving its reuse.

Benefits of the IoT application in the industry

Many voices coincide in pointing to the Next Generation EU funds as a unique opportunity to finance and execute the necessary investments to move towards the long-awaited Spanish industry 5.0.

If applied following the established deadlines, the benefits for the Spanish industry in the medium and long term would be more than remarkable.

1. Improvement of traceability since all the supply chain participants will be able to know in what state the products are.
2. Cost reduction thanks to the automation of production lines.
3. Improvement of the productivity of industrial processes to generate agility and efficiency.
4. Optimizing processes, automating the connections between people, data and things, and adding value in real-time.
5. Leveraging data and connecting machines to the Internet so that organizations can monitor large volumes of data that will generate valuable information.
6. Geolocating the assets to have more precise information about the value chain.

In short, with the irruption of the IoT in the industry of our country, infinite possibilities open up that such a powerful sector should take advantage of. 

Especially for those disruptive business models, its application will not only make it possible to improve production processes in each of its phases. Still, it will also enable improvements in speed or efficiency in supply chains.