DIGITALIZATION

AND CONTINUITY:
GAME-CHANGING APPROACHES DIGITALIZATION AND

FOR MANUFACTURERS
CONTINUITY: FOUR
GAME-CHANGING
APPROACHES FOR
HOW DIGITALIZATION IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE WAY MANUFACTURERS MANUFACTURERS

INNOVATE, PRODUCE, SELL AND SERVICE THEIR PRODUCTS. PAGE 2

INTRODUCTION

PAGES 3-4
1. MANUFACTURING IS
CREATIVE

PAGES 5-6
2. MANUFACTURING IS
SMART

PAGE 7
3. MANUFACTURING IS
VALUE

PAGE 8
4. MANUFACTURING IS
HUMAN

PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
WHAT’S NEXT?

1
Digitalization is enabling a reinvention of manufacturing. It’s a
core component of a new Industry Renaissance—the merger of
automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, business
processes, big data and cloud computing. It’s reshaping how
manufacturers innovate and respond to customer demands.
Customers want more personalized products in today’s on-demand DIGITALIZATION AND
CONTINUITY: FOUR
economy. Manufacturers that embrace digitalization can transform
GAME-CHANGING
from a traditional mass-production model to mass personalization.
APPROACHES FOR
They embody the four key characteristics of modern manufacturing,
MANUFACTURERS
which include:
•• Creative, enabling new business models with cost-effective mass

>60%
PAGE 2
personalization INTRODUCTION
•• Smart, improving speed and agility with real-time learning
•• Value, connecting value end-to-end from ideation through PAGES 3-4
manufacturing to ownership and eliminating unwanted waste 1. MANUFACTURING IS
•• Human, empowering collaboration and augmenting human CREATIVE
creativity
PAGES 5-6
Digitalization enhances collaboration across the enterprise by 2. MANUFACTURING IS
enabling digital continuity from ideation to production through post- SMART
sales service. It’s a phenomenon that’s taking hold globally as more
More than 60% of
manufacturers move from mass manufacturing to a new era of digitally PAGE 7
informed production. respondents from 3. MANUFACTURING IS
VALUE
For example, more than 60% of respondents from China, Germany China, Germany
and the U.S. are more optimistic regarding the potential of digital PAGE 8
manufacturing.1 Respondents from these countries expect this and the U.S. are 4. MANUFACTURING IS
potential to generate double-digit revenue and cost improvements
more optimistic
HUMAN
over the next three years.2

In this e-book, we’ll explore the four key attributes of a fully digitized regarding the PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
manufacturing environment and how manufacturers can win the global
potential of digital WHAT’S NEXT?
race for gaining new customers and enriching existing customers.
manufacturing.
1 McKinsey & Co., Digital Manufacturing: Capturing Sustainable Impact at Scale, June 2017.
2 McKinsey & Co., June 2017.
2
1. MANUFACTURING IS CREATIVE
Creativity isn’t exclusive to Silicon Valley. Traditional manufacturers are bringing high-tech, innovative products to
market with the help of advanced technologies, such as 3-D printing, IoT, artificial intelligence and robotics. In the
past, complex, unique products required time-consuming changes to the design and operation of a manufacturer’s
production system. Now, everything about designing, engineering and building a product can be digitalized and
synchronized with the actual physical production assets. Dassault Systèmes calls this digital environment the
3DEXPERIENCE Twin.

In the 3DEXPERIENCE Twin, users can model the manufacturing process without investing in physical equipment DIGITALIZATION AND
to determine if a concept can become “manufacturing ready.” This increases a manufacturer’s ability to respond CONTINUITY: FOUR
quickly to market demands and minimizes related production costs. GAME-CHANGING
APPROACHES FOR
Joby Aviation is one example of a manufacturer that is on the verge of redefining an entire industrial sector through MANUFACTURERS
digitalization. The Santa Cruz, California-based company is in a race to introduce the world’s first “flying car.” Bringing
these vehicles to market requires an innovative approach to manufacturing. PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION
“We see ourselves as more of a mobility company (rather than an aviation company),” says Alec Clark, mechanical
engineer, Joby Aviation. “When we set out to design this, we knew we needed to create a new vehicle.”
PAGES 3-4
1. MANUFACTURING IS
The Joby team wanted to develop the product quickly. The challenge: The company needed to bring together many
CREATIVE
different technologies in a succinct manner while adhering to stringent aviation regulations. Simulation and 3-D
technologies allow the company to test different versions in a virtual environment and make adjustments without
PAGES 5-6
the costs of a physical build.
2. MANUFACTURING IS
SMART
The process includes the creation of
prototypes for specific parts using
PAGE 7
additive manufacturing. 3-D printing
3. MANUFACTURING IS
gives Joby designers the freedom to feed
VALUE
a highly iterative loop that constantly
improves their designs, enabling them to PAGE 8
build structures that tightly couple the 4. MANUFACTURING IS
simulation during the concept phase and HUMAN
empower the designer to optimize for
weight. PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
Many of these structures would have WHAT’S NEXT?
required extensive tooling to create, and
the 3-D printing process saves cost and
time. By leveraging the 3DEXPERIENCE
Marketplace, they can drag-and-drop 3
CATIA data and instantly get quotes and lead times from the available supplier network. This allows Joby designers to
focus on their core responsibilities rather than tasks that are not design related.

Joby uses apps on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on the cloud to design products, manage the release process, and
program, simulate, and optimize its machining processes. The cloud enables Joby to grow as they go. For example, the
company can quickly add new users or easily add additional design- or PLM-related apps.

“As we have been growing, we can call up our reseller and say we want to grow a little bit in this direction,” Clark says. “We
need a little more specialty in simulation; what apps can we get? Or, six months later we’re pushing more manufacturing.
We want to start using these tools to simulate how much square footage do we need for building the airplane we want
to build. So it’s really scalable in the direction that we want and when we want it. As the prototyping phases mature, we DIGITALIZATION AND
are more interested in building the process of building vehicles that conform to strict regulations.” CONTINUITY: FOUR
GAME-CHANGING
In addition, an on-premise solution would have required a team of IT personnel to set up the system. “(Now), when I APPROACHES FOR
onboard somebody, it’s a matter of just getting another license, and tagging it right to them,” Clark says. MANUFACTURERS

The company plans to eventually tie the platform to its ERP and MRP systems. This will help streamline data flow for PAGE 2
regulatory reporting purposes. INTRODUCTION

The cloud will play a major role in helping more companies take advantage of similar advanced capabilities because,
PAGES 3-4
until now, virtualization and simulation technologies were only practical for large organizations that could afford 1. MANUFACTURING IS
expensive on-premise solutions. CREATIVE

Another example of a company leveraging creativity to deliver personalized products faster is truck and bus
PAGES 5-6
manufacturer Scania AB. The Swedish manufacturer is one of the few companies in the transportation sector that has
2. MANUFACTURING IS
developed its business based on the concept of quickly delivering highly configured and customized products. SMART

The number of product variants and ongoing design changes necessary to deliver on this customer experience requires
PAGE 7
a comprehensive repository of designs that can be joined together to build the customer’s order. In 2017, the company
3. MANUFACTURING IS
deployed the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to validate its vehicles more quickly.
VALUE

“It will enable full traceability and digital continuity from design through manufacturing throughout our unique virtual
PAGE 8
product-development processes,” says Michael Thel, engineering director, Scania.
4. MANUFACTURING IS
The company’s time from order to delivery is now about eight weeks, with a wide range of possible configurations HUMAN
available for their customers. This allows the company to sell its user-configured trucks in a highly competitive market at
a premium price compared to the competition—and at a cost that is nearly the same as that to produce standard trucks. PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
This is what’s possible when manufacturers apply the right architecture for their products (modularization) with WHAT’S NEXT?
digitalized processes for advanced configuration capabilities and continuity between engineering and manufacturing.

These are two examples of how the 3DEXPERIENCE platform unleashes extreme creativity and innovation in
manufacturing. 4
2. MANUFACTURING IS SMART
What does “smart manufacturing” mean? It’s a term that’s often used interchangeably with automation or the
Internet of Things. But truly smart manufacturing uses data to build predictive models that help manufacturers
optimize their business strategy and increase operational agility.

The latest simulation tools now include behavioral functionality that supports the most powerful human knowledge
attributes, according to Dr. Michael Grieves, co-director of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative
Design at the Florida Institute of Technology.3 They include:
•• Conceptualization DIGITALIZATION AND
•• Comparison CONTINUITY: FOUR
•• Collaboration GAME-CHANGING
APPROACHES FOR
“Taken together, these attributes form the foundation for the next generation of problem solving and innovation,” MANUFACTURERS
Grieves writes.
PAGE 2
Conceptualization in the 3DEXPERIENCE Twin means “We can view the ideal INTRODUCTION
manufacturers can see the physical and virtual product data
simultaneously. For instance, instead of using plant performance characteristic—the PAGES 3-4
reports to build a model of how the product moves through
individual stations, the Twin simulations show the actual product
tolerance corridor around 1. MANUFACTURING IS
CREATIVE
as it moves through production as well as information about its
that ideal measurement,
design characteristics. The process helps identify problems more PAGES 5-6
efficiently because it eliminates the need to manually translate and our actual trend line 2. MANUFACTURING IS
data to visually conceptual information.4 SMART
to determine for a range
Comparison is the ability to view actual measurements vs.
of products whether we
PAGE 7
design specifications and identify any deviations. “We can view 3. MANUFACTURING IS
the ideal characteristic—the tolerance corridor around that ideal
measurement, and our actual trend line to determine for a range
are where we want to be.” VALUE

of products whether we are where we want to be,” Grieves writes. PAGE 8

— Dr. Michael Grieves, co- 4. MANUFACTURING IS
Collaboration is one of the most important activities humans director, Center for Lifecycle HUMAN
engage in to solve problems and improve decision-making. The
3DEXPERIENCE Twin model enables shared conceptualization so
and Innovation Management, PAGES 9-10
everyone across the enterprise sees the exact same information.5 Florida Institute of Technology DIGITALIZATION:
For example, one large auto manufacturer is using the platform to WHAT’S NEXT?

3 Dr. Michael Grieves, Digital Twin: Manufacturing Excellence through Virtual Factory Replication, 2014.
4 Dr. Michael Grieves, Digital Twin: Manufacturing Excellence through Virtual Factory Replication, 2014.
5 Dr. Michael Grieves, Driving Digital Continuity in Manufacturing, 2017.
5
simplify data reporting and analytics. Previously, the data existed in silos. Different departments would manipulate
the data to represent what an executive wanted to see. They stored and circulated the report in Excel or PowerPoint,
but nobody actually knew if the data was true or relevant to the stated purpose of the report.

With analytics digitally connected, nobody can manipulate the data. They have “digital continuity,” a concept we’ll
explore more in-depth in the next section. The organization can update the data in the underlying system much
faster because there is only one place to see it.

In addition, managers don’t have to spend an excessive amount of time preparing a report to ensure the data
represents what their boss wants to see. Everyone has the same understanding of the key performance indicators,
which increases efficiency and enables faster decision-making. DIGITALIZATION AND
CONTINUITY: FOUR
GAME-CHANGING
APPROACHES FOR
MANUFACTURERS

PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION

PAGES 3-4
1. MANUFACTURING IS
CREATIVE

PAGES 5-6
2. MANUFACTURING IS
SMART

PAGE 7
3. MANUFACTURING IS
VALUE

PAGE 8
4. MANUFACTURING IS
HUMAN

PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
WHAT’S NEXT?

6
3. MANUFACTURING IS VALUE
Smart, creative manufacturers drive value for
their customers, suppliers and employees.
Manufacturers maximize value creation when
they have end-to-end connectivity from
product ideation to ownership. True end-to-
end visibility requires digital continuity. This is
when everyone and every system across the
organization receives “singular or the exact DIGITALIZATION AND

same information.”6 CONTINUITY: FOUR

GAME-CHANGING
Digital continuity within the product lifecycle APPROACHES FOR
is particularly critical. It ensures the operations MANUFACTURERS
team has the information it needs from
engineering to meet design specifications. PAGE 2

It also means information is fed back to INTRODUCTION

designers, so they can continually assess and

PAGES 3-4
improve products.7 In addition, increased
1. MANUFACTURING IS
visibility into how different functions impact each other helps manufacturers adapt to customer needs.
CREATIVE

Chinese steel producer HBIS Group Tangsteel Co. turned to a digital platform to enable a demand-driven supply
chain. In 2014, the company restructured its IT system to meet increasing demand and specialized customer PAGES 5-6
2. MANUFACTURING IS
requirements, says Zhenrui Zhao, director of the information and automation department for Tangsteel.
SMART
“For a company with a large payroll, only (the) information system can enable employees to work with consistent
methods and standards,” says Zhao, whose company has more than 30,000 employees. PAGE 7
3. MANUFACTURING IS
In the past, the company structured its IT system around a make-to-stock model. Tangsteel couldn’t adapt to VALUE
customer demands, Zhao says. Digitalization helps the company improve its inbound schedules, delivery of the
products and the workflow. “We can instantly take into consideration changes to the market price, the on-time PAGE 8
and downtime of the machines and even tell customers exactly which production line is making their product,” 4. MANUFACTURING IS
he explains. HUMAN

Other benefits include improved work-to-order capabilities and capital utilization, a higher rate of material reuse, PAGES 9-10
and inventory-management optimization, Zhao says. The company’s customers can access the scheduling system DIGITALIZATION:
for visibility into deliveries. In the future, the company plans to extend visibility to equipment and material suppliers. WHAT’S NEXT?
Zhao explains this will allow Tangsteel’s entire supply chain to collaboratively realize IoT benefits.

6 Dr. Michael Grieves, Driving Digital Continuity in Manufacturing, 2017.

7 Dr. Michael Grieves, Driving Digital Continuity in Manufacturing, 2017.
7
4. MANUFACTURING IS HUMAN
The digital transformation means roles across
the organization will change. Analytics, artificial
intelligence and automation tools are going to provide
plant workers with more autonomy and actionable
insights. While many manual tasks will disappear,
workers will be freed to focus on more value-creating
activities.
DIGITALIZATION AND
The digital transformation opens the doors to CONTINUITY: FOUR
creativity. Employees have the tools and information GAME-CHANGING
they need to be more engaged and drive bottom-line APPROACHES FOR
results. Digitalization provides a lab of opportunities MANUFACTURERS
and possibilities to investigate and validate all the
possible ways to improve the business and industrial PAGE 2

processes that manufacturers want to optimize. INTRODUCTION

It also helps address skilled workforce challenges. If manufacturers want to attract the best talent, they need to PAGES 3-4
demonstrate they have the technology, know-how and creativity of a modern manufacturing environment. Unlike 1. MANUFACTURING IS
deployments of standard, transactional systems, digitalization cannot be an IT-driven initiative. Executives must be CREATIVE

the champions of change because they’re the only people who can articulate how everyone in the organization will
benefit and how their roles will evolve. PAGES 5-6
2. MANUFACTURING IS
Leaders must assess where the company stands, how much change is possible and the steps involved. They should SMART
focus on quick, incremental improvements to demonstrate the benefits of change immediately. Communication is
critical during this stage because middle management will transition from a role of information ownership to data PAGE 7

sharing. They will be responsible for leveraging the data to drive results. 3. MANUFACTURING IS
VALUE
Chinese train producer CRRC Tangshan Co. has embarked on a digital transformation that’s led to a new workforce
training strategy. The company has relied heavily on human labor to perform manual tasks and is now shifting to PAGE 8
a higher level of automation, using a Manufacturing Operations Management system. CRRC Tangshan is digitizing 4. MANUFACTURING IS
all paperwork and integrating new systems across product, assembly and examination lines, says Chunming Liu, HUMAN

deputy chief engineer for the company.

PAGES 9-10
It’s also moving toward a cellular manufacturing model where workers perform multiple tasks at each work DIGITALIZATION:
station. This means while some processes are becoming more automated, employees must enhance their skill sets. WHAT’S NEXT?
“Previously, our workers only completed one specific job task,” Liu explains. “Now he needs to complete the tasks
of a whole workstation. This requires him to expand his skill, and for us, it means training more multi-competency
workers.”
8
DIGITALIZATION: WHAT’S NEXT?
Digitalization is advancing at such a rapid pace that markets are undergoing a “technology renaissance.”8 Digital
continuity strategies are already having a major impact on the way manufacturers design, produce, sell and service
their products. Expect digitalization strategies to continue driving improvements in five key areas, including:
•• Innovation: Additive manufacturing, virtualization, IoT and other advanced manufacturing technologies will
continue to play a key role in manufacturer’s ability to bring disruptive products to market. Manufacturers
must understand what consumers want today and also predict their future needs. Digital platforms help
manufacturers analyze, predict and plan for new products.
•• Customization: Customer demands for unique products will drive more manufacturers toward a mass- DIGITALIZATION AND

personalization model. The days of a single configuration for all customers are waning. This includes everything CONTINUITY: FOUR
GAME-CHANGING
from cars to footwear.9 Modern digitalization platforms are flexible and scalable, which helps manufacturers
APPROACHES FOR
manage increasing product complexity.
MANUFACTURERS
•• Continuous-improvement initiatives: Lean manufacturing is not a new concept. But manufacturers are using
technology to complement or ramp up their Lean initiatives. Digital platforms house the most important business
PAGE 2
functions in one place—improving productivity and efficiency by automating tasks and increasing visibility across
INTRODUCTION
the enterprise. Engineering, manufacturing, sales, marketing and aftersales will all be woven together.
•• Supply chain management: More manufacturers will use digital platforms to enable a demand-driven supply PAGES 3-4
chain. They will take advantage of a singular platform resident and continuity that creates a traceable stream 1. MANUFACTURING IS
of available information. In fact, the National Institute for Standards and Technology has launched the Digital CREATIVE
Thread project to define and standardize methods to enable easy integration of smart manufacturing systems.10
•• Workforce engagement: Advanced manufacturing technologies are freeing employees to focus on more value- PAGES 5-6
creating activities. Repetitive, lower-skilled tasks are being automated while employees access IoT-enabled 2. MANUFACTURING IS
data to drive improvements. Digital platforms encourage a more SMART
collaborative environment, providing more opportunities for disruption.
PAGE 7
To remain competitive, manufacturers will need to adopt at least some 3. MANUFACTURING IS
form of digitalization and transform. Frost & Sullivan predicts that B2B VALUE
digital platform commerce could result in sales of $6.7 trillion by 2020,
double the amount it projects for B2C business.11 PAGE 8
4. MANUFACTURING IS
Leaders will differentiate themselves with innovative products, improved HUMAN
productivity and exceptional service. They will be more agile and able to
meet customer demands for customized, on-demand products. PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
WHAT’S NEXT?

8 U.S. Chamber of Commerce, (video) “Emerging Technologies and Torts of the Future - Michael Steep,” 2017.
9 https://blogs.3ds.com/northamerica/the-adidas-partnership-behind-its-sole/
10 IndustryWeek, “Why Adopting a Platform Strategy =Game Changer,” Oct. 13, 2017.
11 IndustryWeek, “Why Adopting a Platform Strategy =Game Changer,” Oct. 13, 2017.
9
 DIGITALIZATION AND
CONTINUITY: FOUR
GAME-CHANGING

ifwe.3ds.com/manufacturing
APPROACHES FOR
MANUFACTURERS

PAGE 2
INTRODUCTION

PAGES 3-4
1. MANUFACTURING IS
CREATIVE

PAGES 5-6
2. MANUFACTURING IS
SMART

PAGE 7
3. MANUFACTURING IS
VALUE

PAGE 8
4. MANUFACTURING IS
HUMAN

PAGES 9-10
DIGITALIZATION:
WHAT’S NEXT?

10