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IIoT creates transparency in materials trading
We live in a digital world and are connected globally. Why not connect our machines as well? The experts at thyssenkrupp Materials Services thought the same and digitized their business with the Industrial Internet of Things, or IIoT for short.
For thyssenkrupp Materials Services, digitization is the biggest lever for making business more efficient. Particularly, in materials trading, automation and digital connectivity are unleashing new potentials. Every year, the materials trader’s 380 locations receive around 14 million order items. Every day, hundreds of systems from different manufacturers have to work together perfectly to process and deliver the materials. A single failure can quickly jeopardize the entire supply chain.
This is a major challenge that offers plenty of scope for optimization and offers room for the IIoT technology toii® developed by the company, which creates the necessary basis for optimization through continuous data evaluation - transparency.
Real-time data collection
But what is IIoT exactly? The Industrial Internet of Things is a collective term for technologies of a global infrastructure. In the case of thyssenkrupp Materials Services, toii® as a holistic integration platform enables production IT, such as ERP systems, to be connected with production facilities or warehouses from different manufacturers, which represent different technologies, and to communicate with each other in real-time.
At thyssenkrupp Materials Services, toii® as a holistic integration platform enables devices, plants, or components from different manufacturers to be connected.
It gives the company a constant insight into process flows, production statuses, and machine utilization and - based on objective facts and figures - allows it to optimize and control the process. The individual modules of toii® take over many tasks in the digital factory, from data collection to machine control and visualization. Thereby, every work step becomes more transparent for the company. This brings benefits to various areas:
A competent partner on the way to Industry 4.0
On the way to Industry 4.0, IIoT is of central importance for thyssenkrupp Materials Services, but toii® can also add value in other sectors. That's why the materials trader is bundling its expertise in the digitization of manufacturing processes in an independent company and developing IIoT further there.
thyssenkrupp Materials IoT GmbH has set itself the goal to support other companies outside thyssenkrupp on their digital journey and making their process chains more transparent. To this end, thyssenkrupp Materials IoT GmbH offers a complete solution for the connection and digitalization of manufacturing and value chains. Currently, over 750 different machines from more than 26 customers worldwide have been linked via the toii® platform. The technology has thus already successfully supported over 750,000 production jobs. By the way, the oldest machine connected with toii® dates back to 1961!
"The pace of innovation has increased enormously in recent years, and processes are becoming increasingly digitalized and interconnected. In this environment, it is increasingly important for companies to know that they have competent partners at their side who can help them with innovative solutions to secure competitive advantages and to arrive in Industry 4.0. For the past two years we have been pleased to supply these solutions to customers outside the thyssenkrupp Group, regardless of whether they are in full or partial competition with thyssenkrupp's core business," says Sebastian Lang, CEO of thyssenkrupp Materials IoT GmbH.
Find out what other benefits IIoT has to offer and which business areas will be particularly shaped by the technology in the coming years in our stories.