Key points
In roughly a decade everything will be made smart. Any object or being will be able to function like a computer, being able to connect to the internet, sense the environment, gather data and deliver insights on the fly.
This could be a pen, it could be a water bottle or it could even be cows grazing on the fields. From the time food grows in the farm to the time it gets displayed on the supermarket shelves, every morsel of food can be tracked and traced back to its source of origin, thanks to the industrial internet of things (IIoT).
This new scenario will be a profound change for humanity, in not just the way we function and interact with each other, but also in the way we connect and interact with our environment.
​Therefore in future, when you receive an expensive package of Parmigiano Reggiano from the Italian cheese factories, it is most likely to be received in a smart packaging that tells you whether or not the package and its contents have been handled optimally before it reached you.
Was the cheese manufactured using milk that has been sourced from the original red cows of Reggiana’s breed?
Has it been ensured that an optimal temperature was maintained throughout the cheese’s journey in the supply chain?
These are some of the questions that will find answers from IIoT.
Food and beverage (F&B) is an economically significant and rapidly advancing industry that is on one hand, driven by expectations to meet high regulatory standards, food safety and quality requirements.
On the other hand, manufacturers are under constant pressure to innovate and optimise productivity without compromising on quality of products. Rapidly multiplying human population and changing consumer preferences are further aggravating the demand for wider variety of food and beverage products.
Globally, as food safety regulations continue to become more stringent, manufacturers are forced to think several steps ahead and make processes and production lines future proof.
In such an evolving scenario where change is the only constant, IIoT is emerging to be an important concept that will solve several pertinent issues and will emerge to become the backbone of future F&B industry.
Key areas of IIoT transformation in the Food & Beverage Industries
​As is the case with any other industry, IIoT is revolutionising the F&B industry. Today, we will find in our factories, a growing number of connected sensors and plant machinery like never before.
IIoT is being used to optimise processes and operations not just on the factory shop floor, but also across the entire value chain. A completely integrated F&B value chain will lower downtime, provide maintenance alerts and deliver greater visibility across the entire value chain including supply, logistics and distribution.
When all aspects of a value chain; from research & development to sales and supply are connected, the data collected from IIoT will be critical in delivering real-time visibility and insights to decision makers. Some of the key areas where IIoT can bring a difference in the F&B value chain include:
IIoT is thus changing how F&B manufacturers view safety, quality, packaging and distribution of food products from the time raw materials are sourced till the time the manufactured goods reach the consumer.
Key Value Drivers IIoT has for the F&B sector
​​The F&B industry lags behind several other industries like automotive, aerospace and oil & gas when it comes to IIoT adoption. Nevertheless, the benefits and practical applications of IIoT in F&B manufacturing are immense.
For example, previously in case of any issue with the factory machines, onsite engineers could only contact machine experts over phone or email or in many cases this would require the specialists to physically travel to the factory to resolve the issues. This has been extremely time consuming involving huge travel costs and has resulted in unnecessary downtime.
IIoT can today help resolve such issues by bestowing upon onsite engineers the ability to connect real-time with the machine expert. Using augmented reality (AR), onsite engineers perform repairs and seek the support of machine expert.
Insights derived from machine and product data can help the manufacturing community focus on which markets to target, buying trends as well as how the product is being received in the market. And these are just a few examples of how the F&B industry can benefit from IIoT.
In the face of mounting pressures to improve efficiencies and increase profitability in a competitive landscape, it is important that F&B manufacturers start exploring opportunities that IIoT can bring to their shop floors.
Barriers to adoption
Despite proven benefits, complex supply chains and dynamic consumer demands restrain the rapid adoption of IIoT in F&B manufacturing. An IIoT implementation brings along changes in infrastructure, process changes along with cultural and ideological changes.
This can at most times be difficult for enterprises to adapt to. Further connecting devices to the internet does not imply IIoT implementation is all done and dusted. F&B enterprises will further require adding business intelligence, in order to reap benefits from the IIoT implementation.
It has often been observed that these enterprises often lack sufficient foresight and fail to gather the required intelligence to make an IIoT implementation, resulting in failed efforts. The following exhibit details some of the major challenges that shroud the F&B industry:
Overcoming IIoT complexities and the way forward for Food & Beverage Manufacturers
​​The web of raw materials, production, and distribution can be difficult to effectively visualise and plan. IIoT provides strong data processing capabilities so that enterprises can make better, faster decisions about their business.
As a first step to overcoming complexities in IIoT implementation, enterprises can begin by asking themselves the following questions –
IIoT is here to stay and is improving operational efficiencies of enterprises the world over. However, to ensure a better output from the concept and to leverage its full business potential, an optimal implementation of IIoT is something that is to be taken care of seriously.
The key to a successful IIoT implementation is to start small, implement pilot programs, and prove success and then scale. One may face some roadblocks in implementation; however, these challenges can be dealt with and eliminated with a well-planned and defined IIoT implementation strategy.
The adoption of IIoT within the purview of F&B manufacturing has started, but there is still a long way to go before this can become ubiquitous. The potential is immense, but widespread adoption will take time.
