Aerospace manufacturers and MRO centers, automotive and heavy industry providers are readily adopting smart connected solutions to help realize the efficiency and productivity that Industry 4.0 technologies deliver. Typical Lean Manufacturing solutions aim to raise machine utilization, shorten lead times, reduce waste and lower inventories. Smart connected solutions foster automation and real-time track and trace capabilities that integrate production floor activities with their supporting supply chains for more accurate decision making. Market competition and diminishing margins force manufacturers to adopt these new solutions to maintain profitability.

In 2009, Airbus launched aerospace’s first digital traceability and visibility program dubbed “flyable parts”. Today there are over 3,000 parts on an Airbus airplane that have digital capabilities. By exploring the end-to-end benefits of the solution, it is easy to see why the project was fast-tracked.