Smart Industry: a much-heard term and now also something that has become increasingly familiar to entrepreneurs. At least half of entrepreneurs have heard of it. Many industry entrepreneurs also think they can use it for their own business. This is according to a recently conducted survey by KVK among 1007 entrepreneurs in various sectors.
In 2014, KVK set up the Smart Industry programme together with FME, Metaalunie, Ministry of Economic Affairs and a number of other partners. This aims to accelerate digitalisation in the manufacturing industry in the Netherlands. The ultimate goal is to make the Netherlands the most flexible and best digitally integrated manufacturing network in Europe.
Earlier this year, KVK wanted to gauge the state of awareness of Smart Industry and indirectly whether the programme is having an effect. This was done via an online questionnaire in the KVK Entrepreneurs' Panel.
Research results
Compared to previous research in 2016, awareness of Smart Industry has increased. The number of entrepreneurs who see opportunities has remained the same, but on the other hand, a number of applications have grown considerably.
Smart Industry involves making smart use of new digital technologies. "In practice, it often comes down to digitally connecting devices, machines and organisations. Think for example of automation, robots and data sharing in the chain. Micro SMEs can also apply it in abundance," writes KVK.
Half of the entrepreneurs in the 2020 survey say they have heard of Smart Industry at some point. Only a limited proportion (7%) know exactly what it entails. Within the manufacturing industry, this percentage is a lot higher. There, 62% of entrepreneurs have heard of it, and more often know well or approximately what it entails (44%).
Initiatives and organisations such as NWO, NWA or Smart Industry Fieldlabs support the dissemination and application of smart technology. Only a quarter of entrepreneurs are familiar with one of them. "So there is a lot to be gained here, because they help in (starting) the necessary transitions."
Engineering manager Martijn Engwerda is successfully applying digitisation at machine construction company Iteq, according to the KVK report. "Start small, determine your direction and do trials," he tips. "That way you know you have chosen the right path. Also seek cooperation with schools, knowledge institutes and software companies. Because digitisation has the future."
Improving business operations
Smart Industry allows you to improve operations. 3 in 10 entrepreneurs see opportunities in this. These are mainly entrepreneurs from industry or ICT. Externally, entrepreneurs mainly use applications of Smart Industry to offer their services in a more flexible and customised way. Internally, they see opportunities for digital security.
Aebi Schmidt Netherlands makes salt spreading machines and there, available data is used in two ways. Performance data helps customers improve results and technical data helps them predict when a product will break down. "This way, we can help customers perform maintenance in the right way and at the right time," says managing director Arjan Ester.
KVK also cites sheet metal factory De Cromvoirtse, a company that has been at home with smart technology for some time. Digitisation, for instance, has significantly reduced lead times. "Customers order their materials online with digital drawings," says director Ronnie van den Hurk. "And the use of robots increases production capacity. Ultimately, we are moving more and more towards a manless factory."
Of the 4 in 10 entrepreneurs who say they see no applications for Smart Industry, cite money as the main obstacle. Almost a quarter say they have no or too small an investment budget. Also, 1 in 6 of those questioned said they had insufficient insight into what it would actually yield: more turnover or lower costs. Peter Sleutel, consultant at the ICT Information Centre, argues that thinking ahead is important. "We don't buy software for a short time. An average package will soon last eight years anyway. It is therefore essential to think about what your organisation will look like then."
Source: KVK
