02-22-2020, 08:30 AM
The sheet metal industry is starting to see the benefits of Industry 4.0 and a Smart Factory.
This article talks about the changes that are happening in the industry and why it is happening.
Briefly, Laser cutting is a commodity process, so it is assumed it will work, so companies have to differentiate themselves by accurate and competitive pricing, delivery and service. The longer term changes will be software integration with customers for ordering and with suppliers for requesting material. When this starts happening, it will build customer loyalty as the whole process will be simple reliable and cost effective, so changing to another supplier will be more difficult. This already happens in automotive and aerospace within the supply chain and with Industry 4.0 it can become commonplace in all industries.
![[Image: 40451.jpg]](https://machines4sale.com/structure/News_Bar/images/40451.jpg)
This article talks about the changes that are happening in the industry and why it is happening.
Briefly, Laser cutting is a commodity process, so it is assumed it will work, so companies have to differentiate themselves by accurate and competitive pricing, delivery and service. The longer term changes will be software integration with customers for ordering and with suppliers for requesting material. When this starts happening, it will build customer loyalty as the whole process will be simple reliable and cost effective, so changing to another supplier will be more difficult. This already happens in automotive and aerospace within the supply chain and with Industry 4.0 it can become commonplace in all industries.