SAP Cloud Platform extends Industry 4.0 manufacturing technology
From Jim O’Donnell
Newswriter
Published: 01 May 2017
SAP announced two partnerships that enable SAP Cloud Platform to extend IoT and robotics in manufacturing. The partnerships with Mitsubishi Electric Europe and KUKA AG were made at the HANNOVER MESSE industrial trade show, held recently in Hannover, Germany.
SAP and Mitsubishi Electric Europe announced that SAP will participate in the Mitsubishi Electric e-Factory Alliance partner program. The partnership enables Mitsubishi Electric’s automation applications to operate with SAP Cloud Platform, and by using SAP’s IoT features Mitsubishi Electric can transfer preselected data from the automation applications to SAP Cloud Platform. This extends Mitsubishi Electric’s e-Factory to partners and customers to offer value-added IoT-based services for the manufacturing and process industry sectors, according to SAP.
The new IoT-based services include remote device and connectivity management, monitoring production status and asset availability, and predictive maintenance that allows operators to benefit from the long-term analysis of factory data.
“Mitsubishi Electric has long provided leading-edge technologies for the collection of production information, and now our partnership with SAP enables our customers to easily connect with SAP Cloud Platform,” said Hartmut Pütz, president, Factory Automation — European Business Group for Mitsubishi Electric Europe, in a press release. “Here, our e‑Factory Alliance partner, SAP, provides tools and applications to enable users to utilize production information to the fullest extent.”
Several SAP applications can be integrated in the e-Factory program. Operators can use SAP Asset Intelligence Network to provide management of asset information and improve communication with service providers. SAP Hybris Cloud for Customer can support service teams in scheduling maintenance activities and provide technicians with mobile access and an augmented reality app to identify problems quickly, according to the release.
“The opportunity of digitalization is all about intelligently connecting people, things and businesses,” said Rolf Schumann, SAP senior vice president and global general manager of platform and innovation. “The partnership between Mitsubishi Electric and SAP enables customers and partners to easily link shop floor and asset information with SAP Cloud Platform for advanced analytics. With the help of SAP Cloud Platform we can reach deep integration into business processes and customers can benefit from driving real value from operational information.”