ASM is a company with more than 35 years of experience providing business software solutions (ERP) and operations and manufacturing management (MES-MOM) mainly for the industrial sector. Currently, with a team of 60 people, they are developing projects for the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central ERP, which is Microsoft’s solution for small and medium-sized industries and factory management projects (MES-MOM) with its own product for small and medium-sized industries (asmCore) and a leading international solution for large companies (TrakSYS).
Why have you decided to go for Mindtech in its third edition in 2023?
We have been committed to Mindtech since its first edition. For ASM, the metal-mechanical industry is a strategic sector, and as members of ASIME, it seems fundamental to us to give visibility to the potential of the sector in our region through Mindtech. In previous editions we have had the opportunity to see the growing interest of companies in our digital solutions oriented to the sector, so we have decided to continue our commitment to Mindtech 2023.
What is the added value for your company when participating in this fair?
For ASM, Mindtech is a meeting point with many of our customers, who are also exhibitors, and also a good opportunity to establish new business contacts. The fair is well attended by companies from our catchment area, which makes it an excellent meeting point.
What novelties will you be presenting at Mindtech 2023?
For Mindtech 2023 we will be presenting new versions of our sector-specific solutions for the metalworking industry.
- asmProjects: Solution based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central for companies with customised or project-based manufacturing.
- App de Fichaje de operarios: App integrated with Business Central to collect the signings of the operators in plant in real time.
- asmCore – Parameterisation of the metalworking industry: Parameterisation of our MES solution for work centres, both for mass production and customised manufacturing. It includes production control, digital quality forms, visualisation of drawings and work instructions…
From your perspective as digitalising agents, how far is the Galician metal-mechanic industry in adapting to this digital factory model and integrated in the supply chain?
It depends on many factors, such as size, sector, business strategy, etc. One example is the metal-mechanic sector, with large multinationals and a large number of SMEs of different sizes. Generally speaking, we will consider that most of these companies already have an ERP system to manage their business processes and simplify production management.
Around 25% of the industry is already in the process of digitalising their manufacturing information, with automatic data capture in real time, oriented to time control, production stoppages and productivity calculation (MES). Functionalities such as quality control, electronic forms or statistical process control have a lower degree of implementation, approximately 10%. Advanced data analysis and process simulation (digital twin) is around 5%.
What digitalisation projects are currently most in demand in the metal-mechanics industry and what is the outlook for the future?
In the metalworking sector, large companies already have business management systems (ERP) and manufacturing management systems (MES). Their objective is to extend the MES to other areas such as Quality Control, Planning, Maintenance… and to increase integration with the ERP in order to move towards the smart factory. In this section we find projects related to integrating in the plant operator interfaces, in addition to the KPIs, the consumption of materials, clocking in, self-controls or access to documentation. The key is to be able to contextualise the data at source and at the same time help the operator to make decisions in real time.
In SMEs, we are seeing projects aimed at replacing their old ERP management systems with solutions based on standard, cloud-compatible platforms. Some of them have already started projects to digitise their manufacturing processes, capturing data in real time for productivity control, and digitising quality controls, eliminating paper from the factory.
What we have observed is that the digitisation plans of all companies have accelerated. We have seen an increase in demand for digital transformation projects, and we expect this trend to continue in the coming years.
Visit ASM Soft at Stand E24 on 20-22 June at Ifevi, Vigo.