Combining the Power of Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud & Digital Twins to Transform Small Enterprises

In the US, 99.9% of businesses are small, and over 80% operate without staff⁽ⁱ⁾.

Due to limited budgets, resources, and technology, small businesses often face multiple challenges. These constraints can complicate the tracking and management of physical assets, leading to scattered performance insights and less effective decision-making.

So, how can these businesses overcome these limitations and unlock their full potential?

The answer – digital twin technology.

Digital twin technology offers a solution by creating virtual replicas of physical assets or systems and continuously updating them with real-time data. This provides comprehensive insights into operations, helps identify inefficiencies, and predicts maintenance needs.

Despite its potential, digital twin technology presents challenges such as installation costs, data complexities, and the need for specialized expertise.

This is where Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud comes in!

By leveraging existing data and potentially reducing the need for additional sensors, it lowers cost barriers and acts as a central hub for streamlining data flow into the digital twin. Its user-friendly interface and pre-built functionalities minimize the need for specialized data analysis skills, empowering small businesses to utilize digital twins for better decision-making without requiring significant in-house expertise.

In this blog post, we’ll delve deeper into how digital twins empower small businesses to overcome operational challenges. Additionally, we’ll explore how Salesforce’s Manufacturing Cloud plays a pivotal role in enabling small businesses to compete more effectively.

The Benefits of Using Digital Twin Technology For Small Enterprises

The worldwide digital twin market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 35.7% from 2024 to 2030⁽ⁱⁱ⁾.

The digital twin model uses the data to simulate the behavior and performance of the physical counterpart, enabling small businesses to monitor and optimize their operations.

By creating virtual replicas of physical objects or processes, digital twins leverage real-time data to simulate and predict behavior.

Here are the benefits of using digital twins for your small business.

Enhanced Efficiency

Unilever’s digital twin strategy involves converting hundreds of manufacturing sites into virtual models of the entire supply chain⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾.

This enhances efficiency, minimizes waste, optimizes material use, and ensures compliance with quality standards. Sensors monitor factory operations, sending data to a cloud-based system to create a unique digital twin. On-site staff can access this data via handheld devices to analyze problems, propose effective solutions, and share information with colleagues.

Increased Risk Management

Digital twins simulate asset behavior under various conditions, allowing small businesses to identify safety hazards and manage risks, improving safety and reducing accidents.

For instance, Boeing creates virtual replicas of their aircraft assembly processes, allowing them to test and ensure safety compliance before actual production^(iv), thereby mitigating risks and ensuring worker safety on the production line.

This allows them to test vehicles and ensure safety compliance before production.

Optimized Budget

Digital twins are virtual models that help small businesses save money by optimizing energy use, reducing waste, and preventing downtime.

For example, a digital twin of a manufacturing plant can identify the most energy-efficient processes, reducing energy costs and carbon emissions.

Effective Predictive Maintenance

Digital twins enable small businesses to foresee and prevent potential equipment issues, reducing downtime and extending the lifespan of equipment for cost savings.

For example, Kaeser, a German company, uses an as-a-service model based on customers’ air consumption rates^(v).

Digital twins allow them to proactively diagnose and resolve issues, creating effective predictive maintenance plans.

Improved Decision-Making

Digital twins provide small businesses with extensive data and insights, leading to better decision-making.

For instance, in manufacturing, digital twins can analyze different design variations or manufacturing processes that might impact their product performance and quality.

This data-driven approach helps in strategic planning and operational improvements.

The Challenges of Using Digital Twin Technology for Small Businesses

Digital twin technology offers many benefits for small businesses, but it can also be challenging to implement. There are considerable initial costs involved and you might need some tech skills to set them up, all while keeping the data safe.

Here are some challenges that small businesses can face while using digital twin technology.

Privacy

Digital twins generate vast amounts of data, including sensitive business information, which necessitates strong protection against unauthorized access, theft, or misuse. Many digital twin systems lack robust data privacy and security measures such as encryption, access controls, regular security audits, and compliance with data privacy laws.

Implementation

Setting up digital twins can be expensive for small businesses. This process involves purchasing hardware and software, hiring skilled staff, and investing significant time and resources in development and testing. Costs vary depending on the complexity of the digital twin and the specific industry. Additionally, the implementation process can be lengthy and challenging, requiring small businesses to be well-prepared for effective management.

Expertise

Building and maintaining digital twins demands specialized skills in data analytics, simulation modeling, and software engineering. Small businesses may need to either train their staff or hire external experts with the necessary expertise.

Integration

Digital twins need to integrate seamlessly with existing systems, which can be complex and time-consuming. Ensure that digital twin systems are compatible with the current setup and capable of smooth data sharing.

Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud: Empowering Small Enterprises to Adopt Digital Twin Technology Effectively

While Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud doesn’t directly create digital twins, it can leverage the data they generate to enhance its functionalities for small businesses.

Think of a digital twin as a highly detailed map of your factory floor, constantly updated with live machine performance. Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud acts as the control center, using this real-time information to optimize production schedules, predict equipment failures, and improve overall efficiency.

Here are the features that can significantly empower small enterprises to adopt this technology effectively.

Simplified Business Operations

A digital twin provides real-time insights into a product’s performance, health, and resource usage. When digital twin is integrated with Manufacturing Cloud, it triggers automated responses, such as restocking inventory when levels are low.

These insights enable early detection of issues like supplier delays or machine failures, allowing proactive adjustments to production schedules or alternative sourcing through Manufacturing Cloud, minimizing operational disruptions.

Advanced Business Forecasting

Data from the digital twin can be integrated into Manufacturing Cloud’s analytics tools, enhancing forecast accuracy through the amalgamation of historical trends and real-time product performance data.

Leveraging Salesforce’s AI capabilities, small businesses can anticipate market trends and streamline production processes. By utilizing the digital twin to simulate various scenarios, they can identify optimal production plans before implementation.

Real-Time Contract Updates

If a digital twin detects a potential malfunction in a product. Manufacturing Cloud can be configured to automatically trigger contract updates with customers, informing them about the issue and potential service actions.

Quick Service Delivery

By analyzing data from the digital twin, small businesses can identify usage patterns and potential customer needs. This information can be used in Manufacturing Cloud to target marketing campaigns and tailor service offerings to specific customer segments. The digital twin can also provide real-time diagnostics to service teams, expediting troubleshooting and repairs.

Seamless Integration with Existing Systems

A well-integrated digital twin solution should seamlessly connect with Manufacturing Cloud and other SB systems. This allows for a unified view of product data, customer interactions, and service activities, all informed by the insights from the digital twin.

Conclusion

While the complexities of digital twins might seem daunting for small businesses, the future they unlock is nothing short of transformative.

By leveraging Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud with digital twin technology, businesses can achieve streamlined operations and intelligent decision-making. This powerful combination provides real-time data visibility across the production floor and customer relationship management systems.

It enables small businesses to proactively anticipate bottlenecks and optimize production based on live customer demand. Furthermore, it equips them to adapt quickly to market shifts and become proactive leaders within their industry.

Statistics References:

⁽ⁱ⁾ U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy
⁽ⁱⁱ⁾ Grand View Research
⁽ⁱⁱⁱ⁾ Forbes
^(iv) Appinventiv
^(v) Softengi