8 TECH OUTLOOKFebruary 2017Disruptive Trends in Manufacturing ITBy Michele C. D'Alessandro, VP & CIO, Manufacturing IT, Merck & Co., Inc.IN MY OPINIONThe manufacturing world is undergoing its fourth industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, spurred by the proliferation of digital capabilities (Internet of Things), and the integration of these capabilities into existing production and supply systems. Although there are skeptics of the Industry 4.0 movement, one cannot ignore technology's impact on the way manufacturers--including those in the pharmaceutical industry--conduct business.While the marriage of the physical world of pharmaceutical manufacturing and the cyber world is complex and challenging, it is also exciting for anybody fortunate enough to focus on it. A multitude of technology advances are being heralded at an increasing rate. Non-traditional firms are entering the manufacturing IT space, offering innovative and next generation options. Pharma manufacturing technology professionals are pressured to innovate and adopt in order to get a leg up on the competition, grow their industry positions, or, at the very least, ensure they don't lag behind.The following disruptive trends are a source of great opportunity--as well as challenge--for those in Pharma IT:1. Additive manufacturing driving innovationAdditive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, creates physical objects based on a digital model by "printing" (applying) materials in successive layers. This digital technology has produced the likes of airplane engine parts, medical/dental implants, custom prosthetics, and even innovative product designs not previously possible. It is already leveraged in manufacturing across consumer goods, art, fashion and the like. And with the advances in material science, alloys and composites, the revolutionary potential across the manufacturing spectrum is unlimited. For Pharma specifically, there are numerous possibilities from the printing of prototype machine and lab parts, to artwork and labels, to molecular models.2. Advanced Analytics (Multi-Source and Multivariate) providing new insightsThe information age has created mountains of data in every field. More data has been created in the past two years than in the entire history of the human race--and manufacturing generates more data than any other sector. That being said, the proliferation of data itself is not the disruption. The disruption is the way the data is processed, made available, and ultimately used Michele C. D'Alessandro
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