AMNYTT 1/2015 | Page 66

66 /112 AMNYTT #1 2015 Det er stor oppmerksomhet rettet mot Industry 4.0 og Integrert produksjon IIoT and Distributed Intelligence In the smart vending machine example, the IIoT order-to-cash automation is saving dollars related to time and labor. But a faster order-to-cash cycle also improves a company’s cash flow position. The perfect order – the right goods, received on time, in the right condition – helps eliminate payment disputes and shortens the order-to-cash cycle for the supplier. But consider the question of the vending machine receiving the right goods in the right condition. Vending machines could come prebuilt with a scanner attached to the inside of the vending machine, present for use when the machine is opened for stocking. The stocker could scan the SKU prior to putting it into the machine, and there would be proof that the right SKUs were being stocked. Similarly, the vending machine could have a digital camera and the stocker could trigger a picture before slotting the product into the machine, thus proving the goods were not damaged. Or, the scanning and pictures could be done using an automatic identification (AutoID) or smartphone device carried by the vending company stocker. In short, there are choices about whether to drive the perfect order sensing functions to the vending machine, or if it should reside on a device carried by the stocker. A study might be needed to determine which makes the most sense for a particular c