Wajax

The distribution and services industry is currently  experiencing a pivotal turning point, marked by  qualitative and quantitative measures of transformation.  Multiple disruptive forces are affecting the industry  and its stakeholders, as evidenced by financial performance  metrics. To successfully emerge in the industrial market of the  future, companies must not only acknowledge these disruptive  forces, but also recognize the opportunities they present for  differentiation and growth. They must be proactive rather than  reactive, anticipating and shaping customer needs and delivering  solutions to problems that customers may not even be aware  of. Companies that adopt this strategic approach will establish  themselves as industry leaders. 

To stay competitive and succeed in this new market,  companies must keep up with technological trends and ensure  streamlined and effective implementation while creating an  ecosystem that fosters a long-term, symbiotic engagement with  its customers. 

Wajax, for instance, has taken steps to address this  ecosystem challenge by providing a well-connected experience  for its end-users through its TechIQ platform. 

10 Trends Poised to Shape Our Industry 

Here are some insights on the trends that are likely to shape our  industry in the coming years:

1. Customer Expectations - In the industrial services business,  providing a superior customer experience has become  increasingly important. Customers now expect personalized  service, convenience, and digital tools that they have already  become accustomed to in their personal lives. To meet these  expectations, service providers must first understand their  customers’ journeys, which involves knowing the customers,  understanding their preferred methods of interactions,  identifying pain points, and providing a combination of analog  and digital solutions. Human expertise must be leveraged  as a differentiator to provide an optimal experience. By  understanding their customers’ journeys, industrial service  providers can deliver an impeccably satisfying experience that  sets them apart from competitors. 

2. Connected Plant - Organizations must focus on connecting  people, systems, and equipment to offer a comprehensive  solution. This requires leveraging a range of technologies,  including AR/VR, IoT, e-commerce, APIs, and more. By  integrating these technologies, organizations can create a  seamlessly connected experience that allows for real-time  monitoring and data analysis, enabling predictive maintenance  and optimization of equipment performance. 

3. Cellular-Based Sensors - As organizations increasingly turn to  IoT sensors to monitor equipment health, connectivity remains  a significant challenge. Deploying gateways and setting up complex networks can be time-consuming and challenging.  Thankfully, cellular-based sensors are more flexible, and have  two main characteristics companies look for in these products.  First, they eliminate the need for gateways, simplifying the  deployment process. Second, cellular sensors are highly robust,  with each sensor operating independently and relying on cellular  towers rather than potentially vulnerable gateways or routers  within a plant. 

4. Supply Chain - To address the challenge of uncertainty in  the supply chain, companies must adopt a digital strategy that  incorporates automated decision-making with AI, advanced  data analytics, and IoT. These key elements enable the supply  chain to remain efficient and optimized, while also providing  businesses with the agility and resilience necessary to adapt to  changing demands. 

5. Edge + Cloud Processing vs. Edge or Cloud  Computing– It is crucial to consider where  information is stored and processed to  ensure that (a) machines can react  quickly to emergencies and (b) that  systems are secure from cyberattacks  or data leakage. The optimal solution  is to combine edge and cloud  processing to reduce costs, increase  battery life, and improve device  intelligence. 

6. The Shift from Reliability to  Sustainability - As plants become  larger and more complex, reliability has  been the main focus to ensure long-term  operation. However, with the global goal of  achieving sustainability, reliability departments must  now transition to become “sustainable reliability” departments. The long-term goals of clients must guide the efforts to  continuously improve and optimize their operations while  considering environmental demands. Automation of process  data can identify strenuous demands that consume more energy,  and models can approximate emissions to better focus efforts on  sustainability. 

“cellular sensors are highly robust, with each sensor operating independently and relying on cellular towers rather than potentially vulnerable gateways or routers within a plant”

To achieve sustainable uptime, it is not enough to simply  monitor conditions and predict downtime. It is crucial to track  faults that reduce machinery efficiency and tie sustainability,  energy optimization, and reliability together. The future of  wireless IoT is self-charging, which is essential for hundreds of  thousands of sensors deployed everywhere at scale. 

7. Data and Analytics - In the field of data and analytics,  technicians at the end-user site now expect the same level  of data quality from wireless sensor nodes as they do from  traditional handheld analyzers that are 100 times the cost.  To achieve this level of data quality, careful selection of an accelerometer with minimal noise density and high g-value and  bandwidth is crucial. Wajax’s TechIQ sensors have achieved  this level of quality. However, it’s also essential to ensure that  the analytics used are not a black box, but instead use context,  domain knowledge, and pattern recognition techniques to reduce  the amount of data needed to achieve greater than 95 percent  accuracy analysis. 

8. Technology Convergence – The market is saturated with  single-use devices, resulting in a multitude of disparate  technologies being deployed with varying hardware and  software interfaces. There is a critical need for technology  convergence to integrate the functionality of these distinct  devices into a unified platform wherever possible. 

9. Cybersecurity in IoT: State-of-the-Art vs Legacy Systems -  Upgrading legacy IoT systems can be challenging for  some plants, but adopting newer technology can  lead to better operations. Strong cybersecurity  measures are critical to remain competitive  in the industry. Modern IoT devices  adhere to UL2900-2-2 standards,  using AES 256 encryption and IP  address masking for enhanced  security. SOC II Type II certification  by IoT manufacturers is becoming  increasingly prevalent, which  indicates a higher level of security  assurance in the product. 

10. Skilled & Trained Resources -  With an aging, retiring workforce and a  shortage of skilled talent in many industries,  companies face the challenge of attracting and  retaining necessary personnel. Fortunately, technology  can provide some solutions to alleviate this issue in the long  run. By using artificial intelligence to automate repetitive and  time-consuming tasks, companies can focus staff efforts on  more complex and productive tasks. Additionally, connecting  staff across long distances can reduce costs while maximizing  the availability of experts to share knowledge. New technologies  like mixed, parallel, and virtual reality also offer virtual presence  opportunities, allowing users to live-stream and troubleshoot  from anywhere, at any time.

For industrial distributors and service providers to remain  competitive, they must adopt a customer-centric mindset and  leverage industry trends to create a valuable ecosystem for their  customers. This can provide a sustainable competitive advantage  over the long term. For instance, we’ve rolled out TechIQ, a  digital solutions offering that addresses these exact needs for  Wajax customers, and as these trends take hold in the industry,  more and more customers will look to their distributors for these  kinds of options to address their needs.