Watch Taking a Sledgehammer to Bottlenecks 🎥 as Ruth & Steph show how AI actually fixes margins.

Artificial Intelligence

AI for Metals Manufacturing

AI isn’t one thing. It’s a shorthand for a dozen different technologies: machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing, and optimisation algorithms. Each solves a different class of problem.

For metals manufacturers, the most valuable applications are narrow and practical. AI that reads mill certificates in seconds and extracts every heat number, grade, and mechanical property without anyone typing a thing. AI that calculates optimal cut sequences for bar, rebar, and structural sections, cutting scrap by up to 50%. AI that monitors stock levels in real time and flags reorder points before you run short.

None of this requires a data science team or a rip-and-replace ERP project. The best metals AI sits on top of what you already have: your spreadsheets, your email inbox, your existing ERP. It adds intelligence where it counts. You pilot on one product family. You go live in a day. You scale when it works.

Posts here cover practical implementations for metals manufacturers: certificate automation, cutting optimisation, inventory intelligence, and what to expect when you bring AI into a shop that’s been running on Excel and tribal knowledge.

Start with the problem you want to solve. Let the maths do the rest.

Industry 4.0 in a post-Covid world

Mckinsey’s report on manufacturing operations after Covid-19 takes an interesting look into the potential adoption pathways companies will take on the way to Industry 4.0 and some of the ways technology is changing the sector. It also identifies what ’lighthouses’, organisations successfully transforming at scale, are doing to make them succeed.

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6 board-level agenda items and how AI can help

Persistent COVID-19 uncertainty, disruptive technologies, and supply chain challenges are some of the big concerns facing manufacturing CEOs and corporate leaders right now. However, despite uncertainty, we are seeing some promising trends around automation and transforming processes from the back office to the factory floor. Here are the top six board-level agenda items and a look into how AI can help.

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Irish Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference

We’re attending the National Manufacturing & Supply Chain Conference in Dublin, Ireland on the 23rd and 24th of November where our CEO will be giving two talks on how AI drives sustainable manufacturing and the power of no-code tools.

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The Manufacturer MX awards

We are so excited for the reveal of The Manufacturer Top 100 2021 in Liverpool! We are proud to be supporting Helen Anderson of CPI TMD at the awards.

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Digitising your factory floor is hard

Digitising your factory floor is hard, that’s why we try to accelerate digital transformation in other operational areas. Focusing on helping workers, modernising core functions like Finance, and supporting your growth, gives you the opportunity to demonstrate value whilst gaining digital technology maturity. It’s hard to rapidly change, acquire expertise, and digitise the factory floor at the same time. By working in areas that are easier to change you can free up vital staff time to dedicate to the harder challenges.

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Upskilling for the green revolution

92% of manufacturers believe net zero will be achievable for their business by 2050. To make this reality, the government and industry need to put strategies in place that map out how they are going to unlock the skills needed for the green revolution. Make UK and Sage recently teamed up to release a report that investigates the subject and makes some recommendations for success.

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The UK's leading manufacturing event

Digital Manufacturing Week will be taking place next week in Liverpool. You’ll find us there on Wednesday and Thursday the 10th and 11th, on Innovation alley.

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The State of AI and learning from Transformers

Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise report is an enlightening read. This edition focuses on becoming an ‘AI fueled’ organisation. The results come from a survey conducted on 2,875 executives from across the Americas, Europe and Asia. They separated companies into four groups based on their success with AI implementation and identified what was driving the success of the highest performers.

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How you can turn an extra £100 per month IT spend into more than £4,000 of staff time savings monthly

Pressure to be more efficient has never been greater. The good news is there are so many helpful time-saving software as a service tools out there! We’ve made a list of some of the best.

Read More: How you can turn an extra £100 per month IT spend into more than £4,000 of staff time savings monthly

Procurement best practice – what manufacturers can learn

The National Audit Office (NAO) report on ‘Managing the Commercial Lifecycle’ is a great guide to improving your own procurement processes. Here we share some interesting findings and the key areas to make changes in.

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