Unlock Business Value with the New Snowflake Manufacturing Data Cloud

Manufacturers today are implementing a range of new technologies to increase operational efficiency and create visibility and flexibility across value chains. These include robotics, automation, data analytics, IoT, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), according to Deloitte. Company leaders hope these innovations will help them create more productive and resilient supply chains, improve production quality and efficiency, and mitigate risks. However, many manufacturers need help accessing and integrating the data needed to power these initiatives, as it is often siloed across different systems, platforms, and locations.

That’s why Snowflake launched the Manufacturing Data Cloud, a global network designed to help manufacturers unlock the value of their critical data and collaborate with their partners, suppliers, and customers in a secure and scalable way. The Manufacturing Data Cloud is part of the Snowflake platform, which offers a single, fully managed, multi-cloud platform for data consolidation, governance, and performance. It is intended to help empower manufacturers in the automotive, technology, energy, and industrial sectors to improve supply chain performance, product quality, and factory efficiency. Snowflake's ecosystem of 50 manufacturing partners delivers pre-built solutions and industry data sets to support a diverse set of manufacturing and industrial use cases.

Here are four capabilities of the Manufacturing Data Cloud that can help you drive visibility, agility, and performance across the entire value chain:

1. Build a secure, scalable data foundation: Data silos can have many consequences for manufacturers. Leaders can make inaccurate decisions as they struggle to analyze data from disparate sources. Data science teams can waste time looking for or reconciling data, leading to decreased efficiency. Security risks can arise when confidential information is stored in multiple, and potentially unsecured, locations. With the Manufacturing Data Cloud, you can easily incorporate both IT and OT data from various sources, such as ERP systems, sensors, machines, and cloud services, into a single source of truth that can be securely accessed by anyone who needs it. You can also apply consistent governance and security policies across your data assets, ensuring compliance and quality.

2. Boost supply chain performance: According to a recent McKinsey survey of supply chain leaders, 45% of respondents say they have no visibility into upstream supply chain, and many see only as far as first-tier suppliers. The Manufacturing Data Cloud provides near real-time visibility into the operations and performance of your end-to-end supply chain, data to identify potential bottlenecks and risks, and insights to optimize inventory and logistics. With the data Marketplace and data collaboration capabilities of Snowflake, companies can gain greater visibility into their supply chain. 

3. Power smart manufacturing initiatives: According to Deloitte, more than 60% of surveyed manufacturing executives are partnering with technology companies to accelerate their smart manufacturing initiatives. The Manufacturing Data Cloud enables the ingestion and convergence of IT and OT data—a key requirement for smart manufacturing. You can leverage Snowflake’s powerful analytics and AI/ML capabilities to generate insights and predictions to improve production quality and efficiency, reduce waste and downtime, and automate processes. You can also use Snowflake Marketplace to access external data sets that can augment your internal data and provide new perspectives and opportunities.

4. Leverage a network of industry-leading partner solutions: The Manufacturing Data Cloud provides the advantage of a robust partner ecosystem and industry-specific, prebuilt templates to drive innovation, reduce time to value, and build more valuable solutions. The Powered by Snowflake program features applications that enable manufacturers to manage their supply chain with control towers and automated management processes, and to measure risk across third-party contractors and suppliers. Snowflake Marketplace partners enable seamless access to a variety of data sources leveraging Snowflake’s privacy-preserving collaboration technology, to analyze ESG, supply chain disruptions, and market forecasts. Consulting and service companies offer pre-built solutions for key manufacturing use cases. Technology partners provide integrations and out-of-the-box solutions so customers can access deeper insights and realize the full power and ease of use of Snowflake. 

The Manufacturing Data Cloud is designed to help you deliver improved supply chain performance and embrace Industry 4.0 with data-driven innovation and agility. Whether you are in the automotive, technology, energy, or industrial sector, you can benefit from Snowflake’s Manufacturing Data Cloud to transform your business outcomes.

To learn more about how Snowflake's Manufacturing Data Cloud can help you achieve your manufacturing goals, visit Snowflake for Manufacturing. More information on our Manufacturing Data Cloud launch partner solutions is available here. Also, be sure to register for our launch webinar to watch Snowflake and industry experts showcase the Manufacturing Data Cloud in action.