Sanmina Surpasses 25,000 Pieces of Manufacturing Equipment Connected in the Cloud

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42Q today announced that Sanmina Corporation has reached the milestone of connecting more than 25,000 pieces of manufacturing equipment to the 42Q cloud solution. Sanmina Corporation uses 42Q for real-time manufacturing visibility, process and quality control across their operations and as the backbone for "instant IOT" (Internet of Things) and manufacturing automation initiatives. The organization currently has 42Q deployed in more than 50 factories in 15 countries worldwide, including full integration with highly complex surface mount production (SMT) and "lights out" fully automated production lines.

"Sanmina developed and used an advanced on-premise MES for many years, but this system had high hardware and maintenance costs. They needed a solution to connect all of their facilities and equipment for management and control in real time," said Srivats Ramaswami, CTO, 42Q. "The company made a strategic decision to adopt a cloud based MES that can be used by Sanmina and its customers. With 42Q, Sanmina now has real-time factory and supply chain visibility, providing executives with the data they need to make smart decisions."

Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) initiatives are central to digital factory transformation and provide a framework for linking production, automation and analytics. The convergence of low-cost storage and sensors, powerful artificial intelligence and analytics, widespread adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) and the cloud, promises an intelligent interaction of the real and virtual worlds – with huge impact for global supply chains and manufacturing. However, many are asking if these initiatives are real, gaining traction, or just hype.  Furthermore, people often ask what the value or ROI (return on investment ) is of these initiatives, and if they are being embraced and advanced by leading companies. The results achieved with more than 25,000 pieces of equipment connected to the cloud is proof that the combination of the cloud, IIoT and 42Q significantly improve global supply chain visibility, real time production control and operating efficiency.

Making more than 200 million top level assemblies for hundreds of customers in 2016, Sanmina reconfigures production lines daily and manages a large number of engineering and scheduling changes each week. Over a period of 20 years, Sanmina developed an advanced on-premise MES to manage its factories and meet customer demands for agility and quality. Five years ago, Sanmina recognized the potential of a true cloud MES solution, and its impact on real time global supply chain and factory management. With 42Q, Sanmina Corporation has a system that synchronizes their production, warehouse and quality processes for over 50 factories and a global multi-tiered supply chain. The system creates a virtual representation, or "digital twin" of their operations, providing unmatched real-time visibility into all aspects of its business.

For example, in hundreds of production lines around the world, WIP (work in process), production rates and yields are monitored by 42Q in real-time. Real-time text alerts are sent to production staff automatically when key business indicators fall below a programmed threshold. For some production lines, raw material levels are continuously monitored by 42Q, and guided vehicles deliver components from automated warehouses to replenish workstations. Alerts are automatically sent to production staff to be at that workstation when the guided vehicle arrives.

"Leveraging 42Q's cloud-based MES platform to connect automated production lines, supply chain systems, and the plant floor has led to dramatic improvements in our business operations. Teams now make decisions more quickly, based upon real-time data," said Manesh Patel, CIO, Sanmina Corporation. "With more than 25,000 devices connected around the world, our manufacturing teams are automatically notified of any production parameters running below target. Quality personnel have confidence in production lines that use forced routings and components that are scanned and verified. 42Q can also verify the electronic training records for production staff when they badge scan or log into their workstation."

After their conversion to 42Q, there were many unanticipated benefits:

• Plants self deployed MES with no support from I.T. or 42Q
• Because of this, 42Q was rapidly adopted and its use expanded rapidly
• Manufacturing engineering management got an easy to deploy "backbone" for "instant IOT" and automation initiatives

42Q delivers a comprehensive and proven cloud-based MES solution which operates between an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and the manufacturing equipment in a factory, enabling simpler and more cost effective implementation of a smart factory and Industry 4.0. With robust and proven functionality, 42Q helps manufacturers more easily cross traditional boundaries of automation, engineering, operations and IT. Currently deployed in more than 50 factories worldwide, 42Q's proven, scalable solution allows organizations to eliminate the lengthy infrastructure acquisition and configuration process, and deploy the solution for immediate benefit.

About 42Q

42Q is a leading provider of cloud MES solutions, implemented in over 50 manufacturing facilities. Our mission is to deliver scalable, flexible and easy to implement manufacturing solutions to our customers. Our management team has extensive experience with the architecture, development and implementation of advanced MES and manufacturing automation systems deployed across a broad range of vertical markets. 42Q is a business unit of Sanmina Corporation.