Trouble in Your Tank: Implementing Direct Metallization in Advanced Substrate Packaging
It’s Only Common Sense: Storytelling That Sells—Stop Pitching, Start Painting Pictures
The Right Approach: Get Ready for ISO 9001 Version 6
One-stop Shop MRO Distributors Best Positioned to Tap Growth Opportunities Created by IIoT-Enabled Plants
June 14, 2018 | Frost & SullivanEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)-assisted machinery are proving highly valuable tools for plant owners keen to reduce operational expenditure (OPEX) in a volatile economic environment. Changing competitive landscapes and customer preferences, the emergence of advanced digital technologies, and the threat of price wars are compelling manufacturers to enhance their asset lifecycle to remain viable. Maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) companies will gain a valuable competitive advantage by leveraging IIoT-based technologies such as Big Data & Analytics, cloud infrastructure, and mobility.
IIoT Predictive Maintenance.png"Digitization of the manufacturing process has heightened demand for MRO distributors with the engineering expertise to support plant owners' transition from preventive to predictive maintenance,” said Kiravani Emani, Research Analyst for Industrial Automation & Process Control at Frost & Sullivan. "This is changing the business model of MRO, as the distributors position themselves as end-to-end service providers that have embraced digital-based technologies."
Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, IIoT Predictive Maintenance—Redesigning the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Approach, 2018, identifies the key end-user requirements, unmet needs, and the role of IIoT technologies in redefining the value proposition of MRO distributors.
To optimally tap the market demand, MRO distributors need to simplify the supply chain by leveraging the online platform and embedding a track and trace feature to decrease the number of channels needed to procure the product.
Other key growth strategies to attract a wider pool of service customers include:
- Building strong supplier relationship
- Establishing a robust e-commerce platform to enter emerging markets and serve small- and medium-sized businesses
- Integrating inventories with automation software to control the company's spend on inventory management
- Developing a mobile application that enables effective management of plant inventories
- Providing support services round the clock
"At present, the MRO market is witnessing rapid consolidation wherein distributors are aggressively expanding their product portfolio and global footprint. Establishing a connected environment with strong IT and communication infrastructure will give accessibility to experts across locations and eventually, raise the value of IIoT-enabled predictive maintenance," noted Emani.
IIoT Predictive Maintenance—Redesigning the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Approach, 2018 is part of Frost & Sullivan’s global Industrial Automation & Process Control Growth Partnership Service program.
About Frost & Sullivan
For over five decades, Frost & Sullivan has become world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success.
Share on:
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
Sustainability and Selective Soldering
09/15/2025 | Dr. Samuel J. McMaster, Pillarhouse InternationalSustainability is more than just a buzzword for the electronics industry; it’s a key goal for all manufacturing processes. This is more than a box-ticking exercise or simply doing a small part for environmentally friendly processes. Moving toward sustainable solutions drives innovation and operational efficiency.
Trouble in Your Tank: Implementing Direct Metallization in Advanced Substrate Packaging
09/15/2025 | Michael Carano -- Column: Trouble in Your TankDirect metallization systems based on conductive graphite are gaining popularity throughout the world. The environmental and productivity gains achievable with this process are outstanding. Direct metallization reduces the costs of compliance, waste treatment, and legal issues related to chemical exposure. A graphite-based direct plate system has been devised to address these needs.
EV Group Achieves Breakthrough in Hybrid Bonding Overlay Control for Chiplet Integration
09/12/2025 | EV GroupEV Group (EVG), a leading provider of innovative process solutions and expertise serving leading-edge and future semiconductor designs and chip integration schemes, today unveiled the EVG®40 D2W—the first dedicated die-to-wafer overlay metrology platform to deliver 100 percent die overlay measurement on 300-mm wafers at high precision and speeds needed for production environments. With up to 15X higher throughput than EVG’s industry benchmark EVG®40 NT2 system designed for hybrid wafer bonding metrology, the new EVG40 D2W enables chipmakers to verify die placement accuracy and take rapid corrective action, improving process control and yield in high-volume manufacturing (HVM).
Integrating Uniplate PLBCu6 With the Digital Factory Suite
09/12/2025 | Giovanni Obino and Andreas Schatz, MKS' AtotechPrinted circuit board manufacturing is rapidly changing, driven by miniaturization, stringent reliability requirements, and growing pressure for sustainable production. Meeting these challenges requires more than incremental improvements; it demands a combination of precise equipment and real-time process intelligence. The pairing of Uniplate® PLBCu6 with the Digital Factory Suite (DFS) demonstrates how hardware and software can work together to create more responsive, resource-efficient manufacturing.
Closing the Loop on PCB Etching Waste
09/09/2025 | Shawn Stone, IECAs the PCB industry continues its push toward greener, more cost-efficient operations, Sigma Engineering’s Mecer System offers a comprehensive solution to two of the industry’s most persistent pain points: etchant consumption and rinse water waste. Designed as a modular, fully automated platform, the Mecer System regenerates spent copper etchants—both alkaline and acidic—and simultaneously recycles rinse water, transforming a traditionally linear chemical process into a closed-loop system.