Views: 27
Summary – Facing the need for agile, responsive production, the connected factory must go beyond simple data viewing to synchronize mobile ERP, IoT, field sensors and automated workflows in real time. This mobile-first convergence streamlines production order management, predictive maintenance, inventory traceability and shop floor/back-office collaboration without vendor lock-in thanks to open APIs and custom applications.
Solution: assess the existing architecture, deploy a modular mobile-IoT ecosystem and implement secure data governance for a rapid, scalable rollout.
Mobility today goes far beyond simply viewing KPIs on a tablet: it has become the primary driver of agile, responsive industrial manufacturing. By combining mobile ERP, the Internet of Things (IoT), field sensors and automated workflows, Swiss companies can connect shop floors, operations and back-office functions.
This mobile-first approach modernizes the production chain without relying on a single vendor, thanks to custom applications, standardized APIs and centralized data governance. Sensors deliver real-time data, operators interact via progressive web apps or specialized devices, and executives access consolidated dashboards—boosting overall performance.
Mobile-First Architectures: Connectivity and Agility on the Shop Floor
Adopting a mobile-first architecture creates a unified entry point into your entire production ecosystem. It ensures smooth data flow between ERP, IoT platforms and field applications.
ERP–IoT Convergence for an Agile Factory
The convergence of ERP and industrial IoT is revolutionizing data collection on the production floor. Smart sensors communicate directly with the management system, eliminating manual entries and associated delays.
By leveraging real-time connectors, every event—machine breakdown, cycle completion or quality alert—triggers an immediate ERP update. Manufacturing orders adjust dynamically to actual throughput and inventory levels, enhancing responsiveness. IT teams benefit from consistent APIs that simplify maintenance and upgrades.
This integration narrows gaps between forecasts and actual production, reduces scrap and optimizes resource utilization. Internal logistics flows gain reliability and traceability while enabling better preventive maintenance planning. The result: shorter cycle times and a high overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
Custom Field Mobile Applications
Tailored mobile business apps are designed to match the unique industrial processes of each site. They account for field ergonomics—gloves, noise, dust—and operators’ specific workflows. Deployment via progressive web apps or native applications depends on needs for speed and offline access.
By decoupling the user interface from the ERP core, screens and user journeys can evolve quickly without impacting data governance. Modules can be activated or deactivated on the fly, offering flexibility as processes change or teams upscale. An integrated automated workflow engine ensures operational consistency.
This adaptability eliminates redundant tasks and minimizes downtime. Operators enjoy intuitive navigation, guided by checklists and contextual notifications. Continuous feedback loops allow rapid application improvements, boosting on-site satisfaction.
Data Governance and Mobile Cybersecurity
The proliferation of mobile devices and IoT sensors raises critical data security and centralization issues. A mobile-first architecture requires a clear governance plan defining access rights and data flows between back office and field devices. This ensures traceability and compliance with Swiss availability standards.
For example, an SME specializing in precision parts manufacturing deployed a quality control solution on industrial tablets. Each inspection writes to a centralized database via a secure API. This unified governance prevented version discrepancies and maintained data consistency across diverse devices.
This case shows that controlling access and standardizing ERP–IoT exchanges protects the production chain from security breaches. The solution evolves through patches and updates without interrupting operations, delivering high resilience and uptime.
Workflow Automation & Real-Time Predictive Maintenance
Automating workflows frees teams from repetitive manual tasks and accelerates operational responsiveness. IoT-driven predictive maintenance anticipates failures and extends equipment life.
Automated Production Workflows
Automated workflows orchestrate each step according to configurable business rules. Once a manufacturing order is released, every phase—procurement, assembly, inspection—is managed by the system. Notifications automatically reach relevant stations, ensuring end-to-end synchronization.
This orchestration reduces human error, improves quality and speeds up time-to-production. Managers can redefine workflow rules based on volume and customer priorities without heavy development. A browser-based console—accessible on mobile or desktop—streamlines these adjustments.
Traceability is complete: every action is timestamped, linked to the mobile user and logged in the ERP. In case of an anomaly, alerts trigger immediate intervention and initiate corrective or escalation processes according to incident severity.
IoT-Based Predictive Maintenance
IoT sensors continuously monitor vibration, temperature and power consumption of machinery. Data flows to a predictive analytics engine hosted on a private or on-premises cloud, detecting early warning signs of failure. Maintenance is scheduled before breakdowns occur, preventing unplanned downtime.
A Swiss food processing plant equipped its grinders with load and speed sensors. Mobile alerts predicted an imminent imbalance in a critical motor. The company avoided several hours of line stoppage, demonstrating the direct impact of predictive maintenance on business continuity.
This approach optimizes in-house resources and lowers costs associated with machine downtime. It also ensures consistent product quality and strengthens collaboration between production and maintenance teams.
Instant Stock and Work Order Synchronization
Real-time updates of inventory and work orders rely on automatic identification—barcode or RFID. Every movement recorded from a mobile device or industrial scanner immediately adjusts ERP levels. This prevents stockouts, overstocking and optimizes scheduling.
Logistics managers receive dynamic dashboards on their smartphones, allowing them to reallocate materials or trigger receipts without delay. Collaboration between the shop floor and warehouse becomes seamless, and picking errors are drastically reduced thanks to mobile-integrated validation steps.
Instant synchronization creates a virtuous cycle: forecasts are continuously refined, production runs on reliable data and customer satisfaction improves thanks to higher finished-goods availability.
Edana: strategic digital partner in Switzerland
We support companies and organizations in their digital transformation
ERP Integration and IoT Connectors Without Vendor Lock-In
Implementing open APIs and modular IoT connectors prevents technological lock-in and simplifies system evolution. Interoperability ensures freedom of component choice and ecosystem longevity.
Standardized APIs for Heterogeneous ERP Systems
RESTful or GraphQL APIs expose core ERP services—inventory, work orders, maintenance, quality—in a uniform manner. They follow open specifications for fast compatibility with any system, whether SAP, Odoo, Microsoft Dynamics or a custom ERP. Development focuses on business logic rather than reinventing core capabilities.
Each endpoint is auto-documented via Swagger or OpenAPI, facilitating onboarding for internal teams and third-party integrators. This transparency shortens time-to-deployment and ensures predictable scalability. Automated integration tests validate updates without disrupting existing operations.
These standardized APIs demonstrate how legacy ERPs can be enhanced with modern IoT and mobile services without rewriting the core. They provide a stable, agile foundation ready for secure future extensions.
Real-Time IoT Connectors
IoT connectors ensure instant data transmission from field sensors to the central system. They normalize, format and enrich raw messages from LoRaWAN, MQTT or OPC-UA sensors. Acting as buffers, these gateways adjust data flow rates based on criticality.
An event bus (Kafka, RabbitMQ) manages message sequencing and resilience. During traffic spikes, non-critical data is queued to preserve bandwidth for vital information. This fine-tuned orchestration maintains quality of service and data integrity.
The modular connector approach allows protocols to be added on the fly without impacting mobile apps or the ERP, while preserving high performance and reliability.
BYOD and Industrial Device Compatibility
The system supports both personal devices (BYOD smartphones, tablets) and rugged industrial terminals. A mobile device management (MDM) layer separates personal and corporate data, ensuring security compliance without compromising user experience.
A logistics company deployed a mixed fleet of Android smartphones and RFID readers. Mobile apps are distributed through a secure internal store. This example shows that hardware flexibility can coexist with centralized security management, without overburdening IT maintenance.
Multi-device compatibility proves that a connected factory doesn’t require excessive infrastructure upgrades: it relies on a robust software layer orchestrating data flows and access rights in a unified manner.
Mobile Dashboards and Cross-Functional Collaboration
Mobile dashboards deliver consolidated, actionable performance insights at every level. They strengthen collaboration between shop floor, management and support functions, streamlining decision-making.
Mobile Dashboards for Executives
Decision-makers access key indicators (OEE, throughput, production costs) continuously via mobile apps or PWAs. Data is consolidated from ERP, Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) and IoT streams, offering a 360° operational view. Clean interfaces highlight essentials for easy reading on the move.
Critical alerts—delays, quality issues, stock risks—are pushed via notifications or SMS, enabling immediate response. Reports can be exported or shared in one click with stakeholders, ensuring full transparency and smooth collaboration.
This real-time visibility empowers executives to oversee the factory remotely, make informed decisions and rapidly implement corrective actions.
Connected Sales Force
The field sales team enjoys mobile access to the CRM module integrated with the ERP, enriched with real-time production and inventory data. They can check availability, place orders and schedule deliveries directly in the app—no separate back office needed. This integration eliminates delays and manual errors.
This scenario highlights how connecting sales to the information system boosts customer satisfaction, accelerates ordering cycles and optimizes routing while providing full transaction traceability.
Shop Floor / Back-Office Collaboration on the Go
Communication between the shop floor and support functions is enhanced by integrated chat and document-sharing features in mobile apps. Operators can attach photos, videos or digital forms to illustrate issues or validate production steps. Information reaches back office instantly.
Part requests, maintenance tickets or quality approvals are managed via a mobile workflow, avoiding phone calls and paper forms. Tickets are tracked, prioritized and assigned in a few taps, ensuring precise, transparent follow-up.
Cross-functional collaboration drastically cuts back-and-forth, speeds up issue resolution and strengthens cohesion between field teams and support services, boosting overall performance.
Industrial Mobility: A Catalyst for Agility and Performance
Mobile ERP combined with IoT and automated workflows redefines modern manufacturing by providing unified visibility, predictive interventions and instant resource management. Open-source architectures, standardized APIs and custom applications ensure scalability without vendor lock-in. Mobile dashboards streamline decision-making and enhance collaboration across all stakeholders.
Transforming your factory into a connected, mobile-first environment requires deep expertise to design a secure, modular solution tailored to your business challenges. Our specialists can support you with audits, architecture definition, development and deployment of your industrial mobile system.
