Digital Thread – Smart Factory Glossary

The digital thread is a functional networking option establishing universal access to distributed data. This means that data from different systems can be merged centrally. The objective is to collect data and augment existing information with some new aspects. When it comes to production, it is not only data from the Manufacturing Execution System (MES) that is relevant, but also data from other areas indirectly involved in value creation, such as logistics or facility management. 

The following image illustrates the basic concept of the digital thread: the thread runs through the entire production landscape and links all relevant information with each other.

To manage the digital thread in production, you can use, for example, a Product Life Cycle Management system representing the entire life cycle of a product. In combination with data from a Manufacturing Execution System (MES), the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system and a comprehensive data analysis, product quality can be improved, and the failure rate reduced.

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