Harness the power within, drive profitability, and make sustainability a priority
The challenges are real. Staffing shortages. Lagging productivity. Asset reliability woes. While we can’t fix all the business challenges you face, we like to think that IFS offers more than software; it’s a partnership for success.
As with every release, we are on a mission to simplify the process of using AI. We want you to realize the value of Industrial AI as soon as it’s implemented so that you can just start using it. We’ve developed specific AI-powered use cases tailored to your industry and business needs to achieve this. These use cases are embedded into IFS Cloud, making them easy to access, use, and deliver real value by enabling you to leverage your existing data (projects, assets, services, machine data, maintenance manuals, etc.).
We want to empower you with solutions for your industry, and with the latest release of IFS Cloud, that is no exception. Delivering two releases a year, both releases in 2024 were driven around three key business themes:
- Power Potential
With the release of IFS Cloud 24R2, you can amplify productivity and experiences to overcome staffing issues with AI-powered automation, streamlining workflows, and improving user experiences. You can also extend asset longevity by anticipating and preventing equipment failures and maximizing asset uptime and lifespan.
- Drive Profitability
Fine-tuning your operations is key to achieving profitability, and IFS Cloud 24R2 helps you optimize for success by lowering costs and increasing margins through reducing waste, optimizing resource allocation, and identifying cost-saving opportunities with AI-driven insights. Additionally, it helps build and retain value by streamlining global operations for greater efficiency, unlocking new business models, and empowering your team to deliver exceptional customer service.
- Make Sustainability a Competitive Advantage
Sustainability isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a strategic imperative. IFS Cloud 24R2 equips you to meet compliance demands by staying ahead of complex regulations like CSRD with comprehensive reporting tools and guidance on sustainable practices. It also helps you optimize resource utilization by minimizing waste across your operations and contributing to a circular economy so that you can take action for a better future. Read more about what we’ve explicitly delivered in this latest release below.
24R2 What’s New?
Asset Management
FMECA, or Failure Mode and Effect Criticality Analysis, is a powerful method for identifying potential failure modes and their potential effects on asset performance. In 24R2, we build into IFS Cloud the ability to identify failure modes, the criticality of an asset in the context of its use, and the different ways you can see the repair optimally perform, helping you proactively identify and mitigate risks.
By leveraging document management and AI, we bring in a lot of your asset information and its failure modes and then automatically surface relevant information to a copilot to generate prompts that guide users through the FMECA analysis. This AI-powered approach rapidly consolidates information to speed up the analysis process and improve accuracy, ultimately improving asset reliability and performance.
Aviation Maintenance
In 24R2, we’ve optimized mobile capabilities to reduce manual data entry for frontline aviation mechanics. By leveraging barcode scanning and automated data retrieval, mechanics can allocate more time to “on-metal” tasks and less to data entry.
Furthermore, we’ve strengthened the integration between pilot electronic logbooks and the activity of maintenance personnel streamlining processes in the day of operations. Lastly, we’ve enhanced parts tracking for components that come in without serial numbers and other information by generating internal tracking numbers and managing their flow through the maintenance process, ensuring efficient and effective turnaround.
ERP
IFS Cloud 24R2 introduces significant advancements in ERP, including an innovative AI-based forecasting method within our time series forecasting model for demand planning. This enhancement improves forecast accuracy, enabling businesses to reduce stock levels while maintaining service levels.
Building on the success of our Manufacturing Scheduling Optimization (MSO) solution, 24R2 introduces powerful simulation capabilities so planners can compare capacity ad load scenarios. This AI-driven production planning and scheduling engine considers critical factors such as component shortages, lead times, and demand variability. Now, in 24R2, by analyzing various “what-if” scenarios, manufacturers can increase effectiveness in production planning, optimize resource allocation, maximize capacity utilization for more realistic production schedules, and ultimately better meet customer demand.
In the world of HCM, establishing objectives can be time-consuming and difficult leading to low employee engagement. This latest IFS Cloud release introduces SMART Objective Generation. AI supports the creation of meaningful objectives within the context of a job and company values.
Service Management
IFS Cloud 24R2 introduces significant advancements in service management. AI-powered features like the IFS Home for Dispatchers provide intelligent insights to help dispatchers make informed decisions, such as prioritizing tasks and allocating resources effectively. For example, if a technician hasn’t logged on in the morning. What do we need to do? Presenting information to dispatchers in an intelligent manner in real time is important to help them manage exceptions.
The release also enhances appointment booking capabilities, facilitating efficient scheduling and resource allocation. Additionally, for contractor management, the introduction of bucket resources simplifies capacity management at a broader level.
Sustainability
Organizations face a multitude of sustainability challenges, including regulatory compliance, carbon emissions reduction, and complex reporting requirements. With a little help from our friends, IFS Cloud 24R2 saw the launch of the Sustainability Management solution in IFS Cloud to help organizations navigate the sustainability disclosure landscape.
This centralized solution enables efficient management of sustainability data collection, analysis, performance tracking, and disclosure. The solution enables organizations to meet the rigorous requirements of complex directives like the CSRD and other emerging standards. By leveraging the data sourced from IFS Cloud, organizations can make informed decisions that drive sustainability action, enhance transparency, mitigate risks, and optimize resource utilization.
The IFS Emission Tracker app continues to advance in 24R2, helping customers calculate their carbon footprint to meet global requirements. In this release, we have further expanded Scope 3 or indirect emissions support.
There is more good news in the area of sustainability with new functionality in our procurement solution. Procurement managers can now accurately identify carbon emission figures associated with procured goods and services through primary and secondary sources, enabling a better understanding of the impact of procurement activities at the source.
Additionally, we’ve integrated with Climatiq, a third-party carbon intelligence solution provider, and leveraged AI to provide estimated carbon emissions for purchases. This information can be used in Eco footprint management in manufacturing and the new Sustainability module as inputs to key performance indicators (KPIs).
Industrial AI is IFS.ai
As you have read, there is a lot packed into this release and IFS Cloud 24R2 represents another step towards ensuring Industrial AI solutions are embedded into every aspect of your business.
To learn more about the exciting features of IFS Cloud 24R2, please visit our What’s New web page, which provides access to our Release Showcase demonstrations.
