See how Fujitsu and Intel used IoT visibility to reduce delays, improve repair prioritization, and connect factory data to smarter scheduling.
The Fujitsu and Intel IoT trial showed how real-time visibility can improve manufacturing process flow. The plant connected factory data, video records, beacon sensors, and repair-area status. As a result, teams could trace defects faster, prioritize work by shipping deadlines, and reduce delay-related shipping costs.
The same lesson applies to APS. Factory data only creates value when planners can use it to improve capacity, constraints, priorities, and schedules.
IoT can improve manufacturing processes when it helps teams see issues sooner and act before delays reach the customer. Fujitsu and Intel's recent collaboration is a useful example of that idea in practice.
Fujitsu Limited completed a field trial with Intel Corporation at its Shimane Fujitsu location. The project connected the Fujitsu cloud service IoT platform with the Intel IoT gateway. As a result, the plant improved visibility into testing and repair work and reported a 30% reduction in shipping costs tied to delays.
In practice, IoT visibility helps manufacturers see what is happening across machines, test stations, repair areas, and product movement. That visibility matters most when teams can use it to act sooner.
For planners, the goal is not more data. Instead, the goal is better decisions about capacity, materials, labor, constraints, priorities, and due dates.
First, the plant needed a better way to trace failures after product functionality testing. When a fault appeared, the product moved to a repair area for diagnosis, analysis, and repair.
However, teams could not always repeat the same production sequence that caused the fault. Without real-time visibility, they could not easily recreate the problem, review the exact process, or find the cause of the defect.
Also, the repair area had another problem. Staff did not have a real-time view of fulfillment, logistics, or shipping requirements. As a result, they could not always prioritize products by shipping deadline.
Therefore, that lack of visibility created extra transportation cost, late shipments, and avoidable pressure on the repair process.
First, Fujitsu and Intel used IoT data to make testing and repair work more visible. The team recorded the functionality testing process on video. The system captured the exact process and the related error code.
Then, the Intel IoT gateway analyzed the video feed. This helped the plant map the actions that led to the error and look for repeatable patterns.
Also, the team applied real-time visibility to the repair area. A beacon sensor tracked each product in repair. Workers could see where the product was, how long it had been there, and when it needed to ship.
Therefore, employees could prioritize repairs based on better information. The plant reported fewer repair bottlenecks, more on-time orders, and a 30% reduction in shipping costs tied to delays.
In short, IoT data matters only when teams can use it to make better decisions. Real-time visibility can help manufacturers trace defects, prioritize work, and respond before delays affect customers.
However, visibility alone does not create a better schedule. Planners still need to connect IoT data with orders, resources, materials, labor, constraints, and due dates.
Therefore, IT and operations need to work together. IT helps connect systems, protect data, and support integration. Operations defines which signals should change the schedule.
In practice, APS integration with ERP and MES systems helps manufacturers turn factory data into production decisions. IoT data can show what is happening on the floor. APS helps planners decide what should happen next.
Also, PlanetTogether APS helps teams connect real-time insight to:
Therefore, IT, planning, and operations teams can work from a shared view of the plant instead of reacting from disconnected systems.
In this video, operations leaders can see how IT connects APS, IoT data, and existing ERP/MES systems without disrupting daily production.
Use it to start a practical conversation about secure integration, data governance, and smart-factory planning. Again, the goal is not more data. The goal is better scheduling decisions.
Use IoT visibility when: teams need real-time data from equipment, test stations, repair areas, or product movement.
Use ERP or MES data when: planners need orders, routings, inventory, production status, and operational records.
Use APS when: factory data needs to shape the schedule through capacity, constraints, materials, priorities, and due dates.
Use IT–OT collaboration when: integration, data quality, security, or system ownership slows action on real-time information.
Similarly, the Fujitsu–Intel IoT project shows how better connectivity and real-time insight can help a plant reduce delays and lower shipping costs.
For complex electronics or communication-network products, the same issue can appear around shared resources, test stations, repair loops, and schedule changes.
In this case, our Communication Networks case study shows how a high-tech manufacturer used PlanetTogether to connect production data, visualize constraints in real time, and keep orders flowing through shared resources and test stations.
Download the Communication Networks case study to see how APS supports shared resources, test stations, and high-tech manufacturing schedules.
Fujitsu and Intel tested how IoT visibility, video records, gateway data, and beacon sensors could improve defect tracing, repair prioritization, and shipping decisions.
In short, IoT can improve manufacturing processes by making equipment, product status, test results, repair flow, and delivery priorities more visible to teams.
Real-time visibility helps teams see where products are, how long they have waited, and which orders need attention before shipping deadlines are missed.
Most importantly, IoT data becomes more useful when it feeds production scheduling, capacity planning, constraint visibility, and priority decisions.
In practice, APS can help planners turn data from IoT devices, ERP systems, MES systems, and test equipment into schedules that reflect capacity, materials, constraints, and due dates.
Finally, you can connect IoT data, ERP/MES systems, and production scheduling in one planning process. Request a PlanetTogether APS demo to see how APS helps manufacturers turn factory visibility into better schedules.
Also, invite your IT partner. The session is built for both technical and operations stakeholders.
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