Factbird’s vision for Manufacturing Intelligence

At Factbird Forward 2024, Søren Schønnemann, CEO of Factbird, took the stage to unpack the latest trends in manufacturing and lay out Factbird’s vision of the future.

Unfortunately, the tapes for this presentation were lost when we had some streaming issues, and so this is truly a "you had to be there" moment. Fortunately, we have access to his talking notes. Here is what he had to say.

Factbird Forward: The Future of Manufacturing Intelligence

Thank you for joining us at the first annual Factbird Forward summit!

It’s a pleasure to have you all at this special event highlighting the newest and latest product developments at Factbird.

We’ve got some exciting things to show you. And I have the honor of kicking it off with a brief presentation on where we are now and where we are heading. 

Factbird’s new era

We’ve been helping you track downtime and make data-driven decisions for over eight years.

From our beginning as a solution built for Royal Unibrew, we have excelled at offering plug-and-play production tracking solutions that bring real-time visibility to shop floors.

But, as the world keeps changing, the demands on manufacturers have evolved. It’s time for us to expand the solutions we offer to meet your current and future challenges head-on.

At Factbird, we are entering a new chapter—one that builds on our strong foundation of understanding shop-floor needs and addresses the pressing realities of modern manufacturing.

The pace of change accelerates, and we know that real-time tracking and analysis of downtime is no longer enough. 

The new reality for manufacturing leaders

You, the leaders at the helm of manufacturing organizations, are facing far more complex challenges:

• A technological revolution,
• Shifts in global supply chains,
• The need for a sustainable future,
• And a generational workforce shift where priceless knowledge is walking out the door.

 To stay competitive, you’re under constant pressure to:

• Reduce costs, 
• Increase output,
• Improve product quality,
• Ensure compliance,
• And be sustainable.

The global megatrends shaping our world—automation, IoT, big data, digitalization, Industry 4.0—are no longer just buzzwords. They are your reality, and you need to embrace them today, or your company will be gone tomorrow.

So how does your business not only survive but thrive in this landscape?

This is where Factbird steps in.

‍From data to action: Expanding our vision

We have always made it simple to track downtime and find bottlenecks – this has been great and we have for sure added a lot of value to our customers throughout the years.

But we have also listened to the requests you have sent us and it is clear that modern manufacturing demands more than awareness. That is why we are super proud to announce that we are expanding our platform to deliver holistic operational improvements.

We’re bringing deeper visibility into inefficiencies. We’ll not only identify where things go wrong but also provide deeper insights into the root causes—whether they’re tied to processes, machinery, or people.

We’re making it easier to further digitize operations. Best practices should be built into the systems your teams use and we will therefore help you go paperless, ensuring processes are followed correctly across every plant and every shift. Ready available and digitally traceable at all times.

We’re helping you make sustainable change with skill management, training, and operational excellence tools. The majority of downtime is caused by people not knowing what to do. Factbird will now help close the loop with training modules, skill management, and continuous improvement, ensuring your teams are equipped to sustain improvements long-term.

The future of operational excellence: simple, efficient, and repeatable

We have encountered many, many companies that have tried to build their own internal systems for years but never managed to finish them.

The same goes for using solutions from industrial giants that promise everything but prove just as complex to actually roll out properly.

We understand that the greatest barriers to change are complexity and time and we know you need quick time to value, and that’s what Factbird delivers.

Our expanding platform and apps will be even easier to deploy, simpler to understand, and quicker to bring results.

Since Factbird’s inception, we have been pushing for disruption of the complex layers of manufacturing tech stacks.

We have always aimed to connect data with people seamlessly to help you improve efficiency and reduce waste.

Plug-and-play solutions are still at the heart of what we offer. And we promise to help you with solutions that deliver increasing value as your needs mature.

As my colleague Nikolaj will show, our expanded manufacturing intelligence solutions will provide even more value, reducing data silos, cutting through complexity, and helping you transform your organization. 

The Factbird difference: Grounded in reality, built for the future

It’s not just about knowing what’s happening on your shop floors—it’s about using that knowledge to drive continuous, sustainable improvements across your entire operation.

As we prepare for this next phase, we invite you to join us on the journey. We are solving the problems of today and preparing you for the challenges of tomorrow. 

Let’s eliminate inefficiencies, empower your teams, and build the factory of the future—together.

Enjoy the rest of event!