April 28, 2025 A Sustainable Future Requires Flexible Manufacturing

The path to a more sustainable future includes embracing innovation, fostering collaboration and recognizing global responsibility.

By Hermann Reiter, Senior Director, Supplier Business Development at DigiKey

As technological advancement rapidly propels us forward, the pressure to build a more sustainable future has never been greater. The road to a greener tomorrow is filled with environmental and logistical challenges that require a unified approach across manufacturers, distributors and supply chains to create effective new approaches and systems.

Traditional manufacturing models are known for prioritizing efficiency over sustainability – and being resource-intensive. A truly sustainable future demands a paradigm shift. Flexible manufacturing systems offer a promising path forward. By embracing adaptability and agility, manufacturers can reduce waste, optimize resource utilization and start adopting principles of circularity where resources are continuously recycled and reused.

While there is still much work to be done, many leaders and companies in the manufacturing industry are already collaborating and using their innovative technologies to leverage data, analytics and automation to help customers make more informed decisions, choose smarter products, implement sustainable practices, reduce greenhouse emissions and more.

As a leading global electronic components distributor, along with several of our supplier partners, DigiKey has firsthand insight into the positive impact of the digitalization movement and how it’s helping reduce everything from energy use to water consumption, inefficient labor hours and excessive costs in manufacturing facilities across sectors.

The European Imperative: Prioritizing a Sustainable Future

While the global manufacturing industry is gaining significant momentum on sustainability goals, European leaders and government officials are leading the charge. The European Union aims to be an economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Parliament adopted the EU Climate Law in June 2021 to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. These ambitious targets necessitate a fundamental shift across all sectors of the economy, with manufacturing playing a pivotal role.

While the pressure to decarbonize has been high, the European Union is on the road to streamlining and simplifying its sustainability rules, such as reporting requirements and compliance deadlines, for corporations through a new proposed omnibus regulation. If approved, the goal is to reduce administrative and reporting burdens on companies and unlock more business investment in sustainability efforts,

We know meeting sustainability targets requires a holistic approach, meaning “everybody is in scope” – calling for every individual, department and process within an organization to contribute to the sustainability journey.

According to the 2023 IDC Global Sustainability Readiness Survey, 45% of EMEA manufacturers noted sustainability-related requirements from business partners were a top driver for operationalizing sustainability, followed by mitigating risks associated with non-sustainable operations and improving brand reputation.

Optimizing Sustainability: A Call for Flexibility

With important drivers in place, the shift to flexible manufacturing is positively impacting sustainability and efficiency efforts. One DigiKey supplier – Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), a global semiconductor leader in security, AV and low-voltage products – is seeing this impact. ADI customers are investing in adaptable manufacturing within their own plants. This enables production lines to be changed quickly when necessary, building capabilities to react faster to different regional requirements.

Flexible manufacturing is a production method that allows manufacturers to quickly pivot with changes in product demand. It uses automation to manage production processes and can enable the following outcomes:

• Reduce waste: By responding quickly to changing market demands and minimizing overproduction, manufacturers can reduce material waste and lower environmental impact. For example, if battery longevity in the electronics market can be improved, products like mobile phones can last longer or be more readily recycled.
• Optimize resource utilization: Updating production lines to incorporate renewable energy sources, optimizing material usage, and minimizing energy consumption can have strong benefits. I recently visited Schneider Electric, which is treating its wastewater to produce hydrogen and cut CO2 emissions. They are also using solar panels to generate electricity – all of which are impressive efforts to drive change.

Connecting Digital Signals: Data-Driven Sustainability

Digital technologies are crucial to sustainable manufacturing. Digital signals are data points generated by sensors and machines in a factory. These signals are then converted into a digital format to be analyzed and used to monitor, control and optimize production processes, provide real-time insights and improve efficiency levels.

Reports generated by connected solutions can indicate machine status, product quality, material levels and other measures in real-time through embedded vision systems. This allows for better quality control, predictive maintenance scheduling and overall process efficiency.

By connecting digital signals and data across the value chain, manufacturers can gain valuable insights into their environmental footprint. An example is a smart dust collector in a manufacturing facility that provides real-time updates on airflow quality, differential pressure and production runs from a single dashboard.

Engineering a More Sustainable Future: Logistics as a Lever

When considering how to optimize operations, it’s fundamental to begin by looking at material flow, industrial vision and automated robotic systems – key areas that are helping move the industry toward a more sustainable future.

Optimizing material flow within and between facilities minimizes transportation distances, reduces fuel consumption and lowers emissions. For example, ADI is implementing a net-zero warehouse to equalize energy from renewable sources as it consumes them. In our warehouses, DigiKey uses automation to increase productivity, utilize space better and maintain inventory accuracy in our distribution center. We also bundle orders to save on packaging, space and freight costs when shipping products. Every sustainable action or practice put into action adds up from an environmental perspective.

Another area driving sustainable manufacturing innovation is automated robotic systems that improve warehouse efficiency, reduce labor costs, lower the risk of errors and minimize the environmental impact of transportation. Vision systems are also optimizing warehouse operations and improving inventory management.

Managing logistics can be complex, but using them to support your company’s sustainability plan can result in significant ROI and increase long-term profitability.

A Call to Action

The path to a more sustainable future is challenging, but by taking key steps, it is within reach. By embracing innovation, fostering collaboration and recognizing the responsibility of “everybody in scope,” European organizations have taken steps to lead and inspire a global movement toward a more sustainable and prosperous future. However, it takes a collective effort. Governments, businesses and individuals must work together to drive innovation and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

At DigiKey, we understand the importance of having the right products and components available to help connect our industry and customer base on their quest to build a more sustainable world for generations to come.

Learn more about our work and partnerships by watching our new Sustainable Futures video series.

About the Author:
Hermann Reiter is senior director, supplier business development for DigiKey. DigiKey is recognized as the global leader and continuous innovator in the cutting-edge commerce distribution of electronic components and automation products worldwide, providing more than 15.9 million components from over 3,000 quality name-brand manufacturers.

Read more from the author:

Markt & Technik | p. 22-26, February 2025

elektroniknet.de | February 2025

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