Yokogawa Electric Corporation has announced the establishment of Yokogawa Digital Corporation to provide management consulting services to manufacturers that will cover everything from business management to plant operations.

Yokogawa Digital will leverage Yokogawa’s operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) knowledge and capabilities to provide not only consultation but also cloud system implementation, operation, and maintenance services that connect business management and manufacturing operations, enabling the integrated administration of global operations and facilitating digital transformation (DX).

The company will start operating on October 1, and will initially provide its services to customers in Japan.

To achieve comprehensive optimization, Yokogawa Digital will provide its customers with consulting services that span the entire range from business management to site operations. As well as making proposals for highly viable actions and creating roadmaps, Yokogawa Digital will undertake system implementation and maintenance together with Yokogawa Solution Service Corporation, providing customers the support they need to deliver results.

Solutions introduced by Yokogawa Digital will include subscription-based software as a service (SaaS) services that run on Yokogawa Cloud, an industrial transformation and Internet of Things (IoT) platform, giving customers immediate access to the latest technologies.

Yokogawa already has experience helping its customers improve their operations by offering comprehensive consulting services covering everything from business planning to information systems and manufacturing.

Under its own DX plan, the company is currently working on initiatives such as the conversion of all 18 Yokogawa manufacturing plants around the world into digital factories, which has already delivered results in areas such as the transfer of production technologies and skills, improvement of quality and productivity, and optimization of supply chains.

The company is now working to commercialize other cutting-edge technology such as a 5G and cloud-based AI solution for remote control that also has been successfully tested. And through the remote monitoring of plant operations and other activities, Yokogawa has developed advanced cybersecurity technology that can protect systems from unauthorized access, viruses, and other threats.

Through the establishment of Yokogawa Digital, Yokogawa is bringing together under one roof personnel with expertise in management/operations consulting and digital technology, and in so doing is enhancing its consulting capabilities that will help its customers in the process industries and many other manufacturing domains increase their competitiveness.

Yokogawa Digital will provide management consulting services alongside DX, IT, and maintenance services with a view to expanding this business to the global market in the future.

Hitoshi Nara, President & CEO, Yokogawa Electric Corporation said, “Yokogawa is pushing ahead with industrial automation to industrial autonomy (IA2IA) and smart manufacturing initiatives to provide greater value to our customers. We have established Yokogawa Digital to drive the utilization of digital technology and the connection of processes and organizations that leads to comprehensive global optimization. Based on the system of systems (SoS) concept of combining systems to accomplish purposes that lie beyond the capabilities of any individual system, we see a path forward for society. Through integration, digitalization, and autonomization, Yokogawa Digital will lead the way toward overall optimization, and thereby offer new value to our customers."