This case study highlights how one of India’s leading food manufacturing companies partnered with Itanta Analytics to transform its day-to-day operations through digital innovation. The client was grappling with several common industry challenges, including:
- Manual data logging
- Limited real-time visibility
- Delays in identifying production issues
By implementing Itanta’s no-code analytics platform, the organization was able to unify key performance data, automate alerts, and enhance visibility across operations. This empowered frontline teams to respond more quickly to issues and equipped managers with accurate, timely insights for performance tracking. The initiative demonstrates how a pragmatic, phased approach to digital adoption can drive meaningful improvements in factory efficiency.
Background
A prominent Indian food manufacturer with over a century of heritage set out to digitally upgrade its factory operations. The company aimed to enhance its manufacturing processes. In line with a steadfast dedication to operational excellence, it has welcomed digital innovation to boost productivity, guarantee compliance with food safety regulations, and optimize production effectiveness. The objective was to reduce manual data input and improve machine oversight.
The launch of a Smart Factory approach was designed to deliver immediate visibility and centralized notifications, decreasing machinery downtime and quality inconsistencies throughout production facilities. This optimization endeavor encompassed production lines associated with some of India’s most iconic food brands, recognized for their extensive consumer appeal and leadership across categories.
Operational Challenges
Operators were recording critical production parameters manually which was inefficient and prone to errors. Also leads to data inconsistences.
Engineers were spending hours manually compiling reports for compliance and weekly reviews, leading to inefficient reporting cycles and over-reliance on technical experts.
Data was collected at the end of the shift or day and analyzed manually due to which anomalies were detected late and couldn't pinpoint issues.
Without integration between systems, data remained siloed across processes. This made it difficult to correlate key metrics and each new line or facility required fresh configurations from scratch due to the lack of a unified data architecture.
Alerts for production issues were either entirely manual or didn’t exist. This delayed root cause identification and created communication gaps between departments.
Laying the Digital Foundation
To address these pressing challenges, rather than relying on fragmented tools and manual processes, the solution called for a more integrated, scalable, and intelligent system. This led to the implementation of a robust architecture designed to streamline data flow, enable real-time monitoring, and support informed decision-making across operations.
System Architecture
System Overview
Smart Factory Integration: Itanta Analytics platform connects the Food Manufacturer’s 6 production lines (Mixing, Molder, Baking, Oven, CMS and Packing) with MIHS (Minor Ingredient Handling System) into a unified monitoring ecosystem
Real-time Production Monitoring: Live tracking of line efficiency, OEE calculations, production tonnage, downtime analysis, and ingredient deviation monitoring across all manufacturing processes
Key Components
Data Collection: Data was collected from Kepware OPC DA server integrated with ABB DCS.
Itanta’s Platform: DS Manager processes data using industry standard OPC protocols, while Dashboard Builder creates real time dashboards showing molder/cutter speeds, baking times, roller speeds (RPM), and flour-cream ratios.
Mobile Alert System: The Itanta Mobile App was developed for critical deviations in MIHS, packing machine performance, molding issues, and baking parameters
Formula Builder and UNS: Automated deviation calculations (Set vs Actual values), package machine tracking with start/end times, and comprehensive downtime statistics
Solutions Delivered by Itanta
SCADA integration + auto logging
Automated Data Flow from SCADA to Itanta via DS Manager. Manual data entry was fully replaced with real-time automated logging improving data accuracy.
Unified data layer via DS Manager
All equipment and process data from SCADA to packaging lines, was consolidated into a single platform, to ensure end-to-end traceability across the plant.
Dashboards with live data feeds
Line supervisors and operations teams gained live visibility into production KPIs enabling quicker diagnosis of anomalies and data-driven decisions during shifts.
Mobile app alerts
Automated alerts allowed teams to act on issues instantly, such as equipment faults. Reduces unplanned downtime and improves first-response times.
Auto-generated reports
Engineers no longer had to compile reports manually. Routine compliance and performance reports were automated, freeing up time for higher-priority work.
Customer's Dashboard
1. Mixing Dashboard
2. Packing Overview Dashboard
Conclusion
By tapping into Itanta Analytics’ powerful out-of-the-box platform, this Food Manufacturing industry kickstarted its journey toward becoming a truly connected Smart Factory—without writing a single line of code.
- Shifted from manual logs to real-time data and insights
- Used built-in SCADA integration, dashboards, and deviation tracking
- Enabled faster response with Itanta Mobile App alerts and live metrics
- Empowered teams to monitor performance and reduce downtime
Most importantly, this transformation wasn’t built from scratch—it was achieved by simply unlocking the full potential of Itanta’s existing platform.
