I remember my young days when one of my close relatives started working as an Insurance Agent, and it was considered to be a precious job. A few days back when I met him, I asked him – Has the latest technology affected your work? I was expecting a negative answer, but instead, he showed me the flip side of how insurtech is helping him make a more personalized and long-term relationships. While some of the mundane jobs like data entry, reminders, quotes comparison, underwriting has been taken up by the insurtech technology, individuals, business owners or firms are yet inclined to interact with a human being and close the deal.

He mentioned a couple of analogies to strengthen his case – he said e-commerce industry in India that is worth US$125 billion as of April 2017 was not able to displace the brick and mortar industry. Or has the automobile industry removed pedestrians from the road?

Or the most important one – has the digitization removed the government agents that help citizens in getting their vehicle registered or apply for the PAN card?

Or has the financial inclusion initiative detached Banking agents or business correspondents from the chain? With a big smile on his face, he was sure digital move will only enhance his powers as insurance agents and not displace them.

Let’s take a look “HOW INSURTECH WOULD STRENGTHEN INSURANCE AGENT”

CHATBOTS HELPING IN CONVERSATION

Let’s accept it, on the one hand, people are busy and may not be available for sales pitch even it’s a tedious job for the insurance agent to repeat the same introduction to every prospective client, and that’s why – chatbots are handy. Start a conversation at your ease, and get full information handy. If you are satisfied, book an appointment with the agent, and he would come and guide you further.

DATA DATA EVERYWHERE

InsurTech is helping the insurance firms in churning the data that supports them in analyzing their needs and preferences. The same data could be used by insurance agents to grab more clients. Just for example if an individual is a wanderlust, he might be more interested in getting customized travel insurance rather than home or term insurance. Such kind of data when provided to an insurance agent, he could use his expertise to present a sales pitch to the client and help him in also getting customization if needed.

VALUE ADDED SERVICES

While play store may be filled with apps that provide dos and don’ts of insurance, individuals expect a human touch that offers “personalization with freebies.” Insurance agents could tap into this domain by also offering value-added services to make their client feel special. Just for example – using a robo advisor to generate a financial planning portfolio for your prospective client could help in trusting the agents and building a long-term relationship.
Undoubtedly technologies’ like Artificial Intelligence[AI], Natural Language Processing [NLP] would help in improving the financial decision, but they are also strengthening the agents in providing value-added services and making it a more engaging experience.

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References:

https://www.insurancebusinessmag.com/asia/news/breaking-news/tech-to-complement-not-replace-insurance-50228.aspx

https://dailyfintech.com/2017/11/30/insurtechisagentspinach/
https://www.insurancejournal.com/magazines/mag-features/2017/04/03/446012.htm

Smart Manufacturing Dashboards: A Real-Time Guide for Data-Driven Ops

By : Divyanjali Gupta

Published on Jul 31, 2025

Data Science Manufacturing Analytics Smart Manufacturing

Smart Manufacturing starts with real-time visibility.

Manufacturing companies today generate data by the second through sensors, machines, ERP systems, and MES platforms. But without real-time insights, even the most advanced production lines are essentially flying blind.

Manufacturers are implementing real-time dashboards that serve as control towers for their daily operations, enabling them to shift from reactive to proactive decision-making. These tools are essential to the evolution of Smart Manufacturing, where connected systems, automation, and intelligent analytics come together to drive measurable impact.

Data is available, but what’s missing is timely action.

For many plant leaders and COOs, one challenge persists: operational data is dispersed throughout systems, delayed, or hidden in spreadsheets. And this delay turns into a liability.

Real-time dashboards help uncover critical answers:

What caused downtime during last night’s shift?
Was there a delay in maintenance response?
Did a specific inventory threshold trigger a quality issue?

By converting raw inputs into real-time manufacturing analytics, dashboards make operational intelligence accessible to operators, supervisors, and leadership alike, enabling teams to anticipate problems rather than react to them.

1. Why Static Reports Fall Short

Reports often arrive late—after downtime, delays, or defects have occurred.
Disconnected data across ERP, MES, and sensors limits cross-functional insights.
Static formats lack embedded logic for proactive decision support.

2. What Real-Time Dashboards Enable

Line performance and downtime trends
Track OEE in real time and identify underperforming lines.

Predictive maintenance alerts
Utilize historical and sensor data to identify potential part failures in advance.

Inventory heat maps & reorder thresholds
Anticipate stockouts or overstocks based on dynamic reorder points.

Quality metrics linked to operator actions
Isolate shifts or procedures correlated with spikes in defects or rework.

These insights allow production teams to drive day-to-day operations in line with Smart Manufacturing principles.

3. Dashboards That Drive Action

Role-based dashboards
Dashboards can be configured for machine operators, shift supervisors, and plant managers, each with a tailored view of KPIs.

Embedded alerts and nudges
Real-time prompts, like “Line 4 below efficiency threshold for 15+ minutes,” reduce response times and minimize disruptions.

Cross-functional drill-downs
Teams can identify root causes more quickly because users can move from plant-wide overviews to detailed machine-level data in seconds.

4. What Powers These Dashboards

Data lakehouse integration
Unified access to ERP, MES, IoT sensor, and QA systems—ensuring reliable and timely manufacturing analytics.

ETL pipelines
Real-time data ingestion from high-frequency sources with minimal latency.

Visualization tools
Custom builds using Power BI, or customized solutions designed for frontline usability and operational impact.

Smart Manufacturing in Action: Reducing Market Response Time from 48 Hours to 30 Minutes

Mantra Labs partnered with a North American die-casting manufacturer to unify its operational data into a real-time dashboard. Fragmented data, manual reporting, delayed pricing decisions, and inconsistent data quality hindered operational efficiency and strategic decision-making.

Tech Enablement:

Centralized Data Hub with real-time access to critical business insights.
Automated report generation with data ingestion and processing.
Accurate price modeling with real-time visibility into metal price trends, cost impacts, and customer-specific pricing scenarios.
Proactive market analysis with intuitive Power BI dashboards and reports.

Business Outcomes:

Faster response to machine alerts
Quality incidents traced to specific operator workflows
4X faster access to insights led to improved inventory optimization.

As this case shows, real-time dashboards are not just operational tools—they’re strategic enablers.

(Learn More: Powering the Future of Metal Manufacturing with Data Engineering)

Key Takeaways: Smart Manufacturing Dashboards at a Glance

Aspect	What You Should Know
1. Why Static Reports Fall Short	Delayed insights after issues occur Disconnected systems (ERP, MES, sensors) No real-time alerts or embedded decision logic
2. What Real-Time Dashboards Enable	Track OEE and downtime in real-time Predictive maintenance using sensor data Dynamic inventory heat maps Quality linked to operators
3. Dashboards That Drive Action	Role-based views (operator to CEO) Embedded alerts like “Line 4 down for 15+ mins” Drilldowns from plant-level to machine-level
4. What Powers These Dashboards	Unified Data Lakehouse (ERP + IoT + MES) Real-time ETL pipelines Power BI or custom dashboards built for frontline usability

Conclusion

Smart Manufacturing dashboards aren’t just analytics tools—they’re productivity engines. Dashboards that deliver real-time insight empower frontline teams to make faster, better decisions—whether it’s adjusting production schedules, triggering preventive maintenance, or responding to inventory fluctuations.

Explore how Mantra Labs can help you unlock operations intelligence that’s actually usable.

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