Smart industry: digitisation of the manufacturing industry
Making optimum use of digitalisation. Forming smart connections between products, machines, and people. And using the latest production technology. That’s smart industry. At TNO, we’re keen to contribute, because only in this way the manufacturing industry in the Netherlands can maintain its leading role worldwide.
The benefits of smart industry
Smart industry is essential for the Dutch manufacturing industry to remain a major player worldwide. To maintain this role, we must work to create Europe’s most flexible and digitally best connected production network. This brings added benefits, such as greater competitiveness, scope for employment, and increased independence of production. As a result, design and manufacturing companies will make major savings in energy and materials. Both during production and afterwards.
Steps towards smart industry
Digitalising and roboticising of factories is the first essential step towards automation. It’s also an essential step towards flexibility in manufacturing companies’ own production lines. It also ensures that value chains are digitalised and allows the companies in such chains to connect to each other. To enable the digitalisation of the Dutch manufacturing industry, the parties involved must work together to accelerate technological developments in Smart Industry. Only then will the technologies also take root in the Dutch business community.
Five propositions for Dutch manufacturing companies
In the national action agenda, 8 transformations have been defined that manufacturing companies in the Netherlands need to implement in order to have and retain sufficient earning capacity (see illustration Smart Industry). We’re focusing on 4 of these 8 transformations: flexible manufacturing, smart work, digital factory, and connected factories. To achieve these transformations, we offer 5 practical propositions to manufacturing companies, their ICT suppliers, and public authorities:
- Flexible manufacturing: faster, faultless production with smart robotics
- Smart work: how humans and machines work together effectively and flexibly
- Data sharing: collecting data and using them for smart production
- Digital twinning: using a digital replica to study and predict industrial processes
- Smart response: analysing and implementing innovative technologies.

The path to a fully circular industry is in fact a digitalisation challenge. Start today with digitalisation and work on the maximum reuse of materials, complete reduction of waste, CO2-neutral production, and sustainable energy generation. Digitalisation is essential for documenting the use, loss, and condition of the materials used across the entire production chain.
Digitisation is crucial for circular industry
Want to know more? Read the whitepaper ‘digitisation is crucial for circular industry’.
Our latest developments
Data Value Center Smart Industry
Smart Industry’s (DVC-SI) goal is to help companies create added value and become more competitive with data.
Smart response: measuring the impact of innovations
What’s the impact of technological innovations? Smart Response provides insight: from changes in ecosystems to the impact on new business models.
Dutch industry needs digital plugs to increase productivity
To keep control, we need a strong and secure European data infrastructure that will help manufacturing companies to increase their profitability and productivity. Discover how TNO partners are accelerating their digital transformation with 'digital connectors', field labs and training.

