The manufacturing industry is one that must constantly adapt and respond to compete in the global economy -- an economy that is influenced by social and economic factors and forces that are "predictably unpredictable," at best. What does this mean for IT decision-makers as they guide their companies into purchase decisions in manufacturing? They must stay on top of trends in technology and make the best decisions for their companies based on what's already in place in their legacy systems. And with technological advances in manufacturing, it's "keep up to compete -- or be left behind," so not advancing is not an option. That's a lot of pressure on a manufacturing IT decision maker.
Here's a high-level view of the trends we're seeing in manufacturing as we close out 2024.
The continued adoption of digitalization and smart factory technology. Only a small percentage of manufacturers have fully digitized their factories (we're finding it's less than 10%), but up to 15% of factories say they plan to become digitized by 2026. Digitization for any company is time-and-resources-intensive, and digitizing an entire factory is no easy task. However, factories are recognizing the benefits and know that modernization is a necessity for survival.
A continued focus toward sustainability and carbon neutrality. Here's a very simplistic explanation of a best-case scenario: with factory digitization comes more efficient supply chain activity, which leads to reduced energy and materials consumption.
Factories since the 1950s have had the responsibility not to "junk up" or deplete natural resources. In the mid-1950s, the "anti-pollution" movement gained momentum in both government and public arenas. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Clean Air Act into law on December 17, 1963 (the first law of it's kind) to regulate companies and authorize research into ways to monitor and control pollution. Then, Public Relations initiatives in the 1960s and 1970s helped create and promote "Earth Day," which drew consumer attention that put additional pressure on manufacturing companies to "keep it clean." Additional regulations from the 1970s through the 1990s have been instrumental in dramatically reducing manufacturing by-product pollution in just over a few decades.
Fast forward to today. Companies are held accountable by regulatory governance, but also by consumers and the power of their purchase behaviors. "Climate Change" is a hot topic that influences public opinion and corporate responses. Because consumers care about protecting our environment today and for future generations, and consumers make purchase decisions based on brand perceptions and company "likeability," more companies are focused on achieving carbon neutrality and earning that "seal of approval."
Public opinion influences consumerism. Companies want to achieve sustainability and carbon neutrality for compliance purposes, but also so they can positively influence consumer purchase and gain positive brand approval. (Think back to the "heart healthy" seal of approval that popped up on oatmeal and cereal packages in the 90s, then the gluten-free "GF" logo on packaging in the past decade. We even saw GF logos on toothpaste in an effort to sell more product. GF toothpaste?) Consumers care. And manufacturers continue to make technology changes to maintain compliance and to earn customer approval.
Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Twinning (DT), Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) are enabling remote monitoring, automated processing, and robotic equipment operations. In fact, many dark factories are being developed that are entirely automated and can run around the clock without human involvement. Emerging technologies in this space include cobots (a robot that works collaboratively alongside humans), autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), automated guided vehicles (AGVs), and connected wearables.
Dark factories and robots could be the wave of the future; they're definitely something to watch. But, we have to stop and ask, will automated functions and robots replace human jobs? We hope not. It will be interesting to see what happens next in these spaces.
Supply chain reassessment and reshoring, post-pandemic. "Supply chain" became a household term during the pandemic, as consumers felt the effects of supply chain interruptions in almost every aspect of their everyday lives. From skyrocketing grocery prices to having to get on month-long waiting lists for back-ordered automobiles -- the scarcities and inconveniences of "supply and demand" gave everyone a crash course in supply chain economics.
But the pandemic also changed consumer purchase behavior, as consumers began ordering goods online with free home delivery, while finding the best prices and availability -- across industries from clothing to cars. (Think Amazon, Carvana, and food delivery services.) Items are now delivered to doorsteps every second, with near-real-time tracking, and more often than not, free returns. This is a buying model that is here to stay.
Meanwhile, the pandemic caused companies to look at their own supply chains for cost-cutting efficiencies to adapt to global issues, and many companies found it more lucrative to reshore -- or bring offshore production of manufactured good back to the United States. This is something we will expound on in a future post.
Cybersecurity threats continue to plague operations. Wherever there's progress, there's vulnerability. Cybersecurity races to keep up with technology, to make sure we're all moving forward, safely.
The cloud and Saas: Companies that have not yet fully adopted the cloud and SaaS at this stage have no choice but to get with the program.
In conclusion:
All in all, there's tremendous optimism in the state of manufacturing and smart manufacturing progress, in the face of economic conditions, cybersecurity concerns, and ROI. Exciting tech in industrial operations include Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Computerized Maintenance Management Systems, Asset Performance Management, Production Monitoring, Manufacturing Execution Systems, Supply Chain Planning, Industrial Control Systems, Robotics, putting Analytics and Smart Data to use, Smart Devices, and so much more.
Keep coming back for discussions around these topics and all other things manufacturing.
Comments