The manufacturing industry has been slow to move forward, especially from an ecosystem-wide and enterprise-wide digital transformation perspective.
Manufacturing is obviously a very broad industry where giant multinationals and smaller manufacturers coexist; there are also industrial manufacturers in this ecosystem who cater to both industrial partners and businesses manufacturing goods with a much closer relationship and interaction with the end user.
Like most industries, the manufacturing industry is highly diverse and different aspects of it are moving forward at different speeds. So, on the one hand, digital transformation strategy has been missing in general and initiatives have been largely ad hoc – on the other, things are transforming but in certain areas only. However, as we’ll discuss, a holistic picture view on things is missing, and digital transformation goals are still looked at in a traditional and isolated way by most manufacturing businesses.
Furthermore, and from a traditional perspective, manufacturing companies find it difficult to think outside of “firefighting mode” – i.e. they typically react to problems rather than anticipate them and come up with innovative solutions to prevent them altogether.
This is one of the main reasons manufacturing businesses have not been able to chalk out long-term digital strategy approaches to major issues, and instead, come up with ‘quick fixes’ to keep up with productivity.
A survey done by a manufacturing software platform provider in early 2022 revealed some very interesting insights on the state of digital transformation in the manufacturing sector:
Successful digital transformation is very much possible for manufacturing companies across all scales and sub-sectors.
Take the first step towards digital transforming by trying out Warehouse Auditor App – a bespoke piece of software designed by specialists working in the Manufacturing and Logistics sectors, helping warehouse professionals, record data in an easier, more efficient, and cost-effective way.
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Safety audits, inspections, maintenance, and reporting all need to work together yet in many organisations, inspection data still sits in silos, disconnected from the systems that drive decisions.
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Operations management in Manufacturing and Warehousing is at the forefront of change, utilising modern technologies as well as disciples to not only address the latest string of operational challenges, but also keep organisations running like a well-oiled machine, all the while maximising both productivity and profitability.
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