More manufacturing companies are warming up to digital transformation.
These companies report increasing their investments in digital technology to some degree, with 50% increasing their investments slightly with a focused approach, and 33% ramping them up significantly to gain a more competitive edge, according to a new survey of 150 manufacturing executives by professional services provider Sikich LLP.
As companies accelerate technology investments, seamless integration rises as a priority. Three out of five participants consider it “very important” that their engineering systems (e.g., CAD or PLM) integrate closely with their manufacturing application (e.g., MES, ERP), Sikich says.
Digital transformation priorities in manufacturing
When it comes to successful digital transformation initiatives in manufacturing, however, security concerns and cyber risks are considered the biggest barriers.
Half the respondents identify security concerns and cyber risks as the biggest barriers to successful adoption of their organization’s digital transformation strategy. Ranking a close second is the lack of a unified IT strategy with interoperability issues rounding out the top three, according to Sikich.
When it comes to what they consider the greatest challenges to meeting their customer commitments, respondents are also divided. Lack of visibility across the supply chain through to the shop floor (33%), as well as shipping and delivery delays, or management of engineering and design, the survey says.
The use of artificial intelligence is also on the rise.
The top benefit organizations hope to achieve when considering a new or expanded enterprise resource planning (ERP) investment is utilizing AI functionality with 60% choosing it. Just over 50% cite a better user experience while just under 50% identify the top benefit as improved integration across separate applications.
The main area of interest in AI for most organizations, according to respondents, is robotic process automation. More than 60% of participants identify robotic process automation (RPA) as their main area of interest in AI. Machine learning for demand forecasting and predictive analytics were also popular areas of AI interest.
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