By Jeffrey Hojlo, Program Director, Manufacturing Insights & Product Innovation Strategies
IDC’s 2020 manufacturing predictions focused on digital transformation’s impact on the entire manufacturing value chain. Now we ask: In response to COVID-19, how are manufacturers proceeding with their organizational and technology plans and investments in the short term and beyond?
- Manufacturers that were digitizing their businesses and investing in technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence, analytics, low-code software development, mobile, are better positioned to move more quickly to recovery.
- Digital collaboration platforms and tools that enable visualization and communication of information will become critical for manufacturing workforces. An extended team approach will become a regular part of how manufacturers do business.
- According to recent IDC research, a primary goal during and after the current crisis is “connecting organizations and individuals, regardless of location, situation, or context.” This goal speaks to the need for distributed, virtual team collaboration both within the company and with suppliers and partners.
- According to IDC’s COVID-19 Impact on IT Spending Survey, the top focus initiatives for manufacturers are:
» Engendering trust with customers
» Rethinking how to work with ecosystem partners to deliver products and services
» Connecting organizations and individuals seamlessly
» Ensuring resiliency in digital infrastructure
- Supply chains will become more intelligent through AI, risk modelling, and assessment. As they gain better visibility into
potential and existing disruptions, service capability and profitability will improve. - By the end of 2021, half of all manufacturing supply chains will have invested in supply chain resiliency and AI, resulting in productivity improvements of 15%.
- The need for operational resiliency with data-driven processes will lead 60% of manufacturers to shift their smart factory strategy focus from technology implementation to process change management by 2022.
Join Toronto’s biggest manufacturing conference on September 24 at 1:30PM (ET) to learn about the latest technology innovations for
Canadian Manufacturing Industry Trends as we come out of the COVID-19 lockdown. Register now!
