Business Operations

Manufacturers are staying on top of the tech game.

That was among the chief findings of a new polling conducted by the Manufacturing Leadership Council, the NAM’s digital transformation division. The annual Transformative Technologies in Manufacturing research survey aims to reveal data on current realities and expectations for manufacturing in the near future and in the years to come.

Rate of adoption: The most surprising data point was that 89% of respondents said they expect their company’s rate of adoption of disruptive technologies to increase over the next two years. That figure is up from 51% just one year ago.

Why disruptive technology? Reducing costs and improving operational efficiency were the most-cited reasons for investing in digital tech, with 83% of respondents identifying these as important motivations.

• Improving operational visibility and responsiveness came in second, at 61%.
• Other reasons include increasing digitization (40%), creating a competitive advantage (36%) and improving quality (30%).

Top near-future trends: Digital-twin modeling and simulation software, augmented and virtual reality, high-performance computing and further investments in supply chain management software will lead the next wave of investments during the coming year or two.

Not of interest: The survey found that quantum computing and blockchain technology are currently of the least interest to manufacturers.

The role of AI and ML: Artificial intelligence and machine learning usage continues to grow among manufacturers.

• Nearly 50% of respondents indicated that their companies have implemented AI, either on a single-project basis (40%) or in all factories (9%).
• About 75% said they are applying AI and ML to reduce costs and improve productivity and processes.
• Approximately 60% indicated they had used AI and ML for preventative/predictive maintenance or quality improvement.

Misunderstood metaverse: A new topic covered by this year’s survey, the manufacturing metaverse, was perhaps the least understood by respondents.

• About 38% said they were still trying to understand the technology and concept, 20% said they have no plans to adopt a manufacturing metaverse approach and 15% said they didn’t know how to respond to the question. 

The last word: “Manufacturers are finding more use cases and business benefits for increasing their use of digital technology, and the pace of adoption is accelerating,” said MLC Co-Founder and Vice President and Executive Director David R. Brousell.

• “The research confirms that manufacturing is headed for an agile, connected and collaborative future driven by technology and fueled by innovation.”