For its eighth annual “State of Smart Manufacturing Report,” Rockwell Automation—working with Sapio Research and Plex Systems—surveyed more than 1,000 manufacturers across 13 countries. The broad-based survey includes responses from the discrete, process and hybrid industries at company sizes ranging from $10 million to more than $10 billion in revenues.
Key findings from the survey include:
- Twice as many manufacturers believe their organization lacks the technology needed to outpace the competition, as compared to 2022.
- 4 out of 5 manufacturers still lack an end-to-end supply chain planning system.
- Cybersecurity risks rank highest as the obstacle respondents are looking to mitigate with smart manufacturing initiatives.
- 45% of manufacturers cite “improving quality” as the main positive outcome they want to achieve with smart manufacturing initiatives.
- 89% of manufacturers plan to maintain or grow employment due to technology adoption. Additionally, 36% of respondents believe they will be able to repurpose existing workers due to their increasing use of technology.
- Of the 95% of manufacturers who have formal or informal ESG (environmental, social, governance) policies in place, 42% cite “improving efficiencies” as the top driving factor for pursuing ESG initiatives.
“Manufacturers are continuing to seek opportunities for profitable growth but are realizing that uncertainty in workforce availability is impacting quality, along with their ability to meet evolving customer needs,” said Veena Lakkundi, senior vice president, corporate strategy and development, Rockwell Automation. “The survey found that smart manufacturing technology is enabling manufacturers of all sizes to optimize more resilient, agile and sustainable solutions that accelerate transformation. If we’ve learned anything from history, it’s that organizations that invest in innovation, with a bias for action, during times of uncertainty can outpace competitors.”
The full findings of the report can be found here.
