Global
Digital Transformation is the leading theme in board rooms, and this topic now dominates transformation budgets across industries. So, what is Digital Transformation? Given all the noise around this subject, it’s no wonder executives struggle to define Digital Transformation in one sentence.
This article will help you define Digital Transformation in one sentence. We will also let out secrets that will help you ask the right questions as you embark on this initiative.
Digital transformation can be defined as using the power of new digital transformation technologies such as cloud, IoT and analytics, social media, and edge computing to transform the firm’s business model and improve customer experience.
So, what are the benefits of Digital Transformation for manufacturing companies?
- Inform products for new revenue streams or services
- Transform customer engagement
- Virtualize people processes while enhancing engagement
- Re-define supply chain boundaries
- Create new digital ecosystems
Even an industrial manufacturing company of large, expensive, mission-critical industrial equipment have also embarked on a digitization path. To improve customer experience and digitize the supply chain, they have started to actively participate in the digital transformation of manufacturing processes of their clients to set strict operations management objectives, optimizing the efficiency of machine processes. However, the journey to digital transformation in manufacturing is long and has many pitfalls.
In this article, we bust a few myths surrounding digital transformation in manufacturing industry.
Predictive Maintenance needs Machine Learning
These days, it is a general perception that predictive maintenance is an exclusive domain of Machine Learning (ML) and that it is imperative to implement predictive maintenance. However, it is far from the truth. For instance, a leading industrial manufacturer maximized value capture from predictive maintenance with a basic mathematical modeling technique without using ML. Hence, it is only fitting to assess the marginal value of ML before jumping on the bandwagon.
Competitive advantage requires custom development of platforms
Competitive advantage can also come from time-to-market, accessing, best-of-breed components, and improved integration into digital ecosystems, which can come from pre-packaged solutions. For example, Salesforce drives competitive advantage through deep integration of customer procurement systems.
Digital solutions create value by transforming enterprise processes
Yes, but the most value is created when you transform your customers’ and suppliers’ processes along the value chain, integrating with the digital ecosystem outside of the enterprise as well.
Embark on an IoT journey
Though IoT and IIoT have identical fundamental layers and share the same technologies, they are not the same. IIoT is the subset of the larger IoT that connects industrial assets, predictive analytics, and workers. The manufacturing industry has adopted IIoT to leverage its unparalleled productivity, agility, and efficiency levels to drive astonishing transformations in the domain, driving significant positive business outcomes and personalized customer experiences.
A large part of Digital transformation is technology and operations
Digital transformation is not just about making operational changes. It is also about transitioning toward a new lean-agile culture, bringing positive organizational changes. Processes like smart small, iterative engineering, and Minimum Viable Products are no longer exclusive to IT initiatives. It must be adopted at the enterprise level, even in the industrial environment.
Conclusion
By embracing digitization and automation, manufacturers can see a definite boost in productivity. They need to shed the myths around digitization in manufacturing industry by partnering with digital transformation companies to develop custom solutions which are specific to their business. The digitalization market for manufacturing is burgeoning and to stay ahead of the curve, must adopt manufacturers must accelerate their digital journey to get maximum results in a shorter span of time.
