Recently, as one of the global leaders in industrial automation, informatization, and digital transformation, Rockwell Automation released the ninth edition of its annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report. This global survey covered over 1,500 manufacturers from 17 major manufacturing countries and regions.
This year's report reveals that manufacturers are primarily focused on leveraging advanced and emerging technologies to enhance resilience, improve quality, maximize workforce potential, and drive sustainable growth.
Cyril Perducat, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Rockwell Automation, stated: "A skilled workforce is the cornerstone of any successful manufacturing operation, yet attracting, managing, and retaining employees remains an ongoing challenge. The survey reveals that technology alone cannot solve the problem. To remain competitive, manufacturers must empower employees to embrace advanced technologies. This will form the core of an evolving corporate culture that drives technological collaboration, workforce engagement, and business growth."
Key global survey findings include:
AI emerges as manufacturers' preferred technology for achieving business outcomes. 83% of manufacturers plan to use generative AI (GenAI) in their operations during 2024.
95% of manufacturers are using or evaluating smart manufacturing technologies, up from 84% in 2023.
94% of manufacturers plan to maintain or increase their workforce through smart manufacturing adoption, focusing on redeploying existing staff to new or different roles and hiring additional employees.
Change management is the top workforce-related challenge for manufacturers in 2024.
For the second consecutive year, manufacturers ranked "improving quality" as their primary objective for existing smart manufacturing technologies. Additionally, "quality control" ranked first among AI/machine learning use cases for 2024.
Cybersecurity was listed for the first time among the top five external risks facing manufacturers in 2024, ranking third overall.
Energy management is the top priority for manufacturers' sustainability/ESG initiatives.
Allison Kuhn, Principal Analyst at LNS Research, stated: "The 2019 workforce is not coming back. Developing sustainable workforce strategies is critical to successfully navigating the tough manufacturing challenges ahead. To win the talent war, leaders must embrace this new reality and focus on three key areas: 1) the overall employee experience, 2) servant leadership, and 3) Connected Frontline Workforce (CFW) applications."
Manufacturers still face a major challenge: integrating people, processes, and technology to drive long-term business growth and resilience. The report reveals that approximately one-third of manufacturing leaders identify "aligning technology and talent with business needs" and "effectively managing people and resources" as primary challenges for the coming year. Manufacturers can overcome this challenge by selecting partners with relevant industry expertise and experience. These partners deliver tailored solutions and support to align technology and talent with business objectives.
"At Rockwell, our deep industry expertise combined with our exceptional PartnerNetwork positions us to lead in advising and guiding the world's leading manufacturers. As a global enterprise dedicated to industrial automation, information, and digital transformation, we strive to help companies realize the promise and value of their digital transformation, regardless of their stage in the journey," said Perducat.
Methodology
This report surveyed 1,567 respondents from 17 major manufacturing countries and regions, with respondent roles spanning from management to C-suite. The research was conducted jointly by Rockwell and Sapio Research. Respondents represented multiple industries, including Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG), Food & Beverage (F&B), Automotive, Semiconductors, Energy, and Life Sciences. Company sizes ranged from $100 million to over $30 billion in revenue, providing a broad perspective of manufacturing business realities.