How is your business planning to achieve its goals in the final quarter of 2019 and beyond? The areas of operational improvement, digital transformation, revenue growth, and new product/service launches will continue to be the focus of manufacturing growth and success.

To commit to your business’ growth and success, here are the top trends to pay attention to:

  • Analytics/Business Intelligence (BI):.This trend will gain greater traction with supplier networks, shop floors and management teams, allowing manufacturers to operate from an integrated data model with more rigorous analytical tools. There will also be more self-service apps designed for manufacturers. With analytics spending projected to double by 2021, this area will lead all IT categories for manufacturing CEOs.
  • Commitment to Quality. Quality management and compliance apps sales will increase in 2019, largely due to competitor- and customer-driven pressure for quality excellence. Specifically, ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software will help the manufacturing sector run more smoothly and efficiently.
  • Creation of Knowledge-Sharing Networks. Manufacturing supply chains will integrate their on-premise, third-party, and cloud-based applications into one unified platform. These new “intelligent networks” will allow for real-time track-and-trace, systems integration, and delivery of metrics will greater quality and accuracy.
  • Real-time Monitoring. By being able to capture data streams at a high rate of accuracy, early users of this data collection method are growing at a rate of 10% or more yearly. Real-time monitoring is improving businesses by providing valuable insights into machine performance and yields, product quality, and problem-solving clues.
  • Robotics. Expect continued growth from this trend due to increased product demand and manufacturing labor shortage. The fastest-growing manufacturers have turned to robotics for high-volume order fulfillment, which has resulted in increased productivity. Spending on robotics is expected to triple by 2021, especially in the manufacturing, healthcare and consumer sectors.
  • Smart Machines. Already prevalent in many manufacturing shops and production floors, smart machines provide device-specific operating systems with extensive reporting and statistical analysis capabilities. Having an autonomous production line across multiple shifts is also a proven strategy for businesses to compete for and win new customers.
  • Blockchain. Blockchain can enable new business models, resulting in increased visibility across all areas of manufacturing. With its distributed ledger structure and block-based approach to improved supply chain efficiency, manufacturers will be able to improve product quality and distribution while improving order accuracy and tracking.
  • Product Development and Launch. Product-as-a-services and service-based pricing models have arrived. Smart, connected products are predicted to make up nearly 50% of manufacturing products in 2019, with the potential to add approximately $700 billion to value-added manufacturing by 2020.
  • Security. Due to increased automation and upgrading of enterprise security systems, security spending is expected to increase by one-third by 2021. Each machine endpoint and identity is a new security perimeter, and therefore a new place for a potential breach. Look for manufacturers to employ a “never trust, always verify, enforce least privilege” mentality to security to overcome potential challenges.

Established in 1984, Proto Machine & MFG, Inc. is an established company specializing in precision turning and milling for a wide spectrum of customers ranging from commercial, aerospace, oil industry, and government. We offer customized parts production, long and short production runs, and small assembly. To learn more, call us at 330-677-1700 or visit our website.

Sources
https://us.hitachi-solutions.com/blog/top-manufacturing-trends/