Commit to modernizing

This year, fewer believe their organization to be “very modern” — but manufacturing companies should be becoming more modern, not standing still. However, this year more manufacturing companies are investing in new technology, which is a good sign that manufacturing leaders are turning to technology to help increase efficiencies. Start by evaluating your business objectives and in which use cases you can leverage technology to see improvements and returns. Then explore which technologies to invest in that will help move your business goals forward — don’t just adopt technology for technology’s sake.

Adopt a data-first strategy

Additionally, more respondents say their company embraces a data-first strategy — 75% this year compared to 67% last year — which is producing additional benefits of improved customer experience and loyalty, faster time to value, and reduced costs and greater profits. Start your data-first journey by digitizing documents, then adopting technologies like an ERP to help you collect, store, and analyze that data.

How to implement AI

The top ways respondents are using AI is to improve production efficiency and quality control. But when asked, respondents shared that they’re using AI in use cases across inventory management, planning and forecasting, supply chain, productivity, data management and analytics, employee training, and customer ordering. See where AI will make the most impact in your business.

Continue committing to upskilling

91% say their company is making upskilling a priority for workers. Continue creating opportunities for workers to learn new skills, especially as you bring more technologies on board. Provide on-site or on-the-job training, or provide access to an online training platform where workers can self-pace their training, earn new certifications, or learn new skills to be prepared to climb up the ladder. Investing in upskilling will help improve engagement as well — especially when manufacturing leaders see high morale slipping.

Take action over supply chains

75% say supply chain resilience and sustainability is very important to their business. If you’re looking for ways to have better control over your supply chain, look to the strategies others are taking: implementing digital tracking tools for better visibility, adopting sustainable materials and practices, and diversifying suppliers. Couple those strategies with technologies like IoT for real-time tracking, AI for predictive analytics, and blockchain for transparency.

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Kerrie Jordan
Vice President of Product Management

Kerrie Jordan is Group Vice President, Product Management at Epicor. In her role, Kerrie leads the strategic direction of Epicor’s cloud-enabled industry productivity solutions to ensure they continue to deliver high value, innovation, security and insights for Epicor customers. As a technology evangelist and industry thought leader, Kerrie provides expertise on topics like SaaS, ERP, DaaS Supply Chain Management and more.

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