Recently, Plex Systems, a leader in cloud-delivered smart manufacturing solutions under Rockwell automation, released its seventh annual “The State of Smart Manufacturing Report”. The “Report” shows that in 2021, the global smart manufacturing application will accelerate by 50%, and these new technologies play an important role in the key challenges facing the industry. In North America (NA) and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), 84% and 75% of organizations, respectively, believe that smart manufacturing is “very” or “extremely” important to future success; in Asia Pacific, this percentage as high as 93%.
Most Asia-Pacific organizations said they would implement smart manufacturing solutions “within the next seven to 11 months”; for North America, and most respondents in EMEA, this timeframe extended into “future 1 to 2 years”. In this light, Asia-Pacific organizations are clearly adopting smart manufacturing solutions faster, reflecting their optimism about smart manufacturing.
The study was conducted on more than 300 manufacturers worldwide, covering industries such as automotive, aerospace, food and beverage, electronics, consumer products, plastics and rubber, precision metal forming and more. This year’s Report, produced by Plex Systems in partnership with Hanover Research, provides global manufacturers with key insights into trends, challenges and future plans.
“This Report is designed to provide manufacturers with a benchmark for developing technology strategies and incorporating smart manufacturing best practices to keep businesses competitive and thriving,” said Jerry Foster, CTO, Plex Systems. “Scalable Technology strategies help companies apply smart solutions incrementally and quickly realize value. Manufacturers are observed to want to simplify processes and solve the challenges they face today. Therefore, today, they place a high priority on solutions that can be used to solve and improve real business Smart technology for results.”
In addition, the “Report” results show that the new crown epidemic has exposed and exacerbated pre-existing problems in the manufacturing industry. Skilled labor shortages, intense competition and supply chain disruptions are the top three challenges facing organizations across Asia Pacific due to the COVID-19 outbreak. With this in mind, 93% of APAC organizations believe that smart manufacturing is key to their future success.
Steven Chiu, Head of Sales, Asia Pacific, Plex Systems, said: “Asian manufacturing has been hit hard by global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest in Eastern Europe. As an important global manufacturing hub, Asia Pacific’s manufacturing output accounts for the world’s total output. Nearly half of the region’s economies are now relying on the Industrial sector to drive a post-pandemic recovery.”
Chiu added: “The adoption of smart manufacturing solutions, such as cloud-based technologies, has become a must for organizations in Asia Pacific to remain competitive and prosper. Technologies that address and improve real business outcomes.”
The report also found:
The world is accelerating the pace of adoption of smart manufacturing solutions. By the end of 2022, 75% of organizations will apply some aspects of smart manufacturing. Technology and automation are driving the birth of a new generation of manufacturing, and smart manufacturing applications will continue to accelerate in 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of smart manufacturing solutions. To maximize the effectiveness of their investments, Asia Pacific organizations mainly plan to apply automated business processes, automated processes and supply chain planning.
More than half of the organizations surveyed believe that all aspects of manufacturing are important. In various regions, including the Asia-Pacific region, Manufacturing Executive Systems (MES) is considered to be the most critical or the most important smart manufacturing plan, with a proportion as high as 64%. Enterprise Re
