The report analyzed feedback from 1,567 respondents from 17 of the top manufacturing countries with roles from management up to the C-suite. It was conducted in association with Rockwell Automation and Sapio Research. The survey pulled from a range of industries including consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, automotive, semiconductor, energy, life sciences, and more. With a balanced distribution of company sizes with revenues spanning $100 million to more than $30 billion, it offers a wide breadth of manufacturing business perspectives.
(Rockwell Automation: Milwaukee) — Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, announced the results of the annual “State of Smart Manufacturing Report,” a global study surveying more than 1,500 manufacturers across 17 of the leading manufacturing countries.
Manufacturers continue to face the significant challenge of combining people, processes, and technology to drive long-term business growth and resilience. According to the report, about one-third of manufacturing leaders cite “matching technology and talent to business need” and “effectively managing people and resources” as the biggest obstacles their organizations face during the next year. Manufacturers can overcome this challenge by selecting a partner with relevant industry expertise and experience that can provide tailored solutions and support in aligning technology and talent with business objectives.
“A skilled workforce is the cornerstone of any successful manufacturing operation, but attracting, managing, and retaining workers is proving to be an ongoing challenge,” says Cyril Perducat, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Rockwell Automation. “The survey found technology alone is not the answer. To remain competitive, manufacturers need to focus their staff on embracing new technology as a core part of their evolving organizational culture, creating a technology-worker partnership that drives their business forward.”
Key global findings
“At Rockwell, the combination of our deep industry expertise with our exceptional PartnerNetwork puts us in the best position to advise and guide leading global manufacturers,” says Perducat. “Being the largest company dedicated solely to industrial automation and digital transformation, we strive to help companies realize the promise and value of their digital transformation, no matter where they are in their journey.”
“The workforce of 2019 is not coming back,” says Allison Kuhn, principal analyst, LNS Research. “Developing a sustainable workforce strategy is critical to successfully navigate daunting manufacturing challenges. Leaders are winning the war for talent by embracing this new reality, and with a laser focus on three imperatives: total employee experience, servant leadership, and connected frontline workforce applications.”
This year’s report reveals a focus on harnessing new and emerging technologies to build resiliency, improve quality, maximize workforce potential, and drive sustainable growth.
The full report can be found here.