How Digital Manufacturing Drives Growth and Profitability
Turning risks into growth opportunities is a high priority for manufacturers challenged with supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and spiraling costs. The great news is that digital manufacturing can help turn risks and challenges into new opportunities for growth. According to an IndustryWeek survey, identifying new opportunities for growth and profitability is the leading business driver increasing digital manufacturing’s growth.
Digital manufacturing provides real-time data to improve visibility and control across shop floors, increase production efficiency, and maintain product quality. Manufacturers also relied on it for monitoring production and process performance in supply chains, production centers, and production lines to find new areas for improvement.
Real-Time Visibility Makes Profitable Growth Possible
Knowing how decisions and trade-offs on the shop floor impact financial statements in real-time are one of the most proven ways digital manufacturing drives growth and greater profits. Manufacturers can track how production decisions affect revenue growth and profit as needed. Improving reporting consistency and visibility between accounting & finance, ERP, MES, and supply chain systems also helps improve production efficiency, further reducing costs.
From a customer’s perspective, digital manufacturing provides greater flexibility in producing customized products on time and at cost. This includes managing custom product variations, accommodating short-notice production runs, and providing 24/7 visibility into every order’s status to exceed expectations. The goal is to drive more profitable revenue growth while gaining a competitive edge through real-time insights and continuous improvements.
Building A Business Case For Digital Manufacturing
Achieving more growth and profitability is the most common business driver leading manufacturers to adopt digital manufacturing. However, to succeed, it must provide a 360-degree view across all manufacturing operations. A digital manufacturing system needs to be built on a single, unified database architecture where all applications, from accounting & finance to ERP, MES, Quality, Supply Chain Management, and reporting, share the same data.
Real-time data is the unifying thread that holds digital manufacturing together. Being adaptive enough to change production styles based on changing customer demands, providing flexible terms in response to competitive pressures, and staying in control of costs and quality are adoption drivers that all rely on real-time data. Getting in control of complex regulatory, compliance, and EHS challenges takes a connected manufacturing system that can provide real-time data insights across every manufacturing operation area.
Conclusion
IndustryWeek’s research into which business drivers most impact manufacturers’ decisions to adopt digital manufacturing is interrelated, with real-time data being a unified thread. Manufacturing operations benefit from greater shop floor visibility, control, and insights to manage risks and grow profitably.