Data challenges affect nearly all manufacturers

New research finds 98% of manufacturers are struggling with at least one data issue within their organization delaying or preventing them from using advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and digital twins. Confidence in data quality is essential to proceed with these productivity enhancing technologies, yet the self-assessment is less than assuring: 35% of manufacturers report having incomplete data, 31% have outdated data, and 30% say their data is inaccurate. The disheartening revelation is reported across major verticals such as aerospace and defense, automotive, electronics, energy, and healthcare/life sciences in the Advanced Manufacturing Report, a global survey of more than 500 manufacturing leaders conducted by Forrester Consulting for Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence.

Consequently, 97% of manufacturers report they’re facing barriers to collaboration they deem essential to productivity that would allow them to better respond to customer needs and remain competitive. The respondents overwhelmingly agree better collaboration in manufacturing has significant benefits: 88% expect improved product quality, 86% expect faster time to market, and 82% expect it to help meet sustainability targets. However, major impediments to better collaboration are the inability to share data with internal and external stakeholders, poor integration of data systems across teams, and lack of automation or poor integration of automation with existing technologies.

Automation is seen as a key enabler, with 34% of manufacturers saying they’ve eased talent shortages with automation and 56% are expecting similar benefits from future efforts. More than half (52%) expect major improvements throughout the product life cycle due to automated design optimization via AI and generative design.

Manufacturers plan to invest in automation addressing their collaboration needs: 57% are automating workflow and 53% are automating quality control. In the realm of AI, 48% are investing in predictive automation and 47% are investing in generative automation. However, while 41% are making automation a priority to enhance collaboration and productivity, nearly 35% underutilize automation and 34% face challenges integrating automation. The survey reveals a significant gap exists between wanting and having automation – and closing that gap requires better data management.

Manufacturers failing to get their data in order risk being left behind by their rivals, the report warns, because without actionable data, they can’t properly implement automation. Nearly 40% of manufacturers are falling behind by failing to adopt automation. By comparison, 25% of manufacturers are considered market leaders because they’ve highly or fully automated at least two phases of their manufacturing processes.

Industry leaders gain an edge in workforce productivity and efficiency compared to digital laggards: 58% of leaders report increased staff productivity and innovation versus 35% of laggards.

Having a handle on data – how it’s used, shared, protected, and maintained – is the crucial foundation for all the benefits of digitalization and the ability to automate processes. If you can’t effectively manage data, you can’t move forward. – Eric