Manufacturers Are Dazzled by AI’s Promise, but Challenges Persist

According to our survey of 500 manufacturers, industrial leaders are turning to AI technologies to address workforce challenges and advance the sector toward Industry 5.0 – where human workers can dedicate themselves to value-add work because of the use of AI to drive new insights.

Manufacturing powerhouses that successfully implement AI technology will usher in a new era of innovation and efficiency. However, these organizations must embark on their AI journey with a clear strategy. On the positive side, 63% of manufacturing leaders plan to increase AI spending this year and 80% believe technology will have a positive impact on upskilling the workforce. But before Industry 5.0’s AI co-pilots revolutionize factories worldwide, leaders must overcome inhibitors to adoption and learn how to report and quantify the impact of this breakthrough innovation on their business.

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Barriers to AI Adoption

While AI technologies can reduce or eliminate some of manufacturing’s biggest pain points, significant roadblocks to widespread adoption remain. The top three obstacles leaders face when seeking company-wide buy-in for AI implementation include cybersecurity concerns (47%), process and operational hurdles (35%), and poor data quality (33%).

Manufacturers can address these challenges by identifying a specific business problem, creating a defined framework to tackle the problem and applying the right  AI tools from the get-go. Proper onboarding is another way to get early buy-in for the AI journey. Manufacturing executives will drive widespread implementation and trust in AI’s results by ensuring folks are comfortable and aware of these groundbreaking tools and their promise.

Measuring AI’s Impact 

From machine health and supply chain optimization to energy consumption and everything in between, AI is taking manufacturing by storm and will disrupt every job, process and machine in the next five years. Despite increased adoption, one struggle continues to keep manufacturing pros up at night: measuring ROI is a mystery. This dilemma is likely caused by manufacturers diving into their AI transformations alone, which is a massive mistake as quantifying AI’s impact is exceptionally challenging for those who embrace it without an experienced partner.

Currently, organizations have found success measuring AI’s impact on optimizing supply chain management (only 25%), improving overall production health (21%), and reducing unnecessary machine downtime (16%). These low numbers mean manufacturers are uncertain about what’s paying off for the bottom line and are likely amassing valuable data they can’t leverage effectively. Translation? The industry is ripe for more integrated solutions that can deliver and measure real value.

The AI-Driven Road Ahead 

Many organizations are increasing their investments in AI as they hope the growing relationship between humans and technology will bring a rosier future for manufacturing. However, manufacturers must get their teams bought in early on AI’s promise to remain cutting-edge and opt for integrated AI-powered solutions that deliver measurable value. Organizations are struggling to balance competing business demands, but AI can provide a shared view of the ecosystem. Those that identify these solutions and beat the competition to adoption will remain at the forefront of innovation. Those who continue to stumble haphazardly through their AI initiatives will face an increasingly uphill battle and, maybe, extinction.

[To share your insights with us, please write to sghosh@martechseries.com]

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