Prompted by inflationary pressures and rising energy costs, manufacturers are stepping up technology investment to counter risks. According to the 9th Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report from Rockwell Automation, adoption of technology is seen by manufacturers as the best way to mitigate those external and internal risks.
According to the report, spending in this area increased 30% year-over-year, from 23% to 30% of operating budget, in the drive to find incremental efficiencies, and face the challenges of a tough operating climate and ongoing skills shortages.
Artificial Intelligence: Changing the Manufacturing Ecosystem
One of those technology investments is Generative AI (GenAI), or the AI techniques that learn a representation of artifacts from data, and use it to generate brand-new, unique artifacts that resemble but do not repeat the original data.
Over 1,500 manufacturers around the world contributed to this year’s State of Smart Manufacturing Report, and for the second year in a row, respondents cited a lack of skilled workforce as the top reason they will struggle to outpace the competition. Many will rely on new and emerging technology, like GenAI, to help fill skills gaps and amplify effort rather than replacing workers.
Top Priorities
In addition to addressing skilled workforce shortages, over the next three years, the areas most impacted by GenAI will be two of manufacturing’s evergreen concerns: maintaining quality and reducing risk, specifically cybersecurity.
In fact, quality control tops the chart for planned AI/machine learning use cases in 2024. That is why GenAI has rocketed up the technology priority list over the last 12 months, creating fierce demand for industrial applications embedded with this transformative technology.
Results in the State of Smart Manufacturing Report show that GenAI is core to technology strategies and roadmaps. Adopters are seeing tangible results, with only Cloud/SaaS delivering more ROI than GenAI and causal AI. According to survey respondents:
- 83% anticipate using GenAI in their operations in 2024
- GenAI is the #1 new area for technology investment over the next 12 months
Respondents believe those at the forefront of the manufacturing industry are using data to fuel AI and machine learning and optimize processes. However, those surveyed believe their own organizations use less than half of collected data effectively.
Get The Full Report
The State of Smart Manufacturing Report reveals optimism as advanced industrial operations technology delivers results that offer hope in the face of evolving economic conditions, labor shortages and skills gaps. The report explores emerging technologies like GenAI and their potential to alleviate the biggest manufacturing challenges of 2024.
