Rising costs and supply chain disruptions are rated top concerns by over 50% of manufacturers surveyed for a new report of North American manufacturers.
The report, Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America, by Aptean, a global provider of mission-critical enterprise software solutions. Researchers surveyed process and discrete manufacturers in North America, including manufacturers of electrical equipment, fabricated metals, and industrial machinery, and developed insights into how manufacturers’ primary challenges are influencing emerging trends and affecting business growth trajectories.
In addition to costs and supply chain issues, the report examined how automation of tasks and processes through digital transformation is emerging as a critical path to protect growth in the face of rising costs. For those choosing to automate, the average rate of growth in 2022 was 30% higher than those relying on manual processes.
Supply chain transformation was found to have a significant impact – the percent revenue growth gap between manufacturers that have digitized supply chain operations and those that have yet to do so more than doubled, from .7% greater revenue growth in 2021 to 1.6% greater revenue growth in 2022.
The study further found that cloud adoption by manufacturers has increased significantly in recent years – from 58% in 2022 to 70% in 2023. As businesses moved to the cloud, they also reported higher revenue and profit growth (2021-2022) and predict higher revenue and profit growth in the future (2022-2023).
The research was conducted by Aptean and B2B International in August 2023. Responses came from 200 business decision-makers at manufacturing companies in North America within the process and discrete manufacturing sectors. The study also identified three key trends that will shape the manufacturing industry landscape in 2024 and these – along with the full research findings – are now available in a new report, Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America.
“Automation of key manufacturing processes delivers a competitive advantage for manufacturers struggling to combat rising costs and supply chain disruptions,” said Bob Kocis, President, Americas at Aptean. “As the business environment becomes increasingly complex, the performance gap between manufacturers who have embraced digital transformation and cloud adoption and those who have not will continue to grow.”
In addition to the impact of digital transformation, the research explored:
- How early adopters of artificial intelligence (AI) are already seeing positive impact on revenue and profits
- Why commercial goals to drive efficiencies are also driving sustainability programs
- What steps manufacturers are taking to leverage data as a tool to keep up with consumer preferences
Copies of the Aptean Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America are available here.
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