These technologies, according to the report, are helping to drive higher efficiency, reduce costs and support faster speeds to market.
The report goes on to suggest that companies must decide to either adopt these innovations or face the prospect of being left behind.
According to Nitin Rakesh, CEO and President of Syntel, a ‘digital modernisation firm’, “Businesses must transform their manufacturing processes in order to thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.”
I can’t fault that analysis.
The report goes on to say that 83 per cent of companies have implemented some form of automation in their production process over the past five years and those that hadn’t cited financial considerations as an inhibitor, with 54 per cent believing that ROI would materialise too slowly.
“Financial pressures in the manufacturing sector are prompting organisations to re-assess how they use technology,” according to Rakesh. “Cost-conscious businesses need to realise that their long-term run-the-business costs will be higher without the proper technology infrastructure in place.”
Fair enough but that figure of 83 per cent does seem rather high to me. Automation is certainly being embraced by the UK’s larger manufacturers but far to few smaller manufacturers appear to know anything about Industry 4.0 let alone embrace it.
If that figure is accurate then why is UK productivity so poor?
And as for those that would like to invest in the concept, many complain that their current internet connection is too slow and that the cost of their connection is going up.
Talk of a digital revolution reaching the factory floor may be true among the lucky few and it’s certainly great to hear that the sector is ‘optimistic’, but rather too many businesses in the UK still lack the resources let alone the tools to benefit.
