2023 State of Smart Manufacturing Study Finds Over 45% of Asia-Pacific Manufacturers Struggle to Outpace Competitors Due to Lack of Innovation, Skilled Workforce and Technology

Global survey reveals impact of smart manufacturing technology on maximizing data insights, attracting talent, and minimizing risks to supply chain, quality, and cybersecurity.

SINGAPORE, March 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, announced the results of the 8th annual "State of Smart Manufacturing Report." The global study surveyed more than 1,350 manufacturers across 13 of the leading manufacturing countries including Australia, China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

This year's report reveals a focus on delivering profitable growth without sacrificing quality, an emphasis on accessing data's true potential, and increasing adoption of technology to build resilience, enable agility, increase sustainability, and address workforce challenges.

Key findings include:

"Balancing quality and growth," and "tracking or quantifying sustainable practices" are the biggest internal obstacles inhibiting progress for Asia-Pacific (APAC) manufacturers this year, compared to deploying and integrating new technology in 2022. Globally, twice as many manufacturers believe their organization lacks the technology needed to outpace the competition, as compared to 2022. Four out of five manufacturers still lack an end-to-end supply chain planning solution. Close to half (44%) of APAC manufacturers plan to adopt smart manufacturing within the next year; out of this, China (80%), Australia (60%) and India (59%) are already using some components of smart manufacturing. The biggest barriers to adopting smart manufacturing for APAC manufacturers are employee resistance to technology adoption and change, lack of skill set to manage smart manufacturing implementation, and lack of clear definition of the value/ROI of smart manufacturing. Quality management system (QMS) is the smart manufacturing system that APAC respondents have seen the largest ROI, followed by manufacturing execution system (MES) and enterprise resource planning (ERP). Cybersecurity risks rank highest as the obstacle all respondents are looking to mitigate with smart manufacturing initiatives. 88% of APAC manufacturers plan to maintain or grow employment due to technology adoption. Additionally, 39% of respondents believe they will be able to repurpose existing workers due to their increasing use of technology. Of the 94% of APAC manufacturers who have formal or informal environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies in place, close to half (48%) cite "a competitive differentiator" as the top driving factor for pursuing ESG initiatives.

"Manufacturers are continuing to seek opportunities for profitable growth but are realizing that uncertainty in workforce availability is impacting quality, along with their ability to meet evolving customer needs," said Veena Lakkundi, senior vice president, Strategy and Corporate Development, Rockwell Automation. "The survey found that smart manufacturing technology is enabling manufacturers of all sizes to optimize more resilient, agile, and sustainable solutions that accelerate transformation. If we've learned anything from history, it's that organizations that invest in innovation, with a bias for action, during times of uncertainty can outpace competitors."

Based on the survey findings, technology is crucial to mitigating risk and delivering growth. However, for one-third of manufacturers globally, the range of available systems and platforms is leading to "technology paralysis" – an inability to decide between solutions. Manufacturers can overcome this indecision by choosing a partner with relevant industry expertise and experience who can advise and guide them in implementing a fit-for-purpose solution to achieve desired outcomes. 

"At Rockwell, we combine the power of our portfolio of industry solutions with our second-to-none partner ecosystem to serve as a trusted advisor to leading companies around the world," said Lakkundi. "As the biggest company focused solely on industrial automation and digital transformation, we work to make the complex simple and meet companies where they are in their journeys."

The full findings of the report can be found here.

Methodology

This report analyzed feedback from 1,353 respondents from 13 of the top manufacturing countries with roles from management up to the C-suite and was conducted in association with Sapio Research and Plex, by Rockwell Automation. Out of the total number of respondents, 425 are based in Asia-Pacific in Australia, China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea. The survey covered discrete, process, and hybrid industries across a balanced distribution of company sizes with revenues spanning $10 million to over $10 billion, providing a wide breadth of manufacturing business perspectives.

About Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK) is a global leader in industrial automation and digital transformation. We connect the imaginations of people with the potential of technology to expand what is humanly possible, making the world more productive and more sustainable. Headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Rockwell Automation employs approximately 26,000 problem solvers dedicated to our customers in more than 100 countries. To learn more about how we are bringing the Connected Enterprise to life across industrial enterprises, visit www.rockwellautomation.com.