Digital technologies disrupting manufacturing

Digital technology is disrupting the manufacturing sector, but it seems as it is not afraid of it. As a matter of fact, the manufacturing industry seems to be embracing new technology and is excited to see what the future holds.

This is according to a new report by Fujitsu, entitled Fit for Digital, which takes a closer look at the UK’s manufacturing sector.

Nine in ten (90 percent) of those polled for the report say the manufacturing sector has already been digitally disrupted, and even more (95 percent) expect it to be disrupted even more in the future.

For 90 percent of the polled, digital technologies will "fundamentally" change their industry by 2021.

Almost half (47 percent) believe that the CIO is driving their response to the challenge of digital disruption, unlike retail, financial services and the public sector, all of which point their fingers at the CEO, or at least a combined leadership.

More than four fifths (82 percent) of business executives see this as an exciting time, full of opportunities. Eighty-six percent says their organization should innovate faster if they are to stay relevant in the market.

"For manufacturers, digital disruption is as much about the transformation of business processes as it is business models and revenue streams," says Graeme Wright, CTO for Manufacturing, Utilities, and Services, UK and Ireland at Fujitsu.

"Whilst disruption has been seen in other areas such as retail for years, the consequences are only just hitting manufacturing -- evident with the emergence of new business models. For instance, Rolls Royce now sells 'power by the hour,' rather than the engine itself, and Tesla’s end to end business model which encompasses solar, storage, transport and charging point has revolutionized the automotive industry. Not only do these new models provide the opportunity to increase revenue, they also ensure the entire service a customer needs (such as maintenance, spares, expertise) is delivered at once, and we expect this trend to continue."

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