4 Challenges Manufacturers Face on Their Digital Transformation Journey

There have been countless changes in technology over the past couple of decades: Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Internet of Things, Artificial intelligence, and Augmented Reality (to name a few). But with all of these advances in technology, the 350 million workers in manufacturing are being asked to perform increasingly complex jobs using technology that has remained relatively unchanged for 20 years. Whether this is because enterprise software solutions are expensive, technically complex, difficult to implement, or lack continuous improvement opportunities, these users and processes have been underserved. Although there has been a recent trend towards a digital transformation that looks at applying new technologies to improve operational processes, the workers who actually perform these processes are not being considered. Because of this, the frontline worker is largely disconnected from the digital thread of the business and improvement in productivity seems stagnant.