Steering IT into the digital manufacturing era

Mattias Ulbrich, CIO of Audi, discusses technology trends in the automotive industry and how his team is enabling next-generation manufacturing practices. Many companies are embedding sensors in product components and equipment to streamline manufacturing processes, improve yields, and create new business opportunities.1 1. "Digitizing manufacturing environments," McKinsey on Business Technology, 2016, forthcoming on McKinsey.com. The digitization of manufacturing, sometimes referred to as Industry 4.0., has begun in earnest, and Mattias Ulbrich, CIO of Audi, has witnessed the shift firsthand. "Years of experience in the automotive industry have made it clear to me that interdisciplinary collaboration--with business and IT working together--will be critical in this time of digital transformation. IT has a central role to play as change partner," he says.