Posted by Singapore: Manufacturers globally are found to be more relying on GenAI to set up smart factories, innovate, increase productivity, build resilience and gain competitive advantage, according to a new report.
The NTT DATA research report titled ‘Feet on the Floor, Eyes on AI: Do you have a plan or a problem?” revealed that manufacturing companies worldwide are increasingly turning to GenAI to set up smart factories, spur innovation, improve productivity, build resilience and gain competitive advantage.
The research report revealed that GenAI has a transformative potential to impact on core functions like innovation, productivity, resilience and competitive advantage.
However, the report also put forth significant challenges related to workforce and infrastructure readiness as well as ethical frameworks for governance, when it comes to GenAI.
The study surveyed more than 500 manufacturing leaders and decision makers in 34 countries.
Key findings include:
·95% (APAC: 97%) of respondents said GenAI is already directly improving efficiency and bottom-line performance.
·94% (APAC: 99%) expect the integration of Internet of Things (i.e., IoT/edge) data into GenAI models will significantly improve the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated outputs.
·91% (APAC: 97%) say combining digital twin and GenAI will improve both physical asset performance and supply chain resilience.
·Respondents said their most frequent use cases are supply chain and inventory management; knowledge management; quality control; research and development; and process automation.
“AI is streamlining processes and redefining what’s possible across the entire manufacturing value chain, from supply chain predictions to quality control,” said Prasoon Saxena, Co-Lead, Products Industries, NTT DATA, Inc.
“GenAI can help organisations achieve flexibility in fast-changing business environments, especially in the face of uncertain tariff policies worldwide,” added Saxena.
Challenges to Success
Satisfaction with AI initiatives has surged over the past year, yet manufacturers still face significant challenges that include:
- Infrastructure: 92% (APAC: 91%) of manufacturers said old technologies hinder vital initiatives, but less than half have conducted a full infrastructure readiness assessment.
- Complementary technologies: 94% (APAC: 99%) expect the integration of Internet of Things (i.e., IoT/edge) data into GenAI models will significantly improve the accuracy and relevance of AI-generated outputs, yet not all are confident in their ability to complete such integrations.
·Responsible frameworks: While ethical AI is on the radar, only 47% (APAC: 48%) of manufacturing leaders strongly agree their organization follows a robust framework that balances risk with value creation.
·Workforce readiness: Two-thirds (APAC: 53%) of manufacturers say their employees lack the necessary skills to use GenAI effectively, creating functional and operational disadvantages and risks.
·Data Management: Just 41% (APAC: 46%) of manufacturers strongly agree they have enough data storage and processing capabilities to support their GenAI workload needs, which will limit success.
“The most successful manufacturing organisations have already integrated GenAI into essential operations. Companies failing to plan, deploy and govern GenAI strategically will not only have a problem, they may be planning to fail,” concluded Saxena.