Asia-Pacific’s manufacturing industry outlook has changed significantly in the last 24 months resulting in accelerated investment in advanced technologies and process optimization to improve operational resiliency and agility.
Manufacturing organisations have been investing in technologies that enable remote operations, automation, integration, and collaboration that support data-driven decision-making.
Labour uncertainty and constraints have placed emphasis on the need for hardware and software automation to augment the shopfloor workforce, as well as prioritizing remote capabilities to scale asset maintenance and optimization.
IDC’s top10 manufacturing predictions
"Manufacturing organisations felt an acute need to launch and accelerate digital transformation projects to address the increasing value chain disruptions and volatility," said Sampath Kumar Venkataswamy, senior research manager, Manufacturing Insights at IDC.
He added that the focus has been around technology-led interventions that enable real-time data capture, which allows organisations to minimise their operational risks.
“Investments around digital commerce channels have shown an uptick which invariably increases the fulfilment pressures requiring manufacturers to rely on agile frameworks,” he continued.
IDC’s top 10 predictions for manufacturers
Prediction 1: Remote-first processes: By 2024, 33% of A2000 companies will develop all-new processes as remote-first designs, compared with the very limited number of remote-first processes in 2020.
Prediction 2: AI forecasting: By 2024, 40% of APeJ-based supply chain forecasts will be automated using artificial intelligence, improving accuracy by 5 percentage points.
Prediction 3: Servitization offerings: By the end of 2024, 50% of A2000 OEMs will offer flexible service products going beyond standard contracts and consumables to achieve 90%+ customer retention and increase service margins by 5%.
Prediction 4: Vision as a sensor: By 2027, 25% of APEJ-based organisations will utilize vision analytics in operations, moving beyond quality inspection and security use cases to those focused on performance, experience, and safety.
Prediction 5: Data ecosystems: By 2025, 25% of APEJ-based manufacturers will share data in their ecosystems (partners, customers, suppliers), thereby improving the overall equipment effectiveness (OEE) of their factory operations on average by 10%.
Prediction 6: B2B digital commerce: By 2024, driven by the global pandemic, 60% of APEJ-based industrial manufacturing organisations will have invested in B2B digital commerce, thereby improving sales and marketing effectiveness by 15%.
Prediction 7: Application ecosystems: By 2024, 25% of APEJ-based manufacturers will share applications with industry ecosystem partners to improve visibility and operational efficiency and ensure safety, security, and quality.
Prediction 8: Low-code platforms: By 2026, over 40% of APEJ-based organisations will rely on low-code platforms and tools to build smart custom applications that can support connected manufacturing needs while reducing deployment efforts by 33%.
Prediction 9: API-led integration: By 2023, 40% of A2000 manufacturers will adopt an API-led integration strategy to link applications as a single platform to improve agility and visibility across organisations.
Prediction 10: Traceability technologies: Driven by increased demand for environmental accountability in manufacturing ecosystems, by 2025, 40% of A2000 manufacturers will use traceability technologies to mitigate risk and boost transparency.
