New research by SME in Southfield and Laserfiche, a SaaS provider of intelligent content management and business process automation, finds that the manufacturing industry continues to rely heavily on manual processes while experiencing work delays in a number of key areas.
The study surveyed more than 300 manufacturing professionals employed with organizations with 101 or more employees.
Only a third of respondents reported that their facilities had completely automated operations related to equipment capacity utilization (30 percent), sales sheets/documents (27 percent), quality management (24 percent), and inspection sheets (24 percent). Meanwhile, the majority of respondents experience work delays related to inventory data (62 percent), manufacturing throughput times (62 percent), equipment effectiveness (62 percent), and equipment capacity utilization (62 percent).
“Overall equipment effectiveness and throughput determine a manufacturing facility’s ability to compete in today’s market,” says Grace Nam, strategic solutions manager, manufacturing, at Laserfiche. “As the report shows, manual processes and unstandardized external and internal communication methods that require various documents and records are still driving most manufacturing operations.
This approach can have a negative impact on equipment availability and performance, as well as lead time to customer.
Results also revealed that increasing overall process effectiveness and enabling data-driven decision making are top priorities for organizations as they consider the next steps in their digitization journeys. In many respondents’ technology plans were AI (56 percent), cloud computing (52 percent), and document and records management (47 percent) initiatives.
“There is incredible opportunity for manufacturers who focus on digitizing paperwork and automating operations,” Nam says. “By embracing digital compliance document and records management, developing a standardized system to improve processing time, and fostering interoperability with metadata management, companies can unlock new efficiencies, reduce costs, and get ahead of the competition.”
Additionally, advancements in AI and cloud computing will accelerate digital transformation in the industry, meaning investments in digitization and automation are more important than ever before.”
Additional findings in the report include:
- High cost of compliance — More than 40 percent of respondents indicated that the top challenge for their organization is the high costs associated with compliance documentation. With new requirements being introduced constantly, industry-specific requirements to manage, plus various regulation changes based on region and country, those costs are likely to grow unless organizations implement solutions to automate and streamline compliance processes.
- The enterprise content management (ECM) advantage — Among current users of ECM systems, almost all respondents (96 percent) indicated that they are somewhat to very satisfied with the return on investment their system provides. The result reveals the highest level of satisfaction with ROI across systems used in manufacturing — however, only 15 percent of respondents report using ECM, suggesting significant opportunity for organizations that adopt ECM and its benefits.
“It’s clear from these results that there is significant room for the industry to increase their competitiveness and efficiency by modernizing their processes and transitioning to smart manufacturing technologies,” says Dave O’Neil, vice president of media at SME. “By sharing these results, SME can continue to help support companies through this transition to ensure a robust future for North American manufacturing.”
To download a copy of the Laserfiche and SME report, visit here.
