A large illuminated building by the water, symbolizing the manufacturing industry's growth and advancements according to IDC's predictions for 2016.
Manufacturing

Top 10 Manufacturing Predictions for 2016 by IDC

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Manufacturers investing in customer-centric IT Will gain 2 – 3% more market share over competition

In 2016, worldwide manufacturing spend on external IT expenditures is estimated at $3,23 billion and manufacturers making the most of their customer-centric IT investments is predicted to gain 2 – 3% more market share over competitors states a recent IDC report published after combining primary and secondary research on manufacturing IT spending and investments. The document lists the top ten Manufacturing predictions for 2016:

1. CUSTOMER DRIVEN INVESTMENT: Manufacturers That Have Leveraged Customer-Centricity Investments Will Gain Market Share Growth in the Range of 2–3 Percentage Points By end 2017:

As with all successful business that centers their investment on customer requirements, manufacturing companies will also reap returns, namely a valuable 2 -3% market share from competition. Customers are demanding a more responsive manufacturing culture and those that can deliver this to customers will gain an advantage over its competitors in the market. The important thing here is the customizing of experience. For example, if my manufacturing process allows a customer to customize their clothes to create a better fit, or a more comfortable hearing aid, it makes for a better experience.

The customer-driven revolution in manufacturing is very much relevant in Quote-to-Cash (QTC), and Configure-Price-Quote (CPQ), Cloud-based providers can scale quickly to meet manufacturers’ multisite requirements those who excel at multisite and two-tier Cloud ERP strategies.

2: GLOBAL STANDARDS: 90% of Manufacturers Will Impose Their Global Standards on All Operations, Including Outsourced Operations, and Suppliers, to Decrease Risk and Increase Market Opportunities in 2016.
Part of these standards will include quality management of data which is isolated, even siloed in many production centers. Inbound inspection, audit, CAPA (Corrective Action/Preventative Action), NC/CA (Non-Conformance/Corrective Action), outcomes of Six Sigma quality analysis, and many other forms of data rarely gets outside of manufacturing and across the broader value chain of a manufacturer.
3: METRICS MEASURES: 65% of Manufacturers Will Have Metrics in Place to Evaluate and Drive Pervasive Changes in the Workplace with Their New Technology Investments by the End of 2016
IDC predicts metrics associated with 3D printing productivity and security will become more pervasive in 2016. In addition to these, advanced analytics that can recommend which customized product configurations, service bundles, and pricing options are optimal for a given sales cycle will emerge, supporting by cloud-based platforms capable of providing analytics reporting on any device, anytime.
4: TRANSFORMATIONAL OPERATIONS: By 2019, 75% of Manufacturing Value Chains Will Undergo an Operating Model Transformation with Digitally Connected Processes That Improve Responsiveness and Productivity by 15%.
To compete effectively this year and gain customers, manufacturers need to prioritize speed and scale of production as the second priority. Accuracy, responsiveness, and speed will be the key facilitator driving growth and focus for improving customer-facing processes in manufacturing.
5: LEVERAGING LOGISTICS: 50% of Manufacturers Will Have Modernized Their Logistics Network to Leverage 3D Printing, Robotics, and Cognitive Computing to Support Innovative Postponement Strategies By 2019.
Streamlining logistics networks by enabling greater use of 3D printing, robotics, and cognitive computing also needs to be anchored in a customer-driven quality, response, and service recovery Manufacturer, who are early adopters, have the potential to break through barriers that held them back from improving accuracy and increasing long-term customer loyalty. The General Electric Industrial Internet of Things initiative shows potential as a platform that could orchestrate these diverse technologies.
6: ENTERPRISE-WIDE FORECASTING: By the End of 2019, Enterprise-wide Improvements in Resiliency and Visibility Will Render Short-Term Forecasting Moot for 50% of All Consumer Products Manufacturers, and 25% of All Others
For manufacturers to attain this level of supply chain collaboration and orchestration by 2019, manufacturers need to compete with greater insight, speed and relevancy to take market share and react faster than those with past forecasting techniques.
7:  PRODUCT INNOVATION PLATFORMS: 60% of top 100 Global Manufacturers Will Be Using a Product Innovation Platform Approach to Drive Enterprise Quality throughout the Product and Service Life Cycles By 2018
According to IDC, a product innovation platform unifies product, manufacturing, supply chain, and service information, processes, and people thereby enabling decision support and collaboration across value chains, enabling higher product and process quality and states that such a platform will be justified based on the full life-cycle quality and a superior customer experience.
8:  VIRTUAL SIMULATION: By 2017, 40% of Large Manufacturers Will Use Virtual Simulation to Model Their Products, Manufacturing Processes, and Service Delivery to Optimize Product and Service Innovation.
Virtual models of products customers considers buying accelerates sales cycles and simulations helps process manufacturers gain efficiency, and discrete manufacturers meet customer requirements. Leading manufacturers of engineer-to-order industrial products can translate virtual models into Bill of Materials (BOM) and process workflows today, streamlining production and making digital manufacturing a reality.
9: CLOUD SYNERGY: By the End of 2017, 50% of Manufacturers Will Exploit the Synergy of Cloud, Mobility, and Advanced Analytics to Facilitate Innovative, Integrated Ways of Working on the Shop Floor.
Companies will realize the short-term opportunity of using the ‘cloud’ as the fabric to establish a company-wide platform to analyzing data coming from the shop floor and converting it into actionable information for enterprise decision makers. Acumatica, Microsoft AX on Azure, NetSuite, and Plex Systems are cloud-based ERP providers who have experience scaling manufacturing operations starting at the shop floor.
10:  DECENTRALISED INTELLIGENCE: In 2016, 20% of Manufacturers Will Begin to Break Down Organizational Silos, Reshape IT Portfolios, and Import New IT Talent in the Plant for Digitally Executed Manufacturing
Rigid, centralized factory control systems will start to give way to decentralized intelligence as machine-to-machine communications start to hit the factory floor. To support this transformation, a new generation of technology-savvy workers, with information available at their fingertips, will be needed. Leverage on your manufacturing IT with Brandix i3 Manufacturing solutions here . If data and analytics is your manufacturing challenge, read more about the Brandix i3 Business Intelligence Solution Read about Brandix i3’s other manufacturing solutions Article sources: Forbes.com – tech online – 19 December 2015 IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2016 Predictions