Zebra Technologies’ 2024 Manufacturing Vision study reveals that globally, 61% of manufacturers expect AI to drive growth by 2029, up from 41% in 2024. In APAC, 68% of manufacturers expect AI to drive growth by 2029, increasing from 46% in 2024.
This surge in AI adoption, combined with 92% global and 87% of APAC survey respondents prioritising digital transformation, underscores manufacturers’ intent to improve data management and leverage new technologies that enhance visibility and quality throughout the manufacturing process.
Why transformation is hard
While digital transformation is a priority for manufacturers, around 30% to 40% of global and APAC respondents recognise achieving it is fraught with obstacles, including the cost and availability of labour, scaling technology solutions, and the convergence of information technology and operational technology (IT/OT).
Transformation hinges on visibility, enabling manufacturers to leverage data more effectively to identify, react and prioritise problems and projects to deliver incremental efficiencies across the manufacturing process, ensuring the greatest impact upfront.
“Manufacturers often face challenges in effectively utilising their data,” said Christanto Suryadarma, sales vice president for Southeast Asia (SEA), South Korea and Channel APJeC at Zebra Technologies. “This is where AI and other digital technologies come into play, to foster an agile and efficient manufacturing environment.”
He claims that Zebra helps manufacturers leverage technology in innovative ways to automate and enhance workflows, achieving a well-connected plant floor where people and technology collaborate efficiently on a large scale.
The visibility gaps
Although manufacturers say digital transformation is a strategic priority, achieving a fully connected factory remains elusive. Visibility is key to optimising efficiency, productivity, and quality on the plant floor, yet a large visibility gap exists.
According to Zebra, only 16% of manufacturing leaders globally report they have real-time, work-in-progress (WIP) monitoring across the entire manufacturing process, while this is true for more of APAC manufacturing leaders, at 25%.
Among APAC manufacturing leaders, 63% - vs 57% globally - expect to increase visibility across production and throughout the supply chain by 2029.
Zebra says 38% in APAC say getting IT and OT to agree on where to invest is a key barrier to digital transformation. Adding to these obstacles, 82% of APAC manufacturing leaders agree they are struggling to keep up with the pace of technological innovation and to securely integrate devices, sensors, and technologies throughout their facilities and supply chain.
The people angle
The study also found that manufacturers are shifting their growth strategies by integrating and augmenting workers with AI and other technologies to transform manufacturing and build a skilled workforce over the next five years.
Among APAC manufacturers, 76% plan to reskill labour to enhance data and technology usage skills, while 75% expect to augment workers with mobility-enabling technology.
The tech strategy
Manufacturing leaders across the C-Suite, Information Technology (IT), and Operational Technology (OT) understand how labour initiatives must extend beyond improving worker efficiency and productivity with technology.
Six in 10 global and APAC leaders rank ongoing development, retraining/upskilling, and career path development to attract future talent as a high priority for their organisations.
Said Tan Aik Jin, APAC solutions lead for manufacturing and Singapore ZEC, Zebra Technologies: “Technological innovations, such as machine vision and deep learning OCR solutions, are opening doors for manufacturers to excel in an era marked by rapid technological advancement and growing requirements for speed, safety, and precision.
He further posits that beyond just adopting technology, businesses need to be prepared and equipped to continually transcend current capabilities. “The future of manufacturing demands a symbiotic relationship between technology and human expertise to redefine the essence of manufacturing,” concludes Tan.
The quality story
The quest for quality has intensified as manufacturers across segments must do more with fewer resources. The survey noted that among manufacturing leaders the most significant quality management issues are real-time visibility (40% in APAC), keeping up with new standards and regulations (30% in APAC), integrating data (27% globally, 31% in APAC), and maintaining traceability (27% n APAC).
What lies ahead
Over the next five years, 72% of APAC manufacturing leaders plan to implement robotics, 66% in machine vision, 72% on radio frequency identification (RFID) and 62% on fixed industrial scanners.
Most manufacturing leaders agree these automation solutions are driven by a variety of factors including the need to provide the workforce with high-value tasks (75% in APAC), achieve service level agreements (70% in APAC), and add more flexibility to the plant floor (66% in APAC).
