Digital transformation, especially in the manufacturing environment, is difficult.
That doesn’t mean that it's not worth the effort (jump ahead to learn more about how we overcome these challenges for our most innovative customers). Every day, organizations are realizing benefits through digital transformation that lead to faster and better decision making as well as more agile and adaptable operations.
Manufacturers face a distinctive set of challenges when compared to sectors such as finance, retail, energy, and healthcare, where substantial successes can often be observed. While these industries generally gain benefits where data drives decisions that can be made from behind a desk, the big opportunities in the manufacturing sector tend to be from people-centric process changes that involve physical manipulation of materials and goods to produce products. In terms of digital transformation, manufacturers must navigate a more challenging landscape where digital decision-making bridges hands-on, concrete operational changes.
From identifying the right business drivers to start with, to implementing solutions that work for the users, and establishing sustainment processes to drive continuous value, transformation is not as simple as many claim it to be. There are many factors to be considered to ensure your business needs are being met, followed by hard work to implement change and ensure adoption.
Steer clear of anyone peddling the notion that digitalization can be achieved through effortless shortcuts - a magic button approach, which glosses over foundational concerns. This is a far cry from reality. Sustainable transformation is an intricate process; it involves more than just buying a new tool and installing it in your facility. You simply can't buy optimization. It's up to your operations teams and your integration partner to choose, implement, and then use the right tools to affect the operations in order to see benefits. Technology innovations and theoretical constructs can help with implementation, but they will not help you identify and avoid the risks that many face when taking on these initiatives.
Tools are simply a means to facilitate process changes more effectively. They are there to be used, but they rarely "do the work for you". Take the age-old transformation analogy: the butterfly. While silk is a critical piece of the change process, it isn't the silk that's doing the work. The caterpillar has to do the work to spin the silk into their cocoon that actually enables nature's metamorphic process to work.
Fortunately for butterflies, the transformation process is encoded in their DNA. The people that operate manufacturing facilities are not so lucky. Given the choice, many would most likely not want to tackle a change, because new things surrounded by uncertainty can be scary. However, provided the right information--i.e., clear perspective to what will change, how it will affect and improve their work, and transparency in the steps and work it will take to get there, we find people are more willing, even eager, to take part in the change process.
This year, the Digital Transformation Advisors at RoviSys are introducing a comprehensive, scalable, packaged service offering to Accelerate Digital Transformation to the manufacturing market. Our advisory team has developed this offering by consolidating over 100 years of combined manufacturing digitalization experience, and all of the scars and learnings that come along with it. The offering focuses on tactical program management strategies to identify, coordinate, and mitigate risks that often interfere with successful digital operations solution implementations.
As a comprehensive offering, we’ve developed repeatable processes starting from the early stages of defining the potential value of digital transformation in manufacturing, to the complexities and challenges of solution implementation, all the way through to ensuring your operations are able to realize the potential value through effective use and continuous improvement.
As we continue to see manufacturers struggle to justify and succeed in their Digital Transformation goals, we anticipate high demand for this offering. We are looking to partner with manufacturers who are serious about change, pragmatic about the effort it will take, and are interested in improving their own metamorphic process. To secure time with our team to discuss your business objectives and learn more about our approach to addressing them, message or connect with me or my team on LinkedIn.
Digital Transformation (DTx) Advisors at RoviSys:
John Vargo – DTx Strategy & Vision - John Vargo | LinkedIn
Justin Vaught – Intelligent Manufacturing Analysis & Transformation - Justin Vaught | LinkedIn
Jeff Rericha – DTx Program Management - Jeff Rericha | LinkedIn
Keith Beaubien – Lean DTx Operations Consultancy - Keith Beaubien | LinkedIn
Jessica Buonopane – White Glove Organizational Change Management - Jessica Buonopane | LinkedIn
Josh Hilewick – Real-Time Process Control Digitalization - Joshua Hilewick | LinkedIn
Nathan Sender - Infrastructure and Industrial Digital Integration - Nathan Sender | LinkedIn
Bryan DeBois – Predictive Knowledge Digital Evolution - Bryan DeBois | LinkedIn