Research from Mindmetre of more than 1,000 manufacturing companies worldwide has highlighted four key factors holding back the pace of digital transformation in the industry:
- Management understanding to assess the benefits, risks, return-on-investment and best-practice journeys for digital transformation.
- The data challenge to capture, manage and leverage digital data for business advantage.
- The shop floor — engaging employees to implement and manage new systems and processes.
- Guidance and collaboration by the buy-side and the supply-side to share basic knowledge, practice and examples of successful digital transformation.
The report follows on from Mindmetre’s previous study which found the adoption of ‘significant’ digital transformation among all sizes of manufacturers across all sectors was between 25-30% in 2023-24.
Its most recent study has showed that greater connectivity and collaboration is needed, and points to a change of mindset among manufacturers and their technology providers as the most important lever.
And while the research nods to the efforts made by trade associations to drive progress in digitalisation, it also notes that these endeavours are not enough to maintain and accelerate the pace of change.
“Much great work is being done by industry bodies. Equally, there are some standout technology providers who are creating experience-sharing workshops and forums for their client base. And all of this excellent work is to be encouraged. Yet it would appear it is not yet at a scale which is sufficient to overcome abiding obstacles to transformation identified by our research respondents – management skills; data capabilities; employee engagement,” said Paul Lindsell, managing director of MindMetre.
“The digital transformation journey is particularly challenging for food and beverage manufacturers,” Lindsell told Food Manufacture.
“The industry is suffering from a generational worker shortage and so the attraction of automation is very strong – not to get rid of people so much as to concentrate their experience and skills where it counts. At the same time, margins are typically wafer thin, meaning that optimisation through digitalisation makes a disproportionately positive contribution to earnings.
“One obstacle in particular gives major cause for concern; the gaps in management skills and insight into how to successfully navigate the digital transformation journey. Lack of knowledge means lack of confidence, and lack of confidence means lack of investment – all of which will leave some players lagging behind in the race to modernisation. There will be winners and losers in this digitalisation journey.
“Surely this obstacle to progress, identified in our latest report, should re-incentivise F&B trade bodies around the world to pull the industry together to share much more best practice on successful digital strategies. Of course, pioneer F&B manufacturers who have invested in digital transformation will be reluctant to share that knowledge. Yet such peer-to-peer sharing in other industries has shown that, in reality, everyone has something to learn from their counterparts in best practice forums. No-one has all the answers. Let’s hope the trade bodies can be persuasive on this front!”
