Don’t Be Afraid of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing

Global manufacturing players are leveraging digital technology to add structure to their environment. Global product development, design engineering, manufacturing and the overall supply chain are fast becoming the next digital transformation frontier.

Digital transformation in manufacturing is big. It asks us to reimagine how we meet customer demands and expectations completely. And in return, it’s creating new productivity levels, growth, profits and sustainability for our collective futures enabling organizations to imagine the core operations of their business as a digital backbone that runs from their consumers through their value chain. It functions as a support system (much like the spine), monitoring all functions (much like the nerves), and is an ideal communications tool.

Let’s look at an imagined manufacturing player we’ll call “Technophobe Manufacturing.” Technophobe loved the “theory” of digital transformation and a wholly digital platform but feared the torture of making incremental changes. Ultimately, the company dreamed of creating a plant that would serve as a beacon for the industry and a model that could transform global operations. But Technophobe had massive production lines and used little automation. Shifting from workflow-driven to data-driven manufacturing seemed daunting but ultimately promised enhanced efficiency, profits, employee and customer satisfaction, as well as better product quality. With a digitized and automated plant floor, leveraging Oracle NetSuite for Manufacturing, Technophobe could experiment with exciting new technologies that reduce costs, increase efficiency, and enhance performance visibility. In reality, after the Withum team of experts walked them through the process, the change was relatively painless.

This story of manufacturing digitization for “Technophobe” is meant to be light-hearted, but the benefits of a global manufacturing player going digital are not. The benefits brought by digital transformation in manufacturing add a serious edge in today’s fast-paced and rapidly pivoting business environment.

NetSuite for Manufacturing delivers a single, integrated cloud-based solution that can be easily implemented to replace the separate (often analog) systems used by outdated and lagging platforms. It offers comprehensive functionality and is specifically designed to help manufacturers of all sizes reduce operation costs, increase revenue, and better manage their overall business (including financial reports, inventory management, real-time order tracking) and supply chain processes.