Rockwell Automation's 8th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report reveals that the number one obstacle manufacturers face in 2023 is balancing profitable growth without sacrificing quality. The study also reveals a greater emphasis on accessing data’s true potential, and increasing the adoption of technology to build resilience, enable agility, and increase sustainability.

Gartner says two key challenges in the race to implement smart manufacturing strategy revolve around technology, commercial availability and data integrity, and aligning supply chain and factory on smart manufacturing benefits and plans.

Gartner cautions that as automation of data and information flows expands beyond the factory, the need to manage supply chain convergence grows. For smart manufacturing, this means evaluating the processes used in logistics, planning and sourcing, and customer service against those used in manufacturing operations, and designing cross-functional performance metrics to assess total value generated for the customer.

In this PodChats for FutureCIO, we are joined by Thomas Lai, vice president and general manager, APJ at Boomi, to elaborate on how data can help manufacturers thrive against future adversity.

1.       Describe the current state of digitalisation across Asia's manufacturing sector?

2.       Can you name some industrial modernisation challenges and opportunities?

3.       How will technology modernisation help manufacturers leverage data analytics to improve operational efficiency for their logistics?

4.       Manufacturing environments typically are heavy in the use of operational technologies, including IoT. How should CIOs approach the integration of OT and IT technologies?

5.       How can integration platforms help manufacturers remain resilient and thrive amid disruptions and uncertainty?

6.       What is your advice for CIOs evaluating integration platforms in the quest to modernise the manufacturing process?