Consolidation pressure in the industry is growing

Among suppliers to the manufacturing industry, the consolidation movements of the past few years will once again increase significantly. This is reported in the new study "ISG Provider Lens - Manufacturing Industry Services" by the Information Services Group (ISG). The study examines the role of service and solution providers along the entire manufacturing engineering value chain.

The spectrum observed ranges from the virtual layout of halls and production lines to IT/OT convergence in logistics and production to aftersales services, such as the use of augmented reality solutions in maintenance or working with digital twins in the continuous improvement process (CIP).

A central area in which, in addition to higher automation, stronger networking can also be observed is production control. In the area of "Production Automation Solutions", ISG observes that classic MES structures are now also being digitized via Industrial IoT platforms. Among the most important drivers were improvements in the analysis capability of the robotics used.

The aim is to automate the control and monitoring of production plants even more than is already the case. Preventive maintenance remains a key use case. This is done with the intention of further increasing the reliability of the plants and the efficiency of the maintenance measures. ISG sees another central use case in the more flexible control of production.

For example, with the aim of being able to reroute orders in real time if the originally intended manufacturing resources are no longer available. In addition, the aim is to enable product manufacturers to change their manufacturing structures more quickly and cost-effectively as soon as customer demand changes.

At the heart of this optimization work, he says, is the improved integration of the OT and IT systems involved. The pressure to consolidate is also accompanied by growing demand for labor. This means that the majority of companies plan to hire additional workers in the coming months.

At the same time, many companies expect prices to rise in the coming quarter. The mood in the economy as a whole has also brightened considerably, but few industries are as challenged as manufacturing.