ABI Research to release modules to guide manufacturers through digital transformation

ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies, announced today its Industrial Solution with the main goal of enabling manufacturers to become profitable by creating better quality products at lower costs, resulting in better margins and better competitive positioning.

Global competitive forces are putting pressure on manufacturers to digitize their operations to become more efficient and relevant in the next 10 to 15 years, according to ABI, and its new Industrial Solution is intended to help companies through this digital transformation.

“The industrial market can no longer scale manufacturing operations by simply adding more workforce, more shifts, expanding factory floors or dropping prices,” said Stuart Carlaw, chief research officer at ABI Research. “That’s because of global competition, lack of energy, an insufficient labor pool, a convoluted supply chain and global sourcing environment, as well as high amounts of customization put pressure on tooling and reconfiguration. Furthermore, batch runs are getting smaller, thereby manufacturers are getting less lift out of every order.”

ABI Research’s Industrial Solution encompasses 18 modules that are composed of the most compelling transformative technologies that are interdependent yet not obvious.

“When you look at digital transformation in the factory space, it’s not just one technology operating in isolation―it’s one technology that builds upon another and another and another,” said Carlaw. “ABI Research has found direct linkages between a number of different technologies. For instance, implementing a smart manufacturing platform to eliminate machine downtime, then adding a visualization and simulation package to optimize real-time processes and to bring more machines online by retooling them quickly.”

All the modules will be released during the next 18 months beginning this month through June 2020. Each module will include four main research deliverables that are released methodically throughout a three-month period, providing quantitative and qualitative reports to give subscribers of this solution a clear step-by-step strategic direction:

Research Analysis reports: Provide a thematic understanding of the market and a solid grounding within a specific technological development; available as Application Analysis and Technology Analysis reports.
Market Data spreadsheets: Deep quantitative research focusing on what market sizes look like to provide legitimate spin around perspectives and ammunition to make a meaningful difference to business models.
Competitive Assessment reports: Rate individual manufacturers’ performances against their competitors and help answer strategic partnership questions: With whom should a company partner? Of whom should a company be aware? Whom should a company avoid?
Total Lifetime Value Calculator spreadsheets: Allows companies to personalize their own perspectives and make business cases that are bounded in a project that is relevant to what they are specifically accomplishing.

“Total Lifetime Value Calculators give companies the tools to clearly understand how digital transformation initiatives can impact a business in a real-world setting,” said Carlaw. “The TLVCs also provide valuable guidance on how different initiatives can fit together to provide long term uplift; it’s not just about efficiency in the short term.”

The 18 modules include:

● 5G for Industrial Applications
● Additive Manufacturing in Industrial Applications
● Artificial Intelligence in Industrial Applications
● Augmented Reality in Industrial Applications
● Autonomous Material Handling in Industrial Applications
● Blockchain in Industrial Applications
● Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for Industrial Applications
● Collaborative Robots in Industrial Applications
● Data Management in Industrial Applications
● The Future of Reductive Manufacturing and Casting
● Generative Design in Industrial Applications
● Industrial IoT
● LPWA in Industrial Applications
● Machine Vision in Industrial Applications
● Next Generation Metrology and Inspection in Industrial Applications
● Next Generation Positioning & Location for Industrial Applications
● Smart Manufacturing Platforms
● Virtualization, Visualization and Simulation in Industrial Applications

Industrial Solution subscribers also receive Executive Foresights, one-to two-page executive summaries driven mostly by recent, noteworthy news events and often include technology forecasts, as well as Analyst Inquiry, 30-minute phone calls with an analyst to address market dynamics, forecasts, and competitive landscapes.