Smart Manufacturing: Market and Top Companies Overview
According to the Manufacturing Enterprise Solutions Association (“MESA International”), “Smart Manufacturing [SM] is the intelligent, real-time orchestration and optimization of business, physical, and digital processes within factories and across the entire value chain. Resources and processes are automated, integrated, monitored, and continuously evaluated based on all available information as close to real time as possible.”1
While smart manufacturing takes its place alongside other smart sectors, such as smart agriculture, smart healthcare, smart transportation, etc., it actually dates back more than a century: Henry Ford developed the first vehicle assembly line in 1913, while General Motors deployed its first industrial robot in 1961.
Today, of course, smart manufacturing is influenced by a variety of leading-edge technologies, including:
- Cloud computing
- The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
- Big Data analytics
- Augmented reality
- Modern-day robotics
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Machine learning (ML)
Industrial Robots Are a Key Component of Smart Manufacturing
Creator: rawpixel.com / Carol M Highsmith
Why Smart Manufacturing?
The impetus behind smart manufacturing is found in several spheres, notably:
Risk reduction, the need to prevent or mitigate cyber risks like ransomware and phishing.
A shortage of skilled workers, the need to compensate for personnel shortfalls.
Escalating prices of raw materials, the need to manage the inflationary forces impacting every industry.
Shortage of finished materials, the need to optimize the use of scarce components, particularly microchips.
Increased emphasis on sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices, the need to comply with new regulatory regimes like the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).2
Emerging and evolving smart technologies, the need to integrate new systems and devices that promise unparalleled manufacturing efficiencies.
Worldwide competition, the need to remain competitive on a global scale. As reported by Rockwell Automation, “Adoption rates [of smart manufacturing] vary by country, with the top three being China (70 percent), the US (60 percent) and India (57 percent).3
Related Terms
Smart Factory – A smart factory is a facility that utilizes smart manufacturing technologies and techniques.
Industry 4.0 – Also known as the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Industry 4.0 represents the integration of smart technologies into manufacturing and industrial processes.
SM Solutions
Smart manufacturing hardware and software enable a wide range of smart manufacturing solutions. Principal among these, as highlighted in the Eighth Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report,”4 are:
Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
“Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) track and document the transformation of raw materials into finished goods, providing real-time production management to drive enterprise-wide compliance, quality, and efficiency.”
Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
“Computerized Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS) help organizations track and manage maintenance and repair activities for their facilities, equipment, and other assets in one place.”
Asset Performance Management (APM)
“Asset Performance Management (APM) combines process, operational, and machine-level data through dashboards to monitor machine and plant health, ensuring optimal uptime, throughput, and maintenance needs.”
Production Monitoring
“Production Monitoring provides seamless connectivity to machines on the plant floor, delivering transparent, real-time operational KPIs like OEE and dashboards to drive continuous improvements.”
Distributed Control Systems (DCS)
“Distributed Control Systems (DCS) use decentralized elements to control dispersed systems, such as automated industrial processes or large-scale infrastructure systems.”
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
While not a specific SM solution, AI will, over time, help empower most digital-based manufacturing operations.
When looking for the right SM-AI mix, analyst Beth Stackpole says start with data. “Compared with high-value AI initiatives in other industries, manufacturing use cases tend to be more individualized, with lower returns, and thus are more difficult to fund and execute. An alternative to a custom-built AI solution is a data-centric vertical AI platform, which can facilitate specific use cases. For example, an automated anomaly detection tool could replace or augment human workers who are tasked with quality control.”5
SM Market
As predicted by MarketsandMarkets, the global smart manufacturing market, valued at $108.9 billion in 2023, is projected to reach $241.0 billion by 2028, registering a very respectable compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.2 percent over the forecast period.
The firm attributes the “surging demand for software systems that reduce time and cost” as the major driver. “Unplanned downtime and production waste severely affect manufacturers. Hence, they are looking for a system that can determine possible defects and failures in advance to avoid future losses.”
Among the prominent players in the smart manufacturing market are:
- 3D System (US)
- ABB (Switzerland)
- Cisco (US)
- Emerson Electric (US)
- General Electric (US)
- Honeywell (US)
- IBM (US)
- Mitsubishi Electric (Japan)
- Rockwell Automation (US)
- Schneider Electric (France)
- Siemens (Germany)
- Oracle (US)
- SAP (Germany)
- Stratasys (US)
- Yokogawa Electric (Japan)6
SM Security
Smart manufacturing is part of a larger movement called “Digital Transformation.” Digital transformation (DT) is the utilization of digital technologies (basically, any electronic system or device that generates, stores, or processes data) to create new products, services, or processes or to enhance existing ones. DT projects are aimed at streamlining enterprise operations, gaining new operational capabilities, reducing operational expenses (especially personnel costs), and developing business opportunities.
As manufacturing becomes more intelligent, i.e., more digital, it becomes more vulnerable to cyber attacks. And, as analyst Scott Achelpohl reveals, “Cyber attacks on manufacturing businesses have doubled.”
Perhaps even more significant than the attacks themselves, new rules adopted by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) require enterprises to disclose material cybersecurity incidents four days after a breach is discovered, possibly resulting in financial and customer losses.7
The message is simple: For enterprise planners, there is no smart manufacturing without a corresponding commitment to smart cybersecurity.
SM Safety
While investments in smart manufacturing are often justified on economic grounds, such as lowering costs and improving productivity, smart manufacturing performs a much more valuable service, protecting workers.
As reported in Manufacturing Magazine, “An essential component of smart manufacturing is the ability to automate hazardous activities. The evolution of automation in manufacturing has been a game-changer, and it’s why workplace injuries have steadily decreased over the years. For example, robots or automated tools:
- “Handle tasks that could expose workers to hazardous raw materials, such as combustible chemicals or explosive materials.
- “Replace workers in harsh manufacturing environments, such as high temperatures.
- “Are used for risky maneuvers, such as transferring loads at heights.
“If a human were to be involved in any of the above scenarios, more Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), precautions, and specific training would have been necessary, which could pose additional challenges given the current labor market conditions. Automation … can drastically minimize the instances of workers coming into direct contact with hazardous materials. This significantly reduces the risk of workplace accidents and injuries, creating a safer work environment in your manufacturing plant.”8
SM Future
The major factor propelling the expansion of smart manufacturing is labor availability.
As Veena Lakkundi, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Corporate Development, Rockwell Automation observes, “The world has changed, and manufacturing has changed with it, but there is more to do. Skilled labor – and labor of any kind – continues to be elusive across the globe. As manufacturers continue to seek opportunities for profitable growth, they’re finding that uncertainty in workforce availability is impacting quality, along with their ability to meet their customers’ needs and transform at pace. They are addressing this impact by using technology to extract data from their operations and assemble actionable insights. We are also seeing how technology is helping the industry accelerate their agility and competitive differentiation.”9
While these labor shortage concerns are no doubt real, we can reasonably assume that many manufacturers are anticipating a time when most workers, whether available or not, will not be necessary.
In fact, a zero – or near-zero – labor force may be preferable for reasons that go beyond simple cost containment. In the not-too-distant future, manufacturing operations may take place on nearby celestial bodies, like the moon, Mars, and certain neighboring asteroids, permitting the on-site processing of locally mined raw materials.
Likewise, fully-automated manufacturing facilities will be elevated to low Earth orbit, where certain processes, such as crystal formation, benefit from zero gravity.10
Web Links
International Organization for Standardization: https://www.iso.org/
Rockwell Automation: https://www.rockwellautomation.com/
US National Institute of Standards and Technology: https://www.nist.gov/
References
1 Duane Bolin. “Believe the Hype: The Current State of Smart Manufacturing.” SACA.org. July 13, 2023.
2 “Eighth Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report.” Rockwell Automation, Inc. March 2023:11.
3 Ibid. p.12.
4 Ibid. p.13.
5 Beth Stackpole. “For AI in Manufacturing, Start with Data.” MIT Sloan School of Management. June 28, 2023.
6 “Smart Manufacturing Market Size, Share, Statistics and Industry Growth Analysis Report by Technology (3D printing, AI in Manufacturing, Automated guided vehicle, Condition Monitoring, Cybersecurity, Digital Twin, HMI, Machine Vision, MES, PAM, Robot, Sensor), Industry, Region – Global Forecast to 2028.” MarketsandMarkets. August 2023.
7 Scott Achelpohl. “Cybersecurity: ‘Largest Obstacle to Adoption of Smart Manufacturing Technologies’.” Smart Industry | Endeavor Business Media, LLC. October 10, 2023.
8 Bryan Christiansen and Helen Sydney Adams. “How Smart Manufacturing Can Alter Safety Standards.” Manufacturing Magazine. March 18, 2023.
9 “Eighth Annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report.” Rockwell Automation, Inc. March 2023:2.
10 Kelly and Zach Weinersmith. A City On Mars. New York: Penguin Press. 2023:156.