Digital transformation in manufacturing industry – A comprehensive insight

Digital disruption has upended the entire manufacturing industry across the world. Industry 4.0 has witnessed many opportunities from the advanced technologies to enhance efficiency in the existing manufacturing processes through automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning approaches. This article states the necessity of digital transformation (DX) in the manufacturing industry for improving quality and efficiency, reducing waste and cost reduction, adapting quickly to changes in the customer demands and market, and creating services and innovative products. The two most common types of DX in the manufacturing industry are process DX – digitizing the existing processes to improve the operational efficiency; product and service DX – creating new experiences and digital services for customers to improve customer satisfaction. This article also sets out to explore the challenges being faced by the manufacturing industry during the course of DX. The success factors of DX in the manufacturing industry could be associated with one of the three dimensions: organization, environment, and technology. The major steps for effective implementation of DX that a manufacturing company should consider are also discussed.