Digital transformation empowers new wave of customer-centric manufacturing
“I’d like an ocean view suite, and could you have chilled champagne waiting for us?”
Businesses operating in the hospitality industry are used to their customers asking for customization. But when it comes to consumer goods, a toaster for instance, customers haven’t traditionally asked to dictate each and every feature of a product. That’s changing however, and people now expect to have unprecedented control over what they buy, without increasing delivery times.
For an industry that cares deeply about producing units cheaply and efficiently, the need to switch to what is really a customer-centric business model presents a vexing problem. To see how manufacturers are adjusting to their new landscape, we sat down with Pierfrancesco Manenti, Vice President of Research at SCM World.
[inlinequote]”If you look to some of the newest challenges in manufacturing, companies think they aren’t fast enough to respond to unforeseen events. They think they aren’t fast enough in launching new products to the market. They think they can’t scale up and scale down production capacity, or ‘flex’ production… to meet demand that is very much changing.” – Manenti [/inlinequote]
The solution, says Manenti, is a combination of increasing production speeds and maintaining constant communication along the entire length of the supply chain. The way to make it all possible, he believes, is digital transformation. Paired with big data and analytics, remote monitoring of inventory levels can help inform future production of how consumer tastes are changing. Social and usage data can help inform on what customers are looking for in new products.
Some manufacturers are already dematerializing their products in order to give customers a truly on-demand experience. Manenti is quick to mention Coca Cola as an example here, which now offers customers expanded variety and customization through “freestyle” soda machines.
No matter what your product is, digital transformation could be the opportunity you’re looking for. From more related insights, check out our full interview with Pierfrancesco Manenti.
