Digital Transformation: Why You Can’t Afford to Wait

The current moment often refers to supply chain disruption as the ‘the supply chain gridlock.’ It’s not just small and medium-size businesses that are caught off guard; big and global manufacturers - companies across industrial, automotive, chemical, and energy industries - are scrambling to mitigate the impacts of labor, material, and energy shortages, delays, inflation, and unexpected events.

Brittle supply chains, fragmented systems landscapes, unreliable and inaccurate data, as well as poorly managed IT and business networks are consistently reported as top concerns, which is why executives are increasingly prioritizing digital transformation. Yet, progress is slow, and with each disruption, it seems most businesses are in reactionary mode, starting from square one. The trap of the reactionary mindset is treating a solution as solely a life vest. A technology strategy must absolutely address short-term concerns, but it should also empower companies to build agility, resiliency, and better sensing, so they can respond more quickly today and even preempt some of these disruptions tomorrow.

This playbook offers Manufacturers a realistic and viable guide to balancing immediate needs with future-focused strategy. It covers:

• How disruption is redefining the Manufacturing Industry
• Where to start in terms of prioritizing business and technology strategies.
• Balancing critical, immediate pain points with future-focused initiatives that build resilience.
• A mini case story about a chemical manufacturer
• Guidance on mastering inventory, cycle times, and cost-to-serve
• Agile problem-solving and the necessity for continuous transformation