January 12, 2024 2024 Emerges as Year of Data-Driven Intelligence

Continued surge of AI, the connected worker, growth of integrated data expected to dominate headlines in 2024.

By, David Isaacson, Vice President, Product Marketing, ETQ

It’s that time of year when we set our sights on the trends and developments that will shape how manufacturers leverage technology to meet, or better yet, exceed their enterprise-wide goals. And, it’s no surprise that generative AI is topping most prediction lists.

Large language models, such as ChatGPT and Google Bard, democratized AI in 2023, and now it’s everywhere. From the enterprise to the classroom, to the White House, AI is being used, tested, discussed and regulated. In the new year, it will also play a larger role on the manufacturing floor, automating processes, empowering workers and bolstering enterprise-wide quality. In 2024, manufacturers will determine how to fit AI into their tech stacks, how to govern it and empower it as a key quality driver. Forrester predicts that generative AI “will be the fulcrum that businesses rely on to enhance, empower, and engage employees and customers.”  And, Gartner predicts that by 2026, more than 80 percent of enterprises will have used generative AI models and/or deployed them in production environments, up from less than five percent in early 2023.

When it comes to generative AI’s role, manufacturers of all sizes will leverage it to ensure quality control, predictive maintenance and supply chain optimization, as well as to design products, identify supply chain partners, and produce user manuals, training guides and marketing materials. Generative AI will be leveraged as a productivity tool that empowers all members of the manufacturing enterprise, yet it will play a supporting role, not replacing workers but giving them more time to improve productivity, quality and safety.

In addition to the rising role of AI, other key trends that will have a significant impact on the manufacturing industry, including:

• Data taking center stage (again). Manufacturers have been able to successfully gather and analyze data across departments for years, yet this data is often stored across a vast array of siloed repositories, making it difficult to access and manage. In 2024, the promise of a unified view of data across the enterprise will become a reality, making data more actionable than ever before. This will be enabled by open systems that ensure integration via application programming interfaces (APIs), cloud-native systems accessible from anywhere and centralized systems that enable more seamless data sharing and storing. The importance of this cannot be overstated. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, data-driven organizations are 23 times more likely to acquire customers, and six times as likely to retain customers than those that are not.
• Workers become connected and empowered. Deloitte estimates that “when frontline workers are provided a thoughtful and strategic mix of technology to perform their jobs, productivity increases on average by 22 percent.” In 2023, there was a clear demarcation between the data and automation created in the warehouse and that which was gathered and shared across other areas of the business. In 2024, we will see greater integration of information between connected workers and other business functions to create a connected ecosystem that begins to flow seamlessly across the enterprise and the supply chain.
• Manufacturers get serious about sustainability. Manufacturers have been talking about sustainability and making commitments for years, and there are external forces both for and against this move. In 2024, manufacturers will take measurable steps toward their stated sustainability goals, and the focus will be centered around reducing carbon emissions, switching to environmentally friendly sources of power and enabling greater transparency into how products are sourced. In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2027, 25 percent of CIOs will see their personal compensation linked to their sustainable technology impact.
• Economic uncertainty remains. In 2024, companies will continue to focus on reining in costs and ensuring profitability. Every digital initiative will need to show proven ROI before costly investments are made and the focus will shift toward cost control, efficiencies and automation. Based on this, manufacturers will need to ensure quality remains a key priority, realizing that the price of poor quality is too high. How the economy evolves during the year will have a large impact on the initiatives outlined above. While the economy will not stop these initiatives, manufacturers may see delays in implementing them, so benefits may not be realized until 2025 or beyond. They are happening, it’s just a question of when and how fast.

Despite the stops and starts of the past few years, data-driven, intelligent manufacturing operations will be in full-speed mode in 2024. Manufacturers of all shapes and sizes will be implementing automation, AI and data analytics to empower its workforce, reach a whole new level of productivity and quality, and realize the promise of Industry 4.0.

David Isaacson is Vice President of Product Marketing at ETQ, where he develops market strategies and product positioning for the company’s cloud-based quality management solutions.

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