Industrial Transformation Blog

During our inaugural industrial transformation (IX) event, The IX Event, we hosted dozens of companies that are at different stages in the IX journey. They range from enterprises co-presenting with LNS Research about the successes they've achieved, all the way to industrial organizations trying to figure out how to get started (or in some cases, re-started).

One of the key topics of discussion was “readiness” ― in other words, what separates companies ready for a successful IX journey from those that are destined to stumble? Principal analyst Tom Comstock spoke on this topic and led a roundtable discussion about it.

Our inaugural Industrial Transformation (IX) Event was a refreshing connection for industry executives leading transformation ― from startups to mature journeys, from tissue and drywall to aircraft carriers and submarines. The breadth of IX coverage and insight resonated well among industrial executives and software vendor thought leaders in attendance. Focused roundtable sessions on quality and environment, health, and safety (EHS) packed the room as Quality 4.0 and connected worker topics fostered lively discussions.

The relationship between asset performance and operational performance are well known and pervasive. All too often, however, companies manage them in sub-optimized in silos. Recent discussions with clients clearly reinforced our insight that operating in silos is counter-productive to industrial transformation (IX). It doesn't matter if the company is an asset-intensive business and the most critical metrics are uptime and reliability, or a product-centric manufacturer where quality and efficiency are most critical. If the organization doesn't manage these things holistically, it will lose ground to competitors.

In a previous article, Three Reasons Why Digital Transformations is So Hard, I did a deep dive into what transformation means compared to just evolutionary change. Two of the three reasons explored in that post deal with the idea that businesses have rarely approached a level of change that qualifies as transformative. The focus needs to be on the business processes and not the digital technology underlying its processes. Industrial Transformation (IX) is the path businesses need to pursue, emphasizing the results, not the technology used to drive those results. But looking back historically this raises the question “is business transformation the same as IX?”

Digital Transformation of industrial operations is in full swing. Our most recent survey data shows that 45% of industrial enterprises globally are executing an Industrial Transformation (IX) program, up significantly over the past three years. Don’t be fooled into thinking there’s a “magic formula” for IX; the “right” path for every company is the one that will reshape how the organization does business, the offerings it can deliver, how it goes about competing in the marketplace, or some combination of these. To that end, companies are incorporating many flavors of digital tech in their IX programs. Two-thirds have implemented or plan to implement Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies. Other common ones are cloud-based application platforms, mobile apps, Big Data analytics, augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR), process simulation, digital twins, and 3D printing, among many others.

We recently attended HxGN Live 2019, Hexagon’s annual digital solutions conference, in Las Vegas Nevada. Three thousand attendees were there to dive into nine different keynotes and over 500 sessions, many with hands-on training. The firm is a global leader in sensor, software, and autonomous solutions headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with 2018 revenue reaching €3,760.7 million (approximately $4.234 billion USD). Its business includes industrial enterprise solutions with €1.941 million in revenue serving the electronics, manufacturing, energy and power, automotive, and aerospace and defense segments. They are known in the manufacturing world for 3D design and simulation technologies (predominantly for process assets), positioning and location identification mapping capabilities, metrology equipment, and an array of other sensors. The event included a bevy of new product launches across every major division of Hexagon.

On Thursday, June 27, LNS Research hosted the webcast, “Enabling Transformation in Life Sciences: Delivering Near- and Long-Term Success with Quality 4.0.” The presentation examined strategies for life sciences organizations to reduce IX program risks and increase the speed of adoption.

2019 marks the third consecutive year LNS Research has attended and covered Gensuite’s annual customer conference. This year’s edition, BREAKTHROUGH: Gensuite Conference 2019, was held in Cincinnati May 5-7. The event spanned the environment, health, and safety (EHS) software vendor’s ecosystem of customers, partners, and Gensuite experts were on hand to convey how the company’s solutions enable breakthrough operational performance improvement across EHS, risk, security, sustainability, and quality among others.

As we study Industrial Transformation (IX) at the macro level, we seek leaders among industrial companies for further insights. We recently interviewed one of those leaders, ABB’s Chief Digital Officer, Guido Jouret, who reinforced our best practices findings from the recent IX survey.

Digital Transformation has become one of the most hyped terms in business today. Google it, and you’ll get over 27 million hits in less than a second. Every tech vendor seems to have a blog about how its products or services can help a business with its Digital Transformation journey. With so many resources available, why is achieving true transformation such a struggle? To understand what’s going on, let’s go back to the basics.