Despite challenges like labor shortages, supply chain fractures, and uncertain economic conditions, manufacturing has registered sustainable growth in 2022. However, if business leaders are looking to continue with the same, then they must stay abreast of all the market trends to pivot accordingly.
Here’s a look at what one can expect in the manufacturing industry in 2023, along with a practical solution to ride the favorable tide.
Manufacturing Trends in 2023: Challenges and Opportunities
The year 2023 may continue to stay a bit of a challenge given the global economic slowdown, strained international relations, and supply chain bottlenecks. Against this background, manufacturers find themselves situated on fault lines that may shift the ground underneath them at any point. Some anticipated tectonic shifts are as follows:
Increasing Investment in Technology
Digital investments have played a crucial role in keeping manufacturing businesses resilient and agile, even in the face of adversity. As a result, the manufacturing industry has been investing heavily in IT solutions to achieve various goals. This momentum is expected to continue as the industrial manufacturer’s IT budget is slated to increase “significantly” by 84% (North America) to 43% (APAC), which is massive!
IoT Continues to Lead the Way
The Internet of Things (IoT) has been a core component of Industry 4.0, and it is here to stay for good. IoT will continue to infuse innovation and adaptability in manufacturing companies while also curbing operational costs, increasing efficiency, enhancing safety, and refining products. From monitoring equipment performance remotely to planning scheduled maintenance – IoT is fuelling critical business decisions.
Predictive Analysis to the Rescue
While nobody could have predicted a global pandemic, predictive analytics empowered manufacturing businesses to quickly pivot according to changing requirements. The technology has enabled businesses to anticipate future orders, finetune manufacturing speed, order raw materials, maintain equipment, schedule maintenance activities, and more. Such a smart, data-driven approach fills in the supply-demand gap and ensures availability without overburdening stock margins.
Shifting From B2B to B2C
Traditionally, manufacturing stayed restricted to the B2B segment. However, the industry has now decided to eliminate the middle person and shift attention to the true beneficiaries – the end users. The B2C model in manufacturing appears lucrative for various reasons such as higher profits, faster time-to-market (TTM), price control, brand positioning, and customer data. However, following this approach also means serving the customers while maintaining the highest standards of customer experience.
How Can Salesforce CRM Help Manufacturing Businesses Stay Ahead of the Trends?
Several of the trends above indicate the need for a reliable technology solution that can cater to a range of business requirements and customer expectations. In such a situation, Salesforce CRM appears to be a solid foundation for setting foot into the future of digitally mature manufacturing.
Here are a few ways in which Salesforce CRM can enable manufacturing businesses to capitalize on ongoing trends.
Transform Manufacturing to Smart Manufacturing
As mentioned already, underlying technologies like IoT will churn out high volumes of useful data. With Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation, you can set up a centralized hub to collect inputs from various sources and process them using AI. The insights generated thus can introduce automation and intelligent decision-making to improve efficiency. Seek help from Salesforce consulting companies to penetrate the entire manufacturing value chain, from sales to back office to logistics to field operations, and beyond to take manufacturing to the next level – smart manufacturing.
An Integrated, 360-Degree View of Customers
Since manufacturing is transitioning from a B2B to a B2C ecosystem, businesses will require an eCommerce platform powered by a CRM solution. This CRM software will be responsible for offering a holistic, 360-degree view of the customer. At the same time, Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation would break down any siloes and capture data at a granular level so that manufacturing businesses can build distinct customer profiles. These unique profiles will come in handy while offering personalized customer experiences.
Connected Systems to Offer Enhanced Experiences
Whether you are turning to Salesforce CRM for connected systems to monitor equipment or to extend an omnichannel experience to your customers, a skilled Salesforce consulting partner can realize each of these objectives. Most Salesforce consulting companies will configure Salesforce CRM as the backbone of your manufacturing network to which every internal or external stakeholder or device plugs in to stay in the loop. As such, there will be no need for manual checks and follow-ups.
Optimizing Manufacturing Processes for Maximum ROI
Salesforce CRM supplies high-quality data for predictive modeling of future requirements and demand so that you can plan for the same accordingly. In fact, Salesforce itself comes equipped with a range of features and functionalities suited for the manufacturing industry, such as account-based forecasting, inventory management, and Einstein analytics, to name a few. As such, your Salesforce consulting partner can customize Salesforce into bespoke apps, such as a dealer order management system, which can ramp up operational efficiency by 40%!
Bottomline
Industry 4.0 starts with finding the right set of tools, technologies, and platforms that can make manufacturing more data-centric. Salesforce Service Cloud Implementation is an excellent step in this direction as it can help your manufacturing business scale new heights! Get in touch with a trusted Salesforce consulting partner and witness the transformation for yourself.
