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Digital Transformation in Manufacturing or “Digital Manufacturing” for short is not an optional decision for companies anymore. Manufacturing concerns that want to survive have to jump on the Digital Transformation bandwagon hastily. Digital Manufacturing has become a prerequisite for a profitable existence even for mere survival of a manufacturing concern.
Business Transformation of any kind is difficult—more so when it is a Digital Transformation in Manufacturing. In fact, Change Management of Digital Transformation in Manufacturing is typically more difficult than any change or Transformation program that an organization may undertake.
Not many manufacturing concerns had cognizance of the digital technologies until very recently. Still, manufacturing concerns find it very hard to manage a successful Digital Transformation.
Digital technologies can disrupt businesses. A Digital Transformation is not the Digitalization of an existing business. Digital Manufacturing does not entail simply changing technologies, automating processes, taking aid of Artificial Intelligence in the process; in fact it means redefining the nature of work and productivity.
Starting a Digital Manufacturing project can be an arduous process. Executives customarily approach this task with a lot of prudence and get caught in questions that are actually misnomers and myths, weakening the Digital Transformation process. The 4 biggest myths about Digital Manufacturing are:
Myth 1. Is outsourcing or partnering, to build digital capabilities, not speedier and less investment intensive?
Myth 2. Why can the existing IT team and CIO not be used for this project instead of hiring new talent and creating a CDO position, both unaware of our business?
Myth 3. Should each of our businesses not have individual digital capabilities tailored to their needs rather than a central digital unit that serves all businesses?
Myth 4. Should not our approach to developing digital capabilities be phased rather than big bang?
More on these myths can be found in the PowerPoint presentation titled Challenges to Digital Manufacturing on Flevy.
Digital Manufacturing opens doors for many opportunities. It allows the manufacturers to find ways of refining the performance and reliability of machines and increasing customer productivity through customer usage data gathered by sensors in their machines.
This approach allows manufacturers to sell outcomes rather than products. Outcome delivery via Data Analysis and Performance Enhancement is a business opportunity worth trillions of dollars, according to a World Economic Forum study.
Despite realizing the opportunities of Digital Manufacturing, companies find the process extremely difficult. Digital Manufacturing has both structural as well as behavioral barriers stopping it from being successfully executed.
Manufacturers have to surpass the following 3 chief obstacles in order for them to be true Digital Manufacturers:
- Incumbency
- Talent
- Culture
Let us dive a little deeper into the obstacles.
Incumbency
Rigidity is a major barrier in bringing about change. Companies create capabilities and Business Models to succeed. Overtime, when these capabilities and Business Models become critical for success and hard to imitate for the rivals, they transform into rigidities. Success of such capabilities and models make the companies wary of bringing change in them.
Leaders refrain from touching projects with longer time periods as it may not show benefits during their tenures. The reward structure in companies also encourages short-term gains to longer-term, capital intensive endeavors.
Talent
Not many manufacturing organizations consider developing Digital Talent internally. This leads to a dearth of key talent integral to build Digital Manufacturing capabilities.
The primary reason for this is the view that digital technology is an auxiliary function.
In-house capabilities are not developed because Digital Manufacturing requires an amalgam of personnel from the virtual sciences and the conventional engineering sciences. Both have a very different way of thinking and doing things, making it a great challenge to build them into a team.
Culture
Organizational culture at manufacturing firms is a significant hurdle in adopting digital technology. Manufacturers have traditionally had long product-development lifecycles, long sales cycles, and a culture of constantly improving efficiency. In order to be more digital, manufacturing concerns have to accept concepts used in the digital world e.g., agility, simplicity, and responsiveness.
Interested in learning more about the Challenges to Digital Manufacturing?” “You can download an editable PowerPoint on Challenges to Digital Manufacturing here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
Want to Achieve Excellence in Supply Chain Management (SCM)?
Gain the knowledge and develop the expertise to become an expert in Supply Chain Management (SCM). Our frameworks are based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. Click here for full details.
Supply Chain Management (SCM) is the design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of Supply Chain activities. It also captures the management of the flow of goods and services.
In February of 2020, COVID-19 disrupted—and in many cases halted—global Supply Chains, revealing just how fragile they have become. By April, many countries experienced declines of over 40% in domestic and international trade.
COVID-19 has likewise changed how Supply Chain Executives approach and think about SCM. In the pre-COVID-19 era of globalization, the objective was to be Lean and Cost-effective. In the post-COVID-19 world, companies must now focus on making their Supply Chains Resilient, Agile, and Smart. Additional trends include Digitization, Sustainability, and Manufacturing Reshoring.
Learn about our Supply Chain Management (SCM) Best Practice Frameworks here.
Do You Find Value in This Framework?
You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here’s what some have to say:
“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”
– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects
“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”
– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”
– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
Today’s information-based, knowledge intensive, and service-driven economy has forced organizations to make substantial changes to the way they compete. Changing perspective and responsibility of top management amidst rapid Business and Digital Transformation and the shifting role of HR from being an auxiliary function to that of a driver are some of the dynamics of the evolved competition.
This evolution of Competition has been reached by passing through 3 phases:
- Competition for Products & Markets
- Competition for Resources & Competencies
- Competition for Talent & Dreams
Throughout the evolutionary phases of competition, the focus of Growth Strategy, the tools used, and the key strategic resources have been shifting. The strategic objective of front-running organizations is on continuous evolution and Transformation, and motivated Human Capital is their key resource. This realization is now at the forefront of Strategy Development as competition for scarce Talented Human Resources becomes more intense. However, modern-day managers are still using old tools to deal with an emerging reality.
Dexterity in leadership and management is a prerequisite for leaders now. Research suggests that the 3 important changes that the CEOs must make in terms of their strategic perspective are in:
- Strategic Resources
- Value Creation and Distribution
- Role of Senior Leadership
More on this topic in our editable PowerPoint presentation on Strategic Human Resources.
With the fast-changing focus in Strategy, Human Resource Managers are finding themselves leading the strategic charge. However, a large majority is ill prepared for the role. With Human Capital becoming key strategic resource and basis of Competitive Advantage, HR must adopt 3 core processes to evolve into the strategic HR function that has become their new realm:
- Building
- Linking
- Bonding
Let us delve into the first 2 core processes to strategic HR function in a little more detail.
1. Building
The first core process of Building is all about creating human resource systems, processes, and culture to counter the deep-rooted bias towards financial assets and recognize the value of Human Capital. For instance, Microsoft annually scans the entire pool of 25,000 U.S. computer science graduates for the best 500 to be given offers, of which 400 – top 2% of that year’s graduates – accept. This only fills 20% of the positions. For the rest, Microsoft maintains industry linkages with 300 recruiting experts who scour the industry for the best and the brightest individuals, often wooing them for years.
2. Linking
Developing Knowledge Sharing Networks is core to leveraging Human Capital. Converting individual expertise into embedded intellectual capital is what linking is all about. For example, British Petroleum in the 1990s introduced the Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning program. The main feature of the program was the “Peer Assist” where frontline workers in one location would help solve a problem for workers in another location without the usual hierarchy intervening. Peer Assist was augmented by the “Peer Groups” of business units—i.e. business units engaged in the same assisting activities as frontline individuals. This way managers of decentralized operations compare experiences and share ideas. Once this Information Sharing Network took root it was supported by setting up information-sharing infrastructure – e.g., video conferencing, chat rooms, video clip encoders etc.
Interested in learning more about the details of the 3 Core Processes required to evolve your HR into a strategic HR function and Key Actions needed to implement these? You can download an editable PowerPoint presentation on Strategic Human Resources here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
Want to Achieve Excellence in Human Resource Management (HRM)?
Gain the knowledge and develop the expertise to become an expert in Human Resource Management (HRM). Our frameworks are based on the thought leadership of leading consulting firms, academics, and recognized subject matter experts. Click here for full details.
The purpose of Human Resources (HR) is to ensure our organization achieves success through our people. Without the right people in place—at all levels of the organization—we will never be able to execute our Strategy effectively.
This begs the question: Does your organization view HR as a support function or a strategic one? Research shows leading organizations leverage HR as a strategic function, one that both supports and drives the organization’s Strategy. In fact, having strong HRM capabilities is a source of Competitive Advantage.
This has never been more true than right now in the Digital Age, as organizations must compete for specialized talent to drive forward their Digital Transformation Strategies. Beyond just hiring and selection, HR also plays the critical role in retaining talent—by keeping people engaged, motivated, and happy.
Learn about our Human Resource Management (HRM) Best Practice Frameworks here.
Do You Find Value in This Framework?
You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the FlevyPro Library. FlevyPro is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here’s what some have to say:
“My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today’s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.”
– Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects
“As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.”
– David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting
“FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight – it’s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.”
– Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd
The single most pressing challenge for an organization in this knowledge economy is attracting and retaining talented people. This can be a make or break challenge for the organization and warrants careful consideration during Strategic Planning.
Starting on the right foot is absolutely essential to overcoming this challenge. Organizations, particularly HR, need to have an Organizational Culture that boasts of an effective Employee Onboarding process. In order to accomplish this, present-day HR needs to be clear regarding the challenges of modern-day Onboarding and develop a strategy to establish an onboarding process that yields a rewarding experience for the employees.
At many organizations the Employee Onboarding process follows a customary theme—a run down on “how things are done here”—with the traditional HR view that if the employee can be made to commit to the Organizational Culture from the get-go, they are easier to retain.
Such an Onboarding process does not help the new employee adjust to the company or the role, become an Engaged Employee, and meet the expectations of the organization. Experts have identified various challenges with this conventional Onboarding approach. Here is a list of 8 most frequent challenges:
- Poor Socialization of Organizational Values
- Lack of Role Clarity
- Challenges with Expectations and Results
- Managing Change
- Issues with Time Management
- Issues with the Manager
- Navigating the Culture
- Handling Personal Transition and Relocation
By addressing these challenges appropriately, organizations can establish a rewarding Employee Onboarding experience that results in Employee Retention, quality output in the short-term, and enhanced productivity in the longer run.
Let us delve a little deeper into the challenges.
1. Poor Socialization of Organizational Values
It is presumed that Organizational Values are a thing to be imparted and accepted by the new employee. This is, indeed, essential knowledge, but it is not sacrosanct. Studies suggest acceptance of organizational values in contravention of one’s own identity may be counter-productive in that it may exhaust the employee psychologically, restrict full engagement, hinder creativity, and create work dissatisfaction. This can be overcome by allowing employee to express their unique perspective on the job from the beginning and welcoming them to incorporate what they do best in their work.
2. Lack of Role Clarity
Lack of clear understanding of one’s role is a widespread problem in organizations. After spending some time in the new organization, the employee realizes that the expectation of the role is conflicting with what the employee thought he/she accepted. Encouraging the new employee to identify the gaps in the expectation / perception and discussing it with their managers enables the employees to have a clear perspective and understanding of their roles and responsibilities, enhances employee satisfaction levels, and improves their efficiency and productivity.
3. Challenges with Expectations and Results
New employees are often unable to realize their workload. In order to meet the perceived expectation of managers or peers, they take on too much of work resulting in overload, which diminishes their performance. Informal discussions of new employees with managers and peers regarding their expectations eases the pressure and enables them to take on what is manageable and deliver quality results.
Interested in learning more about various aspects of Employee Onboarding, guiding principles, challenges, and approaches? You can download an editable PowerPoint on Employee Onboarding here on the Flevy documents marketplace.
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