The year 2024 will bring new challenges to the industrial sector. The rapid development of AI will force the industrial sector to accelerate its digital transformation. Extracting the most benefits from this disruptive technology is also an opportunity for companies to rethink their business models and develop new performance metrics to become more resilient, productive and innovative.
“The return on investment of digital twins is very difficult to measure, because the benefits can only be seen in the long term.” This is what we hear and read about the ROI of digital investments by industry. But I believe we need to dig deeper (much deeper) to evaluate the suitability of PLM, CRM, ALM or digital twin solutions. The reason is simple: industry leaders need to make predictions about the future before committing significant resources to digital transformation.
In this article, Cédric Kalifa, VP WER Sales and Country Manager France at PTC, shares four key ROIs for any digital investment.
1. Income
The biggest ROI on any digital investment is clearly revenue. In industrial processes, time is money. In an innovation-driven market, the key challenge is to minimize time to market through design and manufacturing solutions that accelerate the ability to conceive, assemble and distribute new products. Faster production allows you to create business opportunities before others do.
2/ Product quality
The second key indicator of ROI is product quality. This applies to two areas: on the one hand, the digitalization of design and manufacturing makes industrial processes more reliable, and on the other hand, data-driven management (focused on the product or the customer) allows to better identify potential improvements and the most relevant innovations.
3. Social Contribution Activities
But these two ROIs of digital investments do not overshadow another, more important issue that is becoming increasingly strategic: CSR. Industries today are considering adapting their business models not only to better serve their customers, but also to stand out as players committed to the good of the planet and society.
Given the CSRD legislation that allows for comparison of CSR performance across all companies, the industry will compete for image and reputation. And it is a battle that cannot be lost. How can digital technology help? The answer is simple: CSRD is a reporting exercise and CSRD metrics can be found in various ERP, CRM, PLM and ALM systems. For industries with modern management tools, the procedures for collecting and consolidating this data will be significantly enhanced.
skill
Finally, I believe the industry also needs to focus on another essential ROI of talent development: skills. In other words, the ability to attract the employee profile and skills that will create value for the organisation.
The key to recruiting this new generation of employees is to provide them with a work environment equipped with modern tools that make their lives easier and allow them to focus on value-added tasks rather than repetitive, time-consuming tasks.
In this view, the digitalization of the production chain should improve operational practices by giving engineers and operators faster access to product data (CAD, instructions, drawings, etc.), control over technical change processes, and easier collaboration between departments (design, production, quality, etc.).
