German manufacturers have already implemented automated systems and intent to invest even more in digital and Internet of Things solutions.

A survey from the Boston Consulting Group questioned more than 300 German and US executives. The topic was their attitude towards digital solutions that could be implemented in their factories.

Some of them already implemented digital solutions, others expressed their positive attitude towards the new Internet of Things, and a lot of them did both.

German Factories vs. US Manufactures

The results showed that, even though Germany still appeared to be a bit behind when it came to already implemented digital technology, they were more interested than Americans in applying this type of solutions in the future.

While 14% of the German manufacturers were using autonomous robots and assistance systems, 39% of them wanted to implement digital solutions in the near future, and 27% intend to make a five-year investment in digital.

In the US, the trend has quite an opposite direction. Starting with a much lower percentage when it comes to already implemented digital solutions, it goes on with much less enthusiasm in the other two categories.

Only 8% of US manufacturers have implemented autonomous systems, and only 20% plan to invest in digital over the next two years.

Companies started to move their manufacturing operations in Asian countries. The trend shows however that the executives will be more interested in replacing human workers with automated technologies.

Paradigm Shift for Manufacturers

The Internet of Things can change the way a business model is conceived. Manufacturers that used IoT solutions reported a 28.5% increase in their revenues in just two years.

The areas that will be influenced by digital solutions will be asset tracking, predictive maintenance, control room consolidation, augmented reality, autonomous robots, and additive manufacturing.

The future digital investments are predicted to reach $70 billion worth until 2020, while last year the invested amount was of $29 billion.

The upgrade to digital solutions has not only benefits but also can bring new problems to be solved by manufacturers.

The list of challenges includes the risk of cyber attacks, difficulties in determining the return on investment for such high technologies, and the risk of having issues in integrating IoT in the technology that is already installed in the factory.

Another challenge will be represented by the fact that people would feel reluctant in implementing the automation as the new technology will result in job losses.

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