It’s nearing the six-month mark since most of us began reeling from effects of Covid-19, even longer for those working in the manufacturing sector, whose supply chain was likely the first to feel its impact. Once this widespread crisis is over, and we emerge into a post-pandemic business environment, will your manufacturing corporation be a technology have or a have not?
According to a recent McKinsey insight report, you’ll be one or the other, and the dichotomy is being forged even deeper during the crisis.
“Industry 4.0 technologies were already transforming manufacturers’ operations before the pandemic. Now, adoption is diverging between technology haves and have-nots,” according to Authors Mayank Agrawal, Karel Eloot, Matteo Mancini and Alpesh Patel, who reference ‘acceleration’ as the watchword of this experience.
As businesses now adjust to as the ‘next normal,’ they say, executives are grappling with longer-term questions about what manufacturing will look like, citing that “most important, they are likely to be much more digital, as is already evident in the immediate response to the crisis.”