Wearables are mightier than the pen! Study reveals manufacturers are investing in connectivity

A recent study from Zebra Technologies has revealed that manufacturers are investing in wearable technologies to eliminate pen and paper from supply chains, over the next five years the reliance on pen and paper is set to decrease to 24% as more factories become fully-connected.

The Manufacturing Vision Study was based on interviews with 1,100 manufacturing companies, performed by Peerless Insights, to reveal insights on adopting technology on the plant floor to increase competitive position. Based on the responses, it was highlighted that manufacturing companies across EMEA are increasing investment in new technologies to bring goods to market faster, address burgeoning supply chain complexity and improve connectivity throughout facilities.

“The shift from pen and paper to fully-connected factories could make the manufacturing industry in the UK unrecognisable in just five years’ time. Based on the results of our Manufacturing Vision Study we can expect to see wearable display technology to become mainstream by 2022 given the significant uplift in investment expected in this and other technology areas,” said Ralf Schulze, Zebra’s EMEA Lead for Manufacturing. “I also predict we will see more capable robotics working alongside humans on plant floors in the future, and more ‘always on’ sensors will provide visibility throughout operations. Building a connected plant floor has become a necessity to ensuring high-quality products, and with rising customer demands for product variety, transforming operations is no longer something that any manufacturer can ignore to stay competitive.”

This study from Zebra also reinforces the findings from a recent study by the EEF reporting that UK manufacturing has seen four-year highs in the percentage change in output and orders this year.

Results from Zebra’s study ranked mobile and wearable tech as the greatest investment areas, although concerns around the complexity of these technologies as a barrier to achieving a fully connected factory were raised by half the respondents. Additionally, budget constraints and integration with legacy systems were highlighted as barriers.

For pharmaceutical companies involved in the study the biggest challenges to achieving fully connected operations were disclosed as existing IT infrastructure and security concerns. To meet the anticipated revenue growth of five percent over the next five years, however, pharma companies ranked barcodes as the top tech investment area with RFID and mobile technologies coming in second and third.

Zebra builds tracking technology and solutions to generate actionable information and insight.