Manufacturers across the globe were expected to spend $4.2 billion on cloud computing platforms in 2017 and achieve year-over-year growth of 23% in 2018, according to IDC. And this upward trend shows no signs of slowing down. IDC also predicts that the manufacturing industry will reach a total of $9.2 billion in cloud spend come 2021.

But what’s causing all this?

Whether you’re running the largest facility or a more humble operation, there is an ever-increasing demand to work more quickly, scale more smoothly and make fewer errors across your entire manufacturing operation.

Here are four ways that automation and cloud can take any manufacturer from slow starter to superstar:

#1 Bye bye manual processes

Within most business environments there are different departments of people who have the skills to undertake a specific business function – be it marketing, sales or finance, for example. This approach may be practical but it does mean that information is very siloed and isn’t easily shared between departments. Cloud solutions – like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) systems – break down barriers because there is now a single view of all the data across the entire business.

#2 Better decision making

With information in the cloud logged and stored automatically, businesses will have a wealth of information at their fingertips; information that can be analysed and used to improve decision-making. In fact, a McKinsey study shows that machine learning could cut  supply chain forecasting errors in half.

#3 Boost transparency

In line with the point above, improved insights increase transparency, allowing business leaders to make the right decisions. For example, mistakes happen along the production line but only with the right data, in real time operators can quickly identify it these problems form part of a greater trend. If this is the case, the issue can be rectified before it costs too much money. Similarly, managing inventory can be a nightmare. But with the right cloud-based inventory tracking system in place, everyone across the business has access to inventory information.

#4 Upskill teams

Automation has a negative reputation because of the potential job losses that accompany this trend. But automation actually frees up employees’ time so that they can focus on more important tasks. One of the most important tasks employees should be doing in their spare time is upskilling themselves via continuous learning and development.

As the manufacturing industry comes to rely on cloud more and more, they need a solution in place to keep their usage in check. With OneView, our premier enterprise Technology Expense Management system, you can automate the management of your cloud usage, spend and performance, while also keeping your mobile, fixed-line and WAN expenses in check. Keen to find out how? Contact us here and we’ll get back to you.