As the Global Industry Lead for manufacturing, Helena Jochberger is responsible for the strategic design, development and direction of CGI’s global manufacturing portfolio.
By Helena Jochberger
It is a great privilege and pleasure to analyze current market trends and impacts with our clients as part of the VOC program. As we anticipate more economic disruptions, how organizations navigate these uncertain times is important. VOC conversations provide critical insights that can help clients make better-informed decisions to support growth and resiliency.
An opportunity to pause, reflect and consider
VOC conversations are an opportunity for our clients to pause, reflect and consider what’s driving transformation and where they must invest for a resilient future.
Our 2022 VOC research revealed that manufacturers lag other industries in achieving results from their digital strategies. Only 17% of manufacturing executives say they are at this level, compared to 25% across all industries.
At the same, in my VOC conversations with clients, I’m frequently asked: How can we achieve our sustainability goals faster?
A C-level manufacturing executive recently shared their company’s goal to move toward a circular economy by recycling and reusing plastics on a large scale. This is a really incredible initiative, and other organizations have similar aspirations and commitments to their sustainability agendas.
The understanding that manufacturers are not alone in their challenges underpins these valuable exchanges and furthers collaboration within the industry.
Addressing growth challenges
In the midst of macroeconomic concerns, rising energy prices, and volatility in stock and resource levels, a topic of VOC conversations is ways to build resiliency no matter the market conditions. Many of my clients are looking at flexible scenario planning to prepare for all possibilities.
With two opposing drivers at play: the need to be sustainable leaders of the future on one hand, and the need to ensure resilience in uncertain times on the other, how can manufacturers move forward with confidence?
Instead of pruning assets, forward-thinking leaders are looking to technology to improve efficiency, innovation and agility for more holistic revenue growth. (Read more about this topic in my blog, What does 2023 hold for manufacturers?)
The ability to become a data-driven manufacturer underpins all three qualities. Everything from machinery and customer data to delivery and product life cycle management (PLM) units needs to become data-led and data aligned with the shop floor, business and IT coming together to harness the power of this data.
It is perhaps no surprise when we look at the 2022 VOC findings, we see that digital leaders within manufacturing are further ahead in implementing digital processes, have implemented or are in the process of implementing data analytics capabilities, and have better alignment between their IT and business leaders.
As we continue our 2023 VOC conversations, we look forward to uncovering more of these insights for the coming year and having follow-up conversations with our clients on what we learn from within manufacturing and across other industries.
Learn more about how the VOC program can help you gain insights you can act on
Every year, CGI leaders meet with business and IT executives to gather their perspectives on the trends affecting their enterprises. These industry insights — including the attributes of digital leaders — lead to actions to best satisfy the needs of your customers and citizens.
Voice of Our Clients gathers our clients’ perspectives on the trends affecting their enterprises. Learn more about the VOC program.
