Insights

In just two years, over 300 companies worldwide have used the SIRI Assessment to formally evaluate their facilities and kick-start their Industry 4.0 transformation. We analysed their assessments to create a global first: The Manufacturing Transformation Insights Report 2019.

This data-backed snapshot captures the current state of several manufacturing sectors globally, which helps companies benchmark their Industry 4.0 maturity levels against their international peers. The insights can also be useful to governments, trade associations, and other stakeholders as they develop new solutions to accelerate global industrial transformation towards the digital era.

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Overview of data

The Manufacturing Transformation Insights Report 2019 analyses results from 200 Official SIRI Assessments, belonging to manufacturing facilities across 12 industries. The companies range from small, family-owned enterprises to large, multinational corporations with parent companies from 14 different countries across Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific.

Archetypes of transformation

A key finding is that different manufacturing industries exhibit varying transformation profiles, which can be mapped onto four Archetypes of Transformation based on their SIRI Maturity and SIRI Variance levels. Details about the Archetypes and relative positions of the various key manufacturing sectors are shown below.

SIRI Maturity

SIRI Maturity is a ranking measure of how an industry or company has performed in the SIRI Assessment across all 16 dimensions, relative to the other industries or companies. A higher ranking indicates that the industry or company is more likely to be further down the road in its industrial transformation journey.

SIRI Variance

SIRI Variance is a measure of how much the companies’ SIRI scores deviate from the mean within an industry. The lower the SIRI Variance, the more uniform the pace of industrial transformation in the sector.

A coniferous forest is associated with rows of uniform-looking pine trees growing tall and strong.

The Coniferous Forest Archetype describes industries that rank high in SIRI Maturity and low in SIRI Variance. Companies from these industries are generally further ahead in their Industry 4.0 journeys, and largely similar in their pace of transformation.

The tundra habitat is associated with harsh climates – strong winds, low temperatures, and limited rainfall.

The Tundra Archetype characterises industries that rank low in both SIRI Maturity and SIRI Variance. Just as wildlife in the tundra battle formidable conditions to survive, industries in this Archetype face greater challenges in industrial transformation. Often, this is because the nature of their products and manufacturing processes limit the ease and feasibility of deploying certain Industry 4.0 improvements.

The rainforest is a habitat with year-round rainfall, ample sunlight, and comfortable temperatures, all of which facilitate the growth of lush vegetation. Yet, despite such favourable conditions, some plants still falter.

The Rainforest Archetype thus describes industries that rank highly in both SIRI Maturity and SIRI Variance. While most firms in a Rainforest Archetype industry are ahead in their Industry 4.0 journeys, a small group has not kept pace.

The savanna is a semi-arid habitat scattered with shrubs and isolated trees.

The Savanna Archetype describes industries that rank low in SIRI Maturity but exhibit high SIRI Variance. While most companies within these industries are in the earlier stages of industrial transformation, a small number of players have forged ahead, like the occasional large trees that rise above the grasslands. An industry in this Archetype usually has a large base of small- and medium-sized enterprises.

THE 3B MATURITY BENCHMARK

The 3B Maturity Benchmark provides a high-level reference point of what it means for a factory or plant to be Best-in-Class, in the Broad Middle, or lagging behind in the Bottom. This gives the global manufacturing community a whole-of-manufacturing sector benchmark.

Industry performance cards

The state of transformation can be highly industry-specific, often heavily influenced by factors like product nature/volume, complexity of manufacturing processes, and competitive dynamics. Macroeconomic trends also influence business conditions and operating environments of various industries in different ways. Hence, beyond the sector-wide 3B Maturity Benchmark, companies can also reference our Industry Performance Cards (IPC), which are industry-specific benchmarks. These offer more apples-to-apples comparisons for companies to assess how they fare against their industry peers.