While most businesses recognise the potential for value creation from smart manufacturing, few are fully equipped to realise this goal. In a new whitepaper by MPA, a leading professional services business, the importance of establishing a clear strategy is discussed, along with how this strategy can be financed.
While businesses are under pressure to adapt to the new digital era, a clear picture of the potential risks and opportunities is fundamental if any competitive advantage is to be realised. For manufacturing businesses, the imperative is to establish a clear strategy that can yield the benefits of today’s, and tomorrow’s, advances in smart manufacturing.
The whitepaper provides the background to smart manufacturing and discusses the benefits and challenges of developing a long-term strategy. It then discusses a range of finance options to help businesses make the changes needed to move towards a smart manufacturing model.
Nigel Urquhart, Senior Technical Analyst at MPA comments: “The companies best placed to gain maximum benefit from advances such as Industry 4.0 are those that align their organisational philosophy with smart manufacturing strategic goals. Indeed, it’s not necessarily those making the biggest investments, but rather the smartest investments that will reap the greatest rewards.
“There are a range of incentive schemes available to help companies fund their smart factory plans, to increase operational efficiencies, improve customer outcomes, reduce product development cycles and accelerate innovation. The average claim value for R&D tax credits alone is £54,000. These are funds that manufacturers could be using for investment in smart manufacturing, digitally-enabled tools and innovation.”
For more information, the MPA ‘Industry 4.0 – developing a smart strategy for getting ahead in manufacturing’ whitepaper is available as a free download here:
https://mpa.co.uk/whitepaper-industry-4-0-and-smart-manufacturing/
