Digitalization spotlight
Why digital transformation is now business-critical
The process industry is facing increasing demands for agility, efficiency, and compliance, while also managing aging infrastructure and stringent regulations. In many sectors of the processing industry, digital transformation is becoming a strategic necessity to remain competitive.
However, the Boston Consulting Group has found out that many industries are struggling to evolve their digital maturity (BCG Digital Acceleration Index 20231). Now, it's essential for industrial companies to use their existing strengths - like the dense foundations in data - to make their digital transformation a business success. Another industry benchmark report2 by McKinsey & Co. echoes the theme that asset-heavy sectors tend to lag digital frontrunners. As Endress+Hauser, we support our customers to ensure that digitalization will create value instead of costs. Ultimately, digitalization aims at improving productivity and maintenance so that operating costs become predictable, scalable and ideally reduced.
The implications are clear: to secure long-term success, accelerating digitalization is essential.
What’s holding back digital transformation?
Despite widespread recognition of its importance, digital transformation efforts often struggle to progress beyond the pilot phase. Several key factors contribute to this:
- Operational constraints: Safety-driven cultures and established procedures can limit experimentation.
- Organizational complexity: Bridging IT and OT requires integrated planning, cross-functional collaboration, and continuous learning.
- Implementation challenges: Many innovation leaders report that executing digital projects – not planning them – is the most significant hurdle.
- Scalability issues: Promising pilots frequently fail to expand due to unclear roadmaps and lack of alignment between strategic leadership and operational teams.
Enabling sustainable transformation
Successful digital transformation requires more than technology. It demands clear goals, a structured approach, and a shared commitment across all levels of the organization.
Turning digital potential into real-world performance
Many companies face a gap between their digital ambitions and practical outcomes. Connected technologies offer a structured framework to help close this gap by combining automation, data transparency, and seamless system integration.
For the process industry, this means the ability to respond faster, operate more efficiently, and remain compliant in a demanding environment.
Connecting data, devices, and decisions
The path from digital strategy to operational improvement is driven by specific technologies. Process industries are starting to adopt smart manufacturing principles by implementing digital communication technologies, such as Ethernet-APL and IO-Link. They enable the seamless connection of data, devices, and decisions - from the field level upwards.
These technologies enhance data availability, reduce latency, and support real-time responsiveness – key enablers of reliable, efficient production.
Greater visibility, faster decisions
Smart manufacturing solutions offer end-to-end visibility, spanning from the field level all the way to enterprise systems. Technologies like Ethernet-APL and IO-Link are helping the process industry unlock new levels of efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. These tools don't just support digital transformation - they enable it.
This comprehensive transparency enables faster decision-making, driven by current and contextualized data. It also provides real-time insights into performance metrics, operational deviations, and areas for potential optimization. As a result, organizations can implement scalable improvements through data-driven learning, ultimately creating a more connected, agile, and responsive production environment.
Intelligent maintenance management
Digitalization goes beyond just data flows and connectivity, it is transforming process industries. Using digitally enabled assets and technologies, like Digital Twin, allows your maintenance team to evolve from a purely reactive maintenance approach to a combination of condition-based, predictive, and preventive maintenance strategies. And as a result, you can extend asset lifespans, reduce downtime, boost reliability while improving efficiency and productivity.
Smarter strategies through digital insights
Effective equipment maintenance management goes far beyond servicing individual assets, it’s about ensuring your entire plant operates at peak performance. Traditional maintenance regimes often focus on individual assets and can lead to costly downtime. However, digitalization flips the script:
With continuous data streams from all your connected devices, you’re alerted well before failure—giving you time to act, not react.
To improve reliability and performance, there needs to be a shift from a “run-to-failure” maintenance approach to an insight and data-driven approach that combines:
- Preventive Maintenance: Scheduled tasks at set intervals based on known wear patterns or manufacturers' recommendations.
- Predictive Maintenance: Data insights and analytics to anticipate or predict potential failures before they happen.
- Condition-Based Maintenance: Continuous monitoring of equipment condition triggers actions only when needed.
FAQs
Footnotes
1. Boston Consulting Group: Speed, Value, and the Power of the Innovation Flywheel
2. McKinsey & Company: Top ten observations from 2022 in life sciences digital and analytics
