A convergence of breakthrough technologies—analytics, artificial intelligence, mixed reality and more—enables mass customization with smart, connected products, in real-time.
We call this “Industry X.0,” and it’s rapidly changing the landscape in two primary ways. Leading companies in several industries—automotive, industrial equipment, pharmaceuticals and others—are harnessing these accelerating forces to seize competitive advantage.
Accenture Labs research sees Industry X.0 is playing out at every stage of the manufacturing process, and recent research illustrates enormous potential value waiting to be unleashed. Read on as we detail real-world examples.
READ THE REPORTIn product engineering, new Industry X.0 applications are constantly emerging, and Accenture Labs is developing proofs of concept that we believe will be rapidly adopted. In this phase, new technologies can be applied to speed up and focus core tasks. Instead of relying on expensive, time-consuming market research and analysis, you can leverage the crowd to conceptualize new products and immediately test them with customers.
Our brains are wired to work in a 3D world. However, engineers are typically restricted to working with 2D tools. That’s changing. Soon, we’ll see Industry X.0 applications flowing through the product engineering lifecycle as augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality technologies revolutionize design. This will provide new tools for workers to create in 3D, and our research points to major worker productivity and collaboration benefits.
Industry X.0 will transform the pace, efficiency and effectiveness of prototyping and simulation. In the automotive industry, for example, the manufacturing process can take as long as 36 months, with prototyping and simulation accounting for one-third of total costs. New technologies, applied together, will change those dynamics forever, vastly accelerating processes and enabling far deeper flexibility and responsiveness.
What’s in store? Consider 3D-printing and virtual/augmented reality.
Industry X.0 will be pervasive much sooner than most people think. It will encompass processes, workers and customers, driving new digital set-ups across business functions, operating models and new software-enabled, connected products. Wholesale digital disruption of the industrial sphere will follow. To remain relevant and succeed in this industrial transformed landscape, companies must grow the “new” across their businesses, combining emerging technologies holistically to re-imagine how they operate.
Are you ready?