Smart Factories: How can manufacturers realize the

potential of digital industrial revolution

By the Digital Transformation Institute

1
Executive Summary

Engineering the smart factory: key findings from our global research

The prize:

• Smart factories could add $500 billion to $1.5 trillion in value addeda to the global economy in
five years

• Manufacturers predict overall efficiency to grow annually over the next five years at 7 times the
rate of growth since 1990

• We estimate that smart factories can nearly double operating profit and margin for an average
automotive OEM manufacturer

The challenge:

• 76% of manufacturers either have a smart factory initiative that is ongoing or are working on
formulating it. And more than half of manufacturers (56%) have aligned $100 million or more
towards smart factories.

• However, only 14% of companies are satisfied with their level of smart factory success. Only 6%
of manufacturers are ‘Digital Masters’: at an advanced stage in digitizing production processes
and with a strong foundation of vision, governance and employee skills.

• Digital Masters outpace all other categories in realizing the benefits of smart factories

a. The US Bureau of Economic Analysis defines industry value added as the contribution to the overall GDP of an industry or sector. It is
calculated as the difference between an industry’s gross output and the cost of its intermediate inputs. U.S. Bureau of Economic
Analysis, FAQ: “What is industry value added?”, March 2006.

2
 Smart Factories: A Revolution in the
Making

12x A revolution in manufacturing is firmly underway. Infineon, a German semiconductor manufacturer, is investing
$105 million in the next five years in order to turn its Singapore plant into a smart factory1. It took robots and
3D Printing to make Adidas bring back manufacturing to Germany2. A leading fragrance maker in Switzerland
The rate
ramped up capacity by a third in the past three years3, all through addition of robots. A Chinese factory
of quality added robots to its operations which drove production increases of 250% and defect reductions of 80%4.
improvement
To assess how manufacturers can drive most value from smart factories, we surveyed 1000 senior executives
since 1990 of large companies across key sectors and countries. We also conducted focus interviews with executives
- what leading smart factory initiatives. Further information on our research methodology is at the end of this paper.

manufacturers
expect
Smart factories turbo-charge manufacturing performance
from smart
In the next five years, manufacturers expect smart factories to drive performance improvements that
factories significantly exceed previous efforts:

• On-time-Delivery of the finished products is expected to accelerate by 13 times, while quality indicators
are expected to improve at more than 12 times the rate of improvement since 1990.
• Important cost items such as Capex & Inventory is predicted to be rationalized at 12 times and material,
logistics & transportation cost expected to be rationalized at 11 times the rate of improvement since 1990
• Overall productivity and labor cost improvements are reported to accelerate at 7 times and 9 times the
rate of growth since 1990, respectively.

Figure 1: Manufacturers are expecting big gains from smart factories

Annual gains since 1990 vs. expected annual gains in smart factories in next 5 years

5.52%
5.13% 5.04%
4.60% 4.78% 4.60%

13x 12x 12x 11x 9x 7x

0.74%
0.42% 0.44% 0.38% 0.45% 0.53%

On-time-Delivery Quality & Scrap Capex & Inventory Material, Labor Cost Overall Productivity
Logistics & Transportation

Improvements Since 1990 (CAGR) Improvements Expected in Next 5 years (CAGR)

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017

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 The expectations of manufacturers from smart factories hold strong ground since manufacturers across
segments have already started realizing potential of smart factories, with industrial manufacturing5 seeing
the biggest gains in productivity and quality of output (see Figure 2). GE, in its ‘brilliant factory’ in Grove
City, has been able to reduce unplanned downtime by 10 to 20%, improve cycle time and reduce costs6
(GE describes its ‘brilliant’ concept as a sophisticated factory that combines lean manufacturing, advanced
and additive manufacturing with advanced software analytics to enhance productivity). Faurecia, one of the
largest international automotive parts manufacturers, plans to save €10 million on the purchase of plastic
material via scrap reduction and production improvements owing to digital manufacturing7. Faurecia also
expects to save €30 million on improving its business processes by 2020.

Figure 2 : How much benefit have manufacturers realized from smart factories so far?

Average realized overall productivity gains from smart factories so far

20%
19%
18% 18% 17% 17%

Industrial Automotive Consumer Energy & Utilities Aerospace & Pharma,

Manufacturing Goods Defense Life Science,
BioTech

Average realized quality gain from smart factories so far

20%
19%
18% 17% 16% 15%

Industrial Automotive Pharma, Energy & Utilities Consumer Aerospace &

Manufacturing Life Science, Goods Defense
BioTech

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017

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 Visualizing the Smart Factory: Capgemini Smart Factory Framework
The smart factory revolution is part of the broader digital transformation of the manufacturing industry (see Figure 3). A smart
factory draws on a number of elements from our Digital Manufacturing Framework which is designed to help manufacturers
focus on improving the digital maturity of core manufacturing functions across product and asset life cycle management,
operations management, system simulation, and industrial cybersecurity. Operations management forms a bulk of smart
factory components, in addition, digital asset management and 3D continuity from the product and asset management side
are also relevant to smart factories.

Figure 3: Capgemini Smart Factory Framework

Smart Factory

Manufacturing Digital Transformation

Product and Asset Management Operations Management

Digital Asset Industrial Manufacturing Digital
PLM 3D Continuity Management Control System Intelligence Operator

Smart System Remote Product Quality

Mobility &
Digital monitoring Remote
Mock Up
Autonomous Augmented /
Collaboration Digital Twin Operations Virtual reality
Preventive &
From Scan… Predictive
to Print Operations maintenance Health Safety
Usage feed-back Technology Environment

Complex System Simulation: Product, Process, Flow

Industrial Cybersecurity: Product, Process

3D Platform
IoT Platform

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute Analysis

Manufacturers are modeling smart factories based on what elements align with their strategic objectives:

• GE invested over $200 million in a flexible “brilliant factory” in Pune, India. For the first time, the company is able to produce
diverse products, from jet engine parts to locomotive components, for four different GE businesses all under one roof. This
multi-modal capability enhances flexibility. “The plant will allow us to quickly adjust production as demand comes in, using
the same people and space,” says Banmali Agrawala, president and CEO of GE South Asiaa.
• At its Indiana-based facility, automotive equipment leader Faurecia draws on self-learning autonomous intelligent vehicles
(AIVs), collaborative robots, and continuous data collection to support the company’s Industry 4.0 agenda. Mike Galarno, plant
manager, says: “This facility represents our entry into Industry 4.0, a revolutionary concept incorporating connectivity,
automation, data processing and hardware to advance the manufacturing industry. We are proud to be the first plant to
incorporate many of these leading technologies under one roof to create efficient systems and an innovative working
experience for employees.”b

a. GE Reports, “GE’s Brilliant Advanced Manufacturing Plant In Pune, India”, February 2015;
b. Robotics & Automation News, “Faurecia launches $64 million smart factory in Columbus, Indiana”, October 2016

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 Early adopters emerging in key geographies and sectors
Nearly half of all the manufacturers we surveyed (43%) have an operational smart factory initiative and
another 33% are in the process of formulating an initiative (see Figure 4).

• Key geographies: Our research shows that the US and Western Europe in particular have made an early

43% head start. Nearly half of manufacturers in the US, France, Germany, and UK have an ongoing smart
factory initiative. In the Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Ranking released by the US Council on
Percentage of Competitiveness, the US climbed from #3 in 2013 to #2 in 2015 and is expected to displace China as #1
by 20218. In China, a quarter of companies have an ongoing smart factory initiative (25%). While this is
manufacturers low compared to some countries, 53% are formulating a smart factory initiative, meaning that 78% are
that have an either in progress or have the intent.
operational • Key sectors: Industrial manufacturing (67%) and aerospace and defense (62%) lead in terms of launching
smart factories. In contrast, only about a third of Life sciences and Pharma companies have an operational
smart factory smart factory initiative.
initiative

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Figure 4: Industries across countries are enthusiastic in embracing smart factories

North America Western Europe India and China

Sweden
39%

UK
43%
China
25%
Germany
US 46% India
54% France 28%
44%
Italy
33%

Audi’s €1 bn smart Faurecia’s $64 Adidas’ high-tech Siemens’ GE’s “brilliant ABB’s smart plant in
factory in San José million smart factory Speedfactory in smart plant in Factory” in Pune, Beijing, China has
Chiapa in Mexico, in Columbus, Indiana Germany aims to Amberg, Germany India is capable of 99.94% reliability of
the entire plant was aims heavy use of leverage 3D Printing, has machines and producing diverse deliveries and
simulated virtually digital technologies digital twin and a computers handling products, from jet improved average
before operations to drive efficiency flexible production 75 percent of the engine parts to lead time from eight
began and innovation system value chain on their locomotive days to two
own components

Penetration level: 50 - 60% 40 - 50% 30 - 40% 20 - 30%

Percentages indicate the share of companies in the respective country that have a smart factory initiative ongoing

Smart factory implementation status across geographies

Global Average 43% 33% 8% 16%

United States 54% 24% 11% 10%

Germany 46% 30% 8% 15%

France 44% 36% 3% 17%

United Kingdom 43% 27% 14% 16%

Sweden 39% 31% 12% 18%

Italy 33% 42% 7% 18%

India 28% 42% 5% 25%

China 25% 53% 1% 21%

Yes - we have an ongoing smart factory initiative Yes - it is currently being formulated - (not in operation)
- (operational)
No - we are not likely to have a smart factory initiative
No - but we plan to have a smart factory initiative anytime in future
in the next 3-5 years

Share of manufacturers who have an ongoing smart factory initiative

67%
62%
50%
42% 40%
37%

Industrial manufacturing Aerospace Automotive Energy and Consumer Life sciences,

and defense and transportation Utilities goods biotech, pharma

Percentages indicate share of organizations in each industry which reported they have an ongoing smart factory initiative
Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017

7
 Firms are making significant investments to drive progress. Over the last five years, more than half of
manufacturers (56%) have aligned $100 million or more towards smart factories (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: More than half of the manufacturers invested over $100 Mn in smart factories

Over Distribution of manufacturers based on their smart factory investments in the last five years

$100Mn 28%

5%
56%
Amount invested
20%
by more 18% 18%
than half of 6%
16% 1%

manufacturers 1%
7%
5% 6%
4%
11%
6% 7%
7%
6%

5% 4% 5% 5% 6%

Less than Between Between Between More than

$50M $50 - $100M $100 - $250M $250 - $500M $500M

Both Greenfield & Brownfield Brownfield Greenfield Yet to be decided

Percentages indicate share of organizations in each spend category who said they will launch either of: Greenfield, brownfield, both Greenfield and
brownfield smart factories or were undecided. Numbers might not add up to the total because of rounding
Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute Analysis

Examples include:

• Audi’s €1 billion+ investment in a smart plant in Mexico, which opened in September 20169
• GE’s $200 million+ investment in its “brilliant factory” in Pune, which opened in February 201510
• Faurecia’s €57 million investment to launch a smart factory in Columbus, Indiana, which opened in
October 201611

These are all examples of Greenfield smart factories, but organizations are also constantly upgrading their
existing factories to strive to make them smarter and more digital.

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 Smart factories on the rise, but manufacturers a long way from
digital maturity

The impetus behind smart factories is encouraging. However, manufacturers that want to win in the tomorrow’s
increasingly connected and disrupted environment will need to move from being organizations with a smart
manufacturing capability to become digital enterprises.

To understand how manufacturers were progressing in that aim, we analyzed the digital maturity of
manufacturers, using two dimensions:

Digital Intensity – the “what” Illustration

How far essential processes Siemens’ plant in Amberg, Germany is a highly

(production, inventory management, automated facility, with machines and computers

75% ➊
quality, planning and forecasting) have
been digitized and how much use is
made of digital technologies such as
handling 75 percent of the value chain on their own12.
The factory manufactures 12 million products of the
Siemens’ Simatic product line per year at a quality of
Percentage robotics, internet of things, artificial 99.99885 percent.
intelligence, big data analytics etc.
of the value
chain that
machines and
computers Transformation management Illustration
intensity – the “how”
handle on
their own How well the transformation is being Grégoire Ferré, Chief Digital Officer, Faurecia: “Our
managed to drive benefits, including digital transformation program runs in parallel across
at Siemens’ key aspects such as the manufacturer’s five streams – Operations, R&D, Sales & Programs,
plant in smart factory vision, governance, and HR & Communications and Purchasing. This ensures
the digital skills of its workforce. that key processes supporting smart plants are
Amberg developing together and benefiting from each other.
➋ In the initial phase of our transformation, we identified
areas that needed digitization and launched a number
of pilots. In the current phase, we are digitizing and
industrializing the tools developed earlier. These will
become standards that will drive future stages of
transformation”.

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6%
For separating the leaders from followers, we filtered out organizations that received a high score on both
the dimensions of digital maturity. The analysis reveals four clear categories (see Figure 6):

Percentage of • Digital Masters: We found that only 6% of firms are what we call Digital Masters, which are those firms
that score high on both dimensions of digital and transformation management intensity. They are at an
manufacturers
advanced stage in digitizing production processes, and have a strong foundation of vision, governance
that are and employee skills.
digital • Conservatives score well on the transformation management intensity but fall short on digital intensity.
Their low level of process digitization and lower scale of leveraging digital technologies yield
masters sub-optimal benefits.
• Fashionistas score high on digital intensity but fall short on transformation management intensity. This
group has progressed the digitization of key manufacturing processes. However, this effort lacks a clear
vision, governance and skills to reap the rewards of digitization in a competitive and sustainable manner.
• Beginners score low on both the dimensions, with smart factory implementation and yet to realize
compelling benefits.

Figure 6: The majority have a long way to go to digital maturity

Digital Maturity Matrix

Fashionistas 1% Digital Masters 6%

High

Digital Intensity
Low

Beginners 78% Conservatives 15%

Transformation Management Intensity

Low High

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis, Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017

By analyzing these two dimensions, we found that organizations that have made advances in both digital
intensity and transformation management intensity are better placed to reap the rewards from smart factories.
In the following sections, we outline the size of the prize for high performers and the factors that dictate
success.

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Figure 7: Digital maturity of firms across sectors

Proportion of categories based on digital maturity across industries

1% 4% 5% 3% 4%
1% 1% 1%
13% 11% 14% 11%
15% 16%
1%
20%

84% 85% 86%

80% 81%
65%

Aerospace Automotive Consumer Energy & Industrial Biotech &

and and goods Utilities manufacturing Pharma
Defense Transportation

Beginners Conservatives Fashionistas Digital Masters

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017

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 The Size of the Smart Factory Prize is
Too Large to Ignore

Smart factories have the potential to add $500 billion to $1,500

billion annually to the global economy in the next five years

We estimate that, in a conservative scenario, the added output to the economy from smart factories annually
would reach a level of $500 billion in the next five years (see Figure 8). It represents 0.7% of world’s annual
GDP by 2015 estimates.13 In an optimistic scenario where manufacturers accelerate their smart factory
efforts and deploy or transform more than 50% of their plant base into smart factories, it would add up to
$1,500 billion in eight surveyed geographies or 2% of world GDP.

Figure 8: Smart factories are expected to boost the global economy by adding
$500 billion to $1,500 billion annually to the global economy in next 5 years

Total value added (total sales less interim costs) by manufacturing in the eight surveyed geographies =

$500Bn
USD 8.83 trillion
Conservative Optimistic
Factors
Estimate Estimate
What smart A. Average expected overall productivity growth in smart factories 27%a 28%b
factories can B. Smart factories as a share of all manufacturing plants 21% 60%
add to the Added productivity by manufacturing organizations owing to
C. 5.7% 16.8%
economy smart factories (A*B)

Incremental value added to the global economy, assuming

D. enhanced productivity fully translates into added value (C*$8.83 $500 billion $1483 billion
trillion)

a. The average productivity gain estimated across industries

b. The highest productivity gain estimated by any industry
Source: United Nations National Accounts Main Aggregates Database, accessed April 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory
survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

Smart factories can nearly double operating profit and margin,

propelling an average automaker to top of the league

The financial impact of smart factories becomes much more compelling when we consider their implications
on cost as well. Cumulatively, smart factories will drive higher productivity at a lower cost base, strengthening
manufacturing P&L in the short term and improving firms’ competitiveness in the long run. To estimate the
cumulative impact of smart factory initiatives on the financials of manufacturers, we conducted a business
case analysis on a hypothetical car & truck manufacturer in the US with revenues of $1 billion and a 5%
operating margin. This is approximately the industry average for the auto industry14.

Our analysis shows that in the optimistic scenario, the productivity and efficiency benefits of smart factories
could improve the company’s operating margin to 10.4% over a period of five years (see Figure 9). This
represents one of the best operating margins in the auto industry, catapulting the average player into the
league of leading automakers.

Secondary research and interviews with industry executives helped us estimate key costs in a smart factory
against a traditional factory. For instance, a senior executive at a large European vehicle manufacturer told
us that they expect to bring down the amount of manual labor in vehicle assembly by about 20%. Another

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manufacturer is using a mix of technologies – advanced track and trace, paperless shop floors, autonomous
material movers – to reduce the cost of logistics and administration by up to 50%. These ballpark estimates,
coupled with data from the industry participants who took part in our survey and our experience with clients,
helped us arrive at estimates of improved costs for an average manufacturer.

Figure 9: Smart factories can double the operating profit and margin of auto
manufacturers in five years

Conservative Optimistic
Factors
Estimate Estimate

Average expected overall productivity growth in smart factories in

A. 28% 28%
automobile industry (in the next five years)

Average number of factories becoming smart in the automotive

B. 20% 60%
industry (in next five years)

Revenue growth attributable to smart factoring assuming enhanced

C. 5.6% 16.8%
productivity translates into extra revenue (A*B)

Reduced manufacturing costs owing to reduction in logistics, Between 0.4% Between 1.2%
D.
administration, direct labor and material costs and 5.2% and 15.6%

E. Operating profit (in USD) compared to current level of $50mn $71.8mn $121.3mn

F. Gain in operating profit (Increased revenue less reduced cost base) 1.44x 2.43x

G. Operating margin compared to the current level of 5% 6.8% 10.4%

H. Gain in operating margin (over the current value of 5%) 1.36x 2.08x

Conservative estimates of financial gains Optimistic estimates of financial gains

(in million US$) (in million US$)

96.7
168.0

34.2
56.0
121.3
71.8
50.0 50.0

Current Added Added Operating Current Added Added Operating

Operating Revenues Costs Profit in 5 years Operating Revenues Costs Profit in 5 years
Profit Profit

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

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 How will smart factories impact the skill demand globally?
Participants expect accelerations in gains primarily in areas of processes and material with On-time-Delivery (13 times), Quality
& Scrap (12 times), Capex & Inventory (12 times), and Material Cost (11 times). Although these are the major areas where
organizations expect biggest gains, the realization of these benefits will depend on how effectively manufacturers fulfill the
demand for digital skills. The shift to smart factories will hence transform the global labor market, and while previous waves of
automation have reduced low-skill jobs, organizations have recognized the skills imperative and are now acting on it:

• 54% of respondents are providing digital skills training to their employees

• 24% are spending a significant amount of their training budget to train employees in digital skills. Some countries such as
India and China seem to have grasped this imperative better than others. 72% and 65% of executives surveyed in these
countries respectively are investing a significant amount of their training budget to build digital skills.
• 44% are investing in digital talent acquisition to bridge the skill gap.

Senior executives also see automation as a means to remove inefficiencies and overheads rather than jobs:

• “In the assembly line, the automation level is still not very high because there are things that a man can do better than
a machine. Nevertheless, you can help people with a robot if it’s a repetitive task such as adding a drop of oil every
second” – Former Senior VP at one of the largest European auto manufacturers
• “One of the big reasons for automation has definitely been to make the jobs easier for the workforce on a daily basis
by sharing all their manual workload. I think most people can see that they can benefit from this” - Ejvind Skodt, Site
Director – Production, Arla Foods

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 How Can Organizations Make Smart
Factory Initiatives Successful?

Smart factory success proves elusive to most

Only 14% of companies are satisfied with their level of smart factory success and 39% said they were not
satisfied and give themselves a low rating in terms of success levels (see Figure 10). This 39% may feel they

39% are struggling because they are not meeting their targets. For instance, 297 out of 580 organizations have
yet to achieve their productivity improvement targets. A closer look at the challenges faced by organizations
Percentage of reveals that nearly a third are struggling with two key challenges: lack of coordination among different units
and lack of investment.
manufacturers
that struggle
Figure 10: For every successful manufacturer, nearly three organizations are
with their struggling in their smart factory initiative
smart factory
initiatives Percentage of organizations that are successful or struggling

39%

14%

Successful organizations Struggling organizations

Percentages indicate share of organizations that rated themselves 6-7 (successful) and 1-3 (struggling) on a scale of 1 to 7

Top challenges in formulating Top challenges in implementing

smart factory strategy smart factory strategy

Lack of coordination among Lack of investment

32% 29%
different organizational units

Lack of leadership commitment Lack of maturity in lean shop

28% 22%
floor automation processes

Lack of a clear business case 28% Organizational inertia 21%

Lack of ownership Challenges in identification and

23% 21%
prioritization of opportunities

Lack of a vision 21% Lack of a roadmap 20%

Percentages indicate share of organizations that selected the particular option as a challenge area out of 8 challenges areas in strategy formulation and
12 areas in implementation; percentages do not total to 100 as multiple options could be selected
Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017

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 To understand how organizations can overcome these challenges and deliver value, we took the digital
maturity framework outlined earlier and analyzed it in the context of benefits realized. Our analysis confirms
that digital masters outpace all other categories in terms of benefits realized (see Figure 11). In productivity
benefits alone, digital masters have realized an average 24% of productivity improvement, outperforming
the other three categories.

Figure 11: Digital masters are reaping the rewards of their digital maturity

29%
27% 27% 26%
24%
21%
18% 18%
17% 17% 17%
16%

Selling, Raw Material, Direct labor Quality & Scrap Overall Overall
General & Logistics & Cost productivity Equipment
Admin Costs Tranportation Effectiveness
(OEE)

Beginners Digital Masters

Percentages indicate average benefit realized by the organizations on the KPI in their respective smart factory initiatives so far
Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute Analysis

When we quantify the cumulative impact of these gains on the P&L of manufacturers, the advantage
enjoyed by digital masters becomes much more apparent. If we take two average auto manufacturers with
$1 billion in revenue and a 5% operating margin, the one in the digital master category would be able to
derive – from smart factories – an extra $28m in profits and a lead of 2.3pp in operating margin over the
other firm (see Figure 12).

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Figure 12: Smart factories would yield an extra $28mn for a digital master over a
beginner automaker

An average
An average
automaker in
Factors automaker in
digital master
beginner category
category
Average expected revenue growth in smart factories (in the
A. 3.6% 8.6%
next five years)

Reduced manufacturing costs owing to reduction in Between 0.4% Between 0.7%

B. logistics, administration, direct labor and material costs and 3.6% and 10.4%

Estimated operating profit (increased revenue less reduced

C. US$65mn US$93mn
cost base)

D. Operating margin 6.2% 8.5%

Operating profit projection in 5 years: Beginners vs. Digital Masters

US$
28
million
Added Profit

Added Profit

US$ US$
64.7 92.7
million million
US$
50
Current Profit Current Profit
million

Beginners Digital Masters

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

17
 Digital Masters have leapt ahead of beginners on
key digital and transformation parameters

To understand what differentiates digital masters and beginners, we analyzed the parameters of our two
dimensions: digital and transformation management intensity.
Digital Intensity
For digital intensity, digitizing processes and leveraging advanced digital technologies were two key
differentiators (see Figure 13). We see that a significant majority of digital masters (approximately 80%) said that
more than 50% of their processes in all the key areas have been digitized, while less than a third of beginners
responded in the same way. Similarly, only a fifth of all beginners are leveraging key technologies such as
big data or advanced robotics, whereas a significant majority of digital masters leverage these technologies.

Figure 13: Digital Masters’ lead over beginners on digital intensity parameters

Majority of processes digitized High leverage of technologies in

operations
83% 82%
87% 85%
82%
77% 77% 72%

55%

32% 31%
29% 27% 27%
20% 23%
18% 20%

Performance Maintenance Production Inventory Quality Big Data Mobility & AR IIoT Advanced
Management Management Management Management Robotics

Digital Masters with more than 50% processes digitized Digital Masters highly leveraging the technology
Beginners with more than 50% processes digitized Beginners highly leveraging the technology

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

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 Transformation Management Intensity:
Digital skills and governance are the two biggest differentiators in the transformation management intensity
(see Figure 14). We found that very few beginners are satisfied with their skill levels in key areas such as
data analytics, automation and cyber security; whereas most masters felt they have the skills required. In
the governance area, a majority of the beginners are not following the basics of transformation governance,
such as appointing a leader and establishing a roadmap.

Figure 14: Digital Masters’ lead over Beginners on transformation management intensity parameters

Excellence in digital skills

95%
88%

60%
37% 30%
17%

Analytics Experts Cyber Security Automation Experts

Digital Masters highly skilled in the technology Beginners highly skilled in the technology

Appropriate governance for transformation

98% 97% 95% 93%

88%

44% 47%
41% 39% 35%

Established a roadmap to Coordinated the initiatives Set up committees & Formulated Strategy at the Appointed a leader
monitor progress at organizational level decision making processes top management level

Digital Masters strongly agree Beginners strongly agree

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

19
 The common characteristics of digital masters
Our analysis points to the key characteristics of digital masters.

• Digital masters are making better progress on smart factories compared to their peers.
72% of digital masters have made good or better than expected progress on their smart factory initiatives,
compared to only of 37% of beginners (see Figure 15). Worryingly, for beginners, 39% of them say that
they are struggling with their smart factory initiatives.

Figure 15: Majority of digital masters are making good progress or better than
expected progress on their smart factory initiatives

Current status of smart factory initiatives

7%

39% 35%

72%

37% 44%

24% 22% 22%

Beginners Conservatives Digital Masters

Early Stage Good or better than expected progress Struggling

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

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• Digital masters are making aggressive investments, including training. 45% of digital masters
have invested more than 10% of their annual revenues over the last five years in smart factory initiatives,
compared to 17% of beginners (see Figure 16). And 73% of masters have spent a significant share of
their training budget to build digital skills, compared to 17% of beginners.

Figure 16: Digital masters are making aggressive investments

Organizations investing more than 10% of their annual revenue in

total over the last five years
45%

33%

17%

Digital Masters Conservatives Beginners

Percentages indicate share of organizations in each category

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis
Organizations Spending a Significant Share of Training Budget
to Build Digital Skills
73%

• Digital masters have more aggressive targets. 58% of digital masters are aiming to achieve break
even on smart factory initiatives within 5 years, compared to 18% of beginners (see Figure 17). Masters
also have more ambitious operational KPI targets. 37%For example, 40% have a quality target, compared to
26% of beginners. Key operational KPI targets for beginners also fall considerably short of the targets
set by the digital masters.
17%

Figure 17: Digital masters have more aggressive targets

Digital Masters Conservatives Beginners

Target of breakeven within 5 years

58%

24%
18%

Digital Masters Conservatives Beginners

Percentages indicate share of organizations in each category

Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

21
 How can Manufacturers Realize their
Smart Factory Vision?

Our survey shows that digital masters take a holistic view of their transformation to smart factories (see
Figure 18). Moreover, ninety-eight percent of digital masters have established a roadmap for their smart
factory initiatives, compared to 41% of beginners. We have seen that digital masters are reaping the rewards
of this structured approach.

Figure 18. Digital masters take a more holistic approach to smart factory transformation

Transformation approach taken by players in different categories

85%

68% 67%
63% 63%
55% 55%
50%
44% 46%
38%
29% 30%

15% 13%

Business case & Focused transformation such as Partnership with tech End-to-end technology End-to-End
roadmap definition by operating model transformation, providers for feasibility solutions (e.g. Industrial Transformation
consulting firms people transformation, and study IoT connecting all key
infrastructure transformation etc. manufacturing process etc.)

Digital Masters Conservatives Beginners

Percentages indicate the share of players in each category that take the said approach
Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute, smart factory survey, February-March 2017; Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

However, a large majority of organizations are still journeying to attain the maturity level of digital masters.
This means that there are different strategic imperatives for manufacturers depending on their digital maturity
(see Figure 19).

22
Figure 19. Transformation imperatives depending on organization’s digital maturity

Fashionistas Digital Masters

Establish a roadmap and rally support Maintain focus on your roadmap
of key leaders
Sustain the momentum by keeping
Measure and monitor business value your people engaged
of digital initiative and kill unprofitable
ones
Strive for a digital culture and mindset
Bridge the digital talent gap by as you advance your initiatives
partnering with ecosystem players

Beginners Conservatives
Craft a holistic vision; establish a Ensure agility is factored in your
foundation of strong leadership and governance models
governance
Prioritize and execute on your digital
Invest in digital initiatives aligned with initiatives
the vision Scale your initiatives to the
Launch proofs-of-concept and organizational level
demonstrate early wins
Source: Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute analysis

Here’s how organizations can put these imperatives into action.

Beginners
Craft a smart factory vision focusing on the financial impact of an end-to-end
manufacturing transformation rather than technological improvements
Our experience with clients, and the survey results, point to the fact that digital masters have a holistic view
of their transformation. In our research, 55% of digital masters said they are working with their suppliers
on an end-to-end transformation, compared to 30% of beginners. Digital masters understand that the
true advantage of digital manufacturing in smart factories will be harnessed at an industrial scale and have
aligned their vision accordingly:

• 48% of digital masters expect that more than 40% of their products will be produced by smart factories
in five years’ time, compared to 11% of beginners
• In the next two years, 27% of digital masters aim to have a network of smart factories – multiple facilities
that coordinate with each other to optimize operations. But only 5% of beginners have the same target.

Establish leadership and governance to oversee smart factory strategy

Leadership and governance play a critical role in the success of smart factory initiatives. 88% of digital
masters have appointed a leader for their smart factory initiative, whereas only around a third of beginners
have done so (34%).

The importance of this appointment was reinforced by conversations we had with senior executives, with
a former Senior VP at a large European automobile manufacturer telling us: “You have to nominate one
person to take the responsibility of driving this transformation. He or she then has to establish a team of
executives who must meet regularly to discuss progress, potential issues and next steps. Every function
that is touched by smart factories must have a representative in this core team.”

23
 Launch Proofs-of-Concept and demonstrate early wins
One of Capgemini’s clients, a large manufacturer with a global presence, was struggling to cope with rising
competition and increasing product complexity. It was felt that the organization lacked agility and innovation
in manufacturing operations. To jumpstart the digitization of its factories, the company identified 200 digital
use cases, launched 40 proofs-of-concept in just a few weeks, and identified nine digital solutions that
are being industrialized and replicated across a network of over 200 plants globally. The demonstration of
early wins from proofs-of-concept helps leaders to build a stronger case and rally support for the next leg
of transformation.

Conservatives
Ensure agility in your leadership and governance
Conservatives need to be cautious that their process-driven and structured approach does not hinder
experimentation that is vital for advancing digital intensity. More agile leadership is also critical, as a Vice
President of Innovation at a leading French manufacturer outlines: “A very senior executive is at the helm
of our organization’s Industry 4.0 initiative. The leader has formed a steering committee with key leaders
from supply chain, manufacturing and technology. The steering committee has to meet several times
a month to evaluate the program and ensure that it is moving forward at the right pace.” Our survey
found that for 70% of digital masters, the leader of smart factory initiatives reports directly to the head of
manufacturing, while only a third (34%) of beginners have this level of reporting.
Prioritize initiatives, execute on them and scale to the organizational level
Industry executives pointed to two key challenges in smart factory implementation: organizational inertia
and identifying & prioritizing opportunities. Leading organizations focus on a set of key initiatives and scale
them up to the organizational level once proven, as Brian Tessier, Vice President, Global Supply Chain
Innovation at Schneider Electric, outlines. “Our smart factory industrialization program has identified a
set of 10 plants globally which we’re developing as our showcase Industry 4.0 plants,” he explains. “We
conducted a maturity modeling of these plants to determine their level of digitization on technology and
process to move them along the maturity curve. Once these plants reach a desired level of maturity,
we will standardize the tools and processes to our entire network of over 200 plants in 44 countries.”

Fashionistas
Establish a roadmap and rally support of key leaders
Fashionistas have an uphill task ahead of them in the form of bringing a structure to their largely uncoordinated
digital initiatives. They can start by laying down a foundation of governance that involves:

• Having leadership or governing committees with defined decision-making processes

• An established roadmap to monitor the progress of smart factory initiatives
• Defining and measuring progress on a standard set of key performance indicators
• Tracking benefits at regular intervals to fine tune approach

General Manager, Site Operations of an American pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturer
told us about involving key leaders in governance, “We have ensured the support and involvement of
key leaders in governing our smart factory initiatives. This enables our end-to-end transformation.
Our governing council includes leaders from supply chain, IT and business that oversee local steering
bodies. These local teams are tasked with the implementation and rollout.”
Measure and monitor business value delivered by digital initiatives
Due to the wide-ranging impact of smart factories, devising and following through on a business case is
key. Our current research reveals that near all digital masters are tracking the business case and making
use of a standard set of KPIs for monitoring progress whereas only 41% of beginners are doing so.

24
Be prepared to bridge the digital talent gap
Although Fashionistas launch a number of digital initiatives, they usually do so without a long-term view of
maturing these initiatives as technology and consumer expectations evolve. Building and retaining a digital
talent pool is a crucial part of this. In our survey, 54% of organizations that have invested heavily in building
digital skills have made better than expected progress with their smart factory initiatives. Digital skills, such
as big data analytics, automation and mechatronics, are undoubtedly crucial. Fashionistas can look up to
strategies adopted by digital masters for bridging the skill gap:

• Up-skilling employees (82% of digital masters do this)

• Forming strategic partnerships with technology providers (75%)
• Nurturing (57%) and acquiring startups (47%)

Digital Masters
Strive for a digital culture and mindset as you advance your initiatives
Building digital skills is important however industry leaders are going a step further and focusing on changing
culture by cultivating a digital mindset. Our previous research with MIT has established that a digital-first
mindset is a distinguishing feature of a digital organization,15 where the default position is to employ a digital
solution first.

Swapnil Choudhari, Director Global R&D – Professional Laundry Systems and Dishwashers, Electrolux,
underlines the significance of mindset. “Skills are necessary, but the importance of the right mindset
can’t be overstated. When you transform from a traditional way to a new way, mindset makes it easier
and more effective to develop new skills, build new relationships and harness new opportunities.”
Grégoire Ferré, Chief Digital Officer, Faurecia believes mindset plays a crucial role as firms advance their
smart factory initiatives. “The key part of the transformation is the change of mindset,” he explains. “At
some point during your transformation, you have to shift from an ‘innovation mindset’ to a ‘deployment
mindset’, establish standards, set up structures, and so on.”
Sustain momentum by ensuring your people are part of the journey
to foster collaboration, manage concerns and deliver change
Like any large transformation initiative, the success of smart factories also hinges on how effectively the
workforce is involved in the program. A number of the executives we spoke with emphasized on the importance
of ensuring people are part of the journey right from the start. Marc Fevrat, Director of Manufacturing
Engineering at one of the largest heavy vehicle manufacturers told us, “In a program such as smart factory,
where people have to adjust to new processes and ways of working, it is crucial to have ambassadors
to get people adjusted to change. People are much more open to change when a colleague tells them
how new technology may help them or ease their burden.”

Use of robots introduces uncertainty among workers. A majority (57%) of organizations in our research
said that they are looking to use advanced robotics & smart automation to augment the work of existing
operators. The role of management communication becomes crucial therefore, as operators become
concerned about their jobs. Organizations can manage these concerns by communicating the advantages
that technology offers, such as taking on repetitive tasks and allowing workers to focus on higher-skilled
tasks. In fact, our research has found that up-skilling the existing workforce is the most popular approach
taken by manufacturers to bridge the digital skills gap. The head of manufacturing operations at a large
Asian electric vehicle manufacturer whom we spoke to for this research, believes effective communication
is critical to managing any potential resistance. “Employee resistance can stall the progress of your smart
factory,” he says. “A big role has to be played by the management by talking to employees, convincing
them and making them comfortable with the objectives and benefits of automation.”

25
 CONCLUSION
We are firmly in the age of the smart factory. How things are made – from cars to pharmaceuticals – is
being transformed. Manufacturers are achieving new levels of efficiency and productivity, costs are falling,
and new revenue opportunities are being revealed. But as machines talk to each other and robots take on
more tasks, the digital maturity of the organization becomes increasingly critical. Manufacturers need to be
digitizing processes – from forecasting and planning to production – and making use of key technologies,
from industrial internet of things, artificial intelligence to big data analytics. At the same time, they also need
to be driving a coherent transformation, focusing on the vision, governance, and skills needed in a new
future. Manufacturers that excel in these areas are delivering better results from smart factories, and will
be much better placed to tackle the key challenges of smart factories, such as the threat of a backlash or
resistance from existing workers.

Our research found that there is already a leading cohort of manufacturers who are excelling in those areas,
and the gap between the leaders and followers will only get bigger as technologies accelerate. Up-skilling
the workforce with digital skills will be necessary. However, it needs to be supplemented by making people
a part of the journey and striving for a digital culture. It’s time to catch up now, or this latest revolution in
industry might leave you behind.

26
Research Methodology
Industry Survey - We surveyed more than 1000 executives at director or more senior role in manufacturers with reported
revenue of more than $1 billion for FY 2015. The survey took place from February to March, 2017 in six manufacturing sub-
sectors – Industrial Manufacturing, Automotive & Transportation, Energy & Utilities, Aerospace & Defense, Life Sciences &
Pharmaceuticals, and Consumer Goods. Geographically, the survey covered eight countries – United States, United Kingdom,
France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, China & India.

Distribution of survey responses across industries

Industrial manufacturing 26%

Automotive and transportation 22%

Energy, Utilities (Water, Electricity) 20%

Consumer goods 19%

Aerospace and defense 7%

Life sciences, biotech, pharma 6%

Distribution of survey responses across Distribution of survey responses across

geographies respondent roles

10% 10% 3% 3%
India Production and operations
13%
9% 9% UK IT/Technology
US Maintenance and support
4%
9% Sweden Finance
France 8% Procurement
Germany Quality Control
9%
Italy 70%
4% 40% China

Distribution of respondents across company revenue

groups (annual)
5% 2%
$1-2 billion
15%
28% $2-5 billion
$5-10 billion
$10-20 billion
$20-$50 billion
More than $50 billion

24%
27%

Focus Interviews – We conducted discussions with 18 executives who were directly involved with their organization’s smart
factory initiatives, and held director or more senior roles in companies with revenues of more than $1 billion each. In the
discussions, we explored the vision, approach, measurement of success, and challenges of smart factory initiatives.

Web-based Research – In addition to industry survey and focus interviews, we have also conducted a web-based research
to collect key data points to quantify the financial benefits of smart factory.

27
 References

1. The Straits Times, “Infineon’s $105m ‘smart factory’ push”, March 2017

2. The Economist, “Adidas’s high-tech factory brings production back to Germany”, January 2017

3. Bloomberg, “Robots Rule at Swiss Factories as Strong Franc and Wages Bite”, February 2017

4. Futurism, “Production Soared After This Factory Replaced 90% of Its Employees With Robots”, February 2017

5. Industrial manufacturing includes electronic & electrical equipments, diversified industrials, industrial engineering,
chemical, oil & gas refining, and PLC & hi-tech manufacturing

6. GE, “Reducing Unplanned Downtime at Grove City”, June 2016; GE Brilliant Factory webpage

7. Les Echos, “Faurecia est entré dans l’ère de l’usine numérique”, February 2017

8. Compete - US Council on Competitiveness, “2016 Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index”, January 2016

9. Audi USA, “Press Release: Audi AG opens automobile plant in Mexico”, September 2016

10. GE Reports. “GE’s Brilliant Advanced Manufacturing Plant In Pune, India”, February 2015

11. Faurecia, “Faurecia inaugurates new digital factory for emissions control technologies in South Columbus,
Indiana”, October 2016

12. Siemens, “Digital Factory – Defects: A Vanishing Species”, October 2014

13. Source: United Nations National Accounts Main Aggregates Database, accessed April 2017

14. NYU Stern School of Business, “Aswath Damodaran: Margins by sector (US)”, January 2017

15. MIT Center for Digital Business and Capgemini Consulting, “Organizing for Digital: Why Digital Dexterity Matters”,
December 2015

28
 Discover more about our recent research on digital transformation

Industry 4.0: Sharpening the Going Big: Why Companies An interview with Beth An interview with Jim Lawton,
Picture beyond the Hype Need to Focus on Comstock, Vice Chair of GE Chief Product and Marketing
Operational Analytics Officer, Rethink Robotics

The Internet of Things: Are Securing the Internet of Big Data Blackout: Are Going Digital: General
Organizations Ready for A Things Opportunity: Putting Utilities Powering Up Their Electric and its Digital
Multi-Trillion Dollar Prize? Cybersecurity at the Heart of Data Analytics? Transformation
the IoT

Operational Excellence Digital An interview with Andy Tesla Motors: A Silicon Valley
through Digital in Transformation Review 5: Palmer, Chief Planning Version of the Automotive
Manufacturing Industries Gearing Up for Digital Officer and Member of the Business Model
Operations Executive Committee of
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.

29
 About the Authors
Dr. Markus Rossmann
Principal, Digital Manufacturing
[email protected]
Markus is global head of Portfolio Management for Capgemini’s Digital Manufacturing Services. He is
responsible to drive digital initiatives in product and asset management, and operations management
across all Capgemini business units and industrial sectors.

Amol Khadikar
Senior Consultant, Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute
[email protected]
Amol is a senior consultant at the Digital Transformation Institute. He keenly follows the role played by
mobile, software and data science in digitally transforming organizations.

Patrice Le Franc
Global Head of Manufacturing Operation Management, Digital Manufacturing
[email protected]
Patrice is global head of Manufacturing Operations Management for Capgemini’s Digital Manufacturing Services.
He works closely with industry leaders to help organizations understand the nature and impact of digital
disruptions with a particular focus on Manufacturing Operations processes and Industrial Control Systems.

Laurent Perea
Vice President, Capgemini Consulting
[email protected]
Laurent Perea is Vice President at Capgemini Consulting. He advises clients on improving their operational
performance by leveraging supply chain management, logistics, transportation and lean management capabilities.

Ralph Schneider-Maul
Vice President - Head of Supply Chain Management
[email protected]
With more than 20 years of consulting experience in all areas of supply chain management, Ralph has been
dedicated to digitization in supply chain management and the performance enhancement of corporate
logistics for years.

Jerome Buvat
Global Head of Research and Head, Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute
[email protected]
Jerome is head of Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute. He works closely with industry leaders and
academics to help organizations understand the nature and impact of digital disruptions.

Aritra Ghosh
Senior Consultant, Capgemini Digital Transformation Institute
[email protected]
Aritra is a senior consultant at Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute. He likes to follow how emerging
digital technologies are commercialized and what disruptions across industries they bring in.

Digital Transformation Institute

[email protected]

The Digital Transformation Institute is Capgemini’s in-house think-tank on all things

digital. The Institute publishes research on the impact of digital technologies on
large traditional businesses. The team draws on the worldwide network of Capgemini experts and works
closely with academic and technology partners. The Institute has dedicated research centers in the United
Kingdom and India.
The authors would like to especially thank Subrahmanyam KVJ and Yashwardhan Khemka from Capgemini
Digital Transformation Institute for their contribution to this report.
The authors would also like to thank Gunnar Ebner, Eric Grumblatt, Reinhard Winkler, Arnaud Demit, Daniel
Granlycke, Alexis Le Gall, Fred Norraeus, Mathieu Colas, Marcel Piper, Dustin Hamerla, and Inès Yun
YE from Capgemini Consulting; Jean Pierre Petit, Jacques Bacry, Philippe Ravix, and Patty Britton from
Capgemini Digital Manufacturing; Jan Willem Lichtenberg and Arne Eindhoven from Capgemini Netherlands;
and Shalabh Dhankar and Arthi Dattani from Capgemini Group Marketing.

30
For more information, please contact:
Gunnar Ebner Eric Grumblatt
[email protected] [email protected]

France Germany North America

Jacques Bacry Jochen Bechtold Philippe D’Amato
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Eric Grumblatt Lukas Birn Debbie Krupitzer
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Patrice Le Franc Andreas Hein Jerry Lacasia
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Laurent Perea Markus Rossmann Mark Landry
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Philippe Ravix Ralph Schneider-Maul Darshan Naik
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
Sweden/Finland Reinhard Winkler Adrian Penka
Michael Eriksson [email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] Netherlands UK
Daniel Granlycke Femke De Jager John Lewins
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]
India Eric Kruidhof Mumtaz Salam
Sanjeev Gupta [email protected] [email protected]
[email protected] Norway
Dattatraya Kulkarni Gunnar Deinboll
[email protected] [email protected]
Kiran N
[email protected]

31
 About Capgemini About Capgemini Consulting
With more than 190,000 people, Capgemini is Capgemini Consulting is the global strategy and
present in over 40 countries and celebrates its transformation consulting organization of the Capgemini
50 th Anniversary year in 2017. A global leader in Group, specializing in advising and supporting
consulting, technology and outsourcing services, the enterprises in significant transformation, from innovative
Group reported 2016 global revenues of EUR 12.5 strategy to execution and with an unstinting focus on
billion. Together with its clients, Capgemini creates results. With the new digital economy creating significant
and delivers business and technology solutions disruptions and opportunities, the global team of over
that fit their needs and drive the results they want. 3,000 talented individuals work with leading companies
A deeply multicultural organization, Capgemini has and governments to master Digital Transformation,
developed its own way of working, the Collaborative drawing on their understanding of the digital economy
Business Experience™, and draws on Rightshore®, its and leadership in business transformation and
worldwide delivery model. organizational change.

Learn more about us at Find out more at:

www.capgemini.com www.capgemini-consulting.com

About Sogeti
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transformation and offers cutting-edge expertise in Cloud, Cybersecurity, Digital Manufacturing, Digital Assurance
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