5 Trends In Manufacturing Sales With The Largest Impact Beyond 2022

Industry 4.0 has presented a host of trends that are revolutionizing every aspect of doing business- from customer experience to supply chains. In manufacturing, for example, a lot if happening that’s going to permanently reshape our thinking. For businesses in the manufacturing industry, they can only marvel at the trends in manufacturing sales that are changing the century-long narratives.

What are manufacturing sales?

Manufacturing sales occurs when manufacturers sell finished products. With the right sales tools, manufacturers making sales can beat the competition and close more leads. In the age of artificial intelligence in manufacturing, rapid innovation across all verticals, including e-commerce, will power manufacturing sales.

Industry 4.0 offers manufacturing companies and their partners advanced technology like cloud computing, assisted intelligence and cyber-physical production systems (CPPS) to make manufacturing factories bright.

Manufacturing has really evolved. Some trends like the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning have braced the industry. Manufacturers are embracing these trends and taking manufacturing to another level.

Let us take a look into some of the trends in manufacturing sales including the Internet of Things, Intelligent Manufacturing, differentiated business models and 3D printing technology.

Intelligent Manufacturing

Intelligent manufacturing involves applying artificial intelligence with technologies like digital twins to improve manufacturing quality. For instance, using predictive maintenance, companies can predict the failure of manufacturing machines and when repairs or replacements are needed to maintain the quality of goods produced.

Other benefits of intelligent manufacturing include;

• Reducing operational costs – Insights obtained from intelligent manufacturing analytics and better real-time data allow you to streamline processes, eliminate wasted time and effort, and deploy resources more efficiently to add significant cost savings.
• Empowered Workforce: Intelligent manufacturing software can help streamline workflows and give employees the kind of heightened visibility that allows them to work more efficiently. Employees can also be freed up to focus on higher-level functions by automating basic tasks.
• Fast product development – Self-improvement isn’t just for humans anymore: Smart, connected products (and their digital twins) can provide the data and insights necessary to improve their future iterations.
• Improved safety: Smarter robotics technology means that dangerous tasks previously performed directly by humans can be delegated to autonomous or remotely operated devices and equipment. And in the age of social distancing, the ability to perform more tasks in a digital or virtual environment is another way to protect the safety of frontline workers.

Internet of Things

Internet of Things encompasses everything connected to the internet. There are over seven billion devices connected to the internet, which is projected to reach 25.4 billion by 2030. Worldwide IoT spending across all industries is expected to hit over $1 trillion by 2023, according to FinelyUSA.

A study estimates that 35% of US manufacturers use data from smart IoT devices like sensors, while others set the device in their factories. Internet of Things( IoT) in manufacturing has several benefits; 

• Remote production control – You can analyze and control machinery during production processes remotely, thanks to IoT, which collects and analyze data into a cloud computing system accessible from anywhere in the world.
• Digital twins – Are replicas of physical objects simulated digitally. A digital twin allows the manufacturing industry to investigate solutions for product lifecycle extension, manufacturing and process improvements, and product development and prototype testing. In this case, a digital twin virtually represents a problem so that a solution can be devised and tested in the program rather than in the real world.
• Predictive repairing – IoT is transforming machinery maintenance into a fast process, saving on operation and production with predictive repairing. The data collected by IoT devices allow the prediction of the current conditions of machinery and transmitting timely trigger warns.

Different Business Model

While other manufacturing companies still follow traditional supply chain business models, from distributors and wholesalers to retailers to manufacturing sales, others embrace modern business models. The new manufacturing business models include;

• Product as a service 

If you have heard of Software as a Service (SaaS), where buyers pay monthly or yearly to use software, then product as a service is similar to the manufacturing industry.  An ideal situation occurs when a manufacturing company rents its product to a customer, including the support team.

• Direct-to-consumer selling( D2C) 

Manufacturing industries have recently adopted this model. D2C  business model

This means a company produces and distributes the product through its channels until it reaches the customer. The benefits of D2C include;

• A higher degree of personalization in your product range
• Higher control over profits
• Gaining access to more targeted customer data
• More room for product testing
• No middlemen = more profits

CRM Systems in Manufacturing Sales

Manufacturing CRMs are tools enabling manufacturing companies to build customers’ and prospective customers’ databases for nurturing and closing deals. The customer relationship management system collects information like; phone number, address, email, job title and more.

Manufacturing CRM by Salesforce empowers the manufacturing sales team to do the following;

• Get a single, 360-degree view of your customers across all channels to improve cross-sell, upsell and lead generation opportunities. And with CPQ functionality, sales teams can find perfect-fit solutions.
• Build intuitive apps that let customers, dealers, and distributors conduct business with ease. And help internal teams across all manufacturing departments optimize and streamline processes with customizable, enterprise-grade apps.
• Connect your systems and break down the silo walls separating your front and back office. With Salesforce and MuleSoft, you get an enterprise-grade API platform – and your people get easy access to the data they need to make better faster decisions.

Here is what the President and CEO of ABB said about Salesforce manufacturing CRM;

“We want to grow. We want to drive execution, and we want to collaborate better. So in simple terms: More. Better. Together. The partnership with Salesforce is in the center of this” – ULRICH SPIESSHOFER.

3D Printing Technology

The last on the list of trends in manufacturing sales is the trend around 3D Printing Technology. 3D printing technology reduces wastage and unnecessary operational costs in the manufacturing industry. According to Acumen Research and Consulting, the 3D Printing market is projected to reach $41 billion by 2026.

Another benefit of 3D printing in the manufacturing industry is that 3D printing is faster than conventional manufacturing for small to medium runs of small objects. Companies don’t need to create tools for injection molds and casts and invest in infrastructure for limited runs.

Prototyping is one of the original uses for 3D printing, particularly for tech companies. This rapid prototyping process is now efficient enough to be cost-effective for other industries. Adoption shortens design iterations, which ultimately saves money.

Lastly, 3D printing eliminates additive manufacturing like cooling fluids, reducing heat and friction during machining.

Conclusion

Trends in manufacturing sales will always be there. As time goes by, more and more trends will emerge. Of importance is for manufacturers to stay on top of these trends. Embracing and adopting these trends will definitely give a manufacturer an upper hand over a competitor. The effects of adopting these trends and the direct impact on sales cannot be ignored.