More than two-thirds (68%) of manufacturers in the Asia-Pacific region expect AI to drive growth by 2029, up from 46% in 2024, research from Zebra Technologies shows.
Zebra commissioned Azure Knowledge to conduct 1,200 online surveys among C-Suite executives and IT and OT leaders within various types of manufacturing sectors, including automotive, electronics, food and beverage, and pharma and medical devices.
Respondents were surveyed in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
Zebra said this surge in AI adoption, combined with 92% global and 87% of APAC survey respondents prioritising digital transformation, underscores manufacturers’ intent to improve data management and leverage new technologies that enhance visibility and quality throughout the manufacturing process.
While digital transformation is a priority for manufacturers, around 40% of APAC respondents recognise achieving it is fraught with obstacles, including the cost and availability of labour, scaling technology solutions, and the convergence of information technology and operational technology (IT/OT).
Visibility is the first step to transformation – through adopting AI and other new technologies.
This enables manufacturers to leverage data more effectively to identify, react and prioritise problems and projects to deliver incremental efficiencies across the manufacturing process, ensuring the greatest impact upfront.
“Manufacturers often face challenges in effectively utilising their data,” said Christanto Suryadarma, Zebra SVP for Southeast Asia (SEA). “This is where AI and other digital technologies come into play, to foster an agile and efficient manufacturing environment.”
Only 16% of manufacturing leaders globally report they have real-time, work-in-progress (WIP) monitoring across the entire manufacturing process, while this is true for more of APAC manufacturing leaders, at 25%.
While 63% of APAC manufacturing leaders expect to increase visibility across production and throughout the supply chain by 2029, 38% say getting IT and OT to agree on where to invest is a key barrier to digital transformation.
Adding to these obstacles, 82% of APAC respondents agree they are struggling to keep up with the pace of technological innovation and to securely integrate devices, sensors, and technologies throughout their facilities and supply chain.
Zebra’s study found manufacturers are shifting their growth strategies by integrating and augmenting workers with AI and other technologies to transform manufacturing and build a skilled workforce over the next five years.
About three-quarters (76%) of APAC manufacturing leaders plan to reskill labor to enhance data and technology usage skills, as 75% expect to augment workers with mobility-enabling technology.
The technology tools being implemented by manufacturing leaders include tablets (52% in APAC), mobile computers (53%), and workforce management software (62%).
In addition, 65% of manufacturing leaders in APAC to leverage wearable mobile computers to augment their evolving workforce.
Manufacturing leaders across the C-Suite, IT, and OT understand how labor initiatives must extend beyond improving worker efficiency and productivity with technology.
Three in every five APAC leaders rank ongoing development, retraining/upskilling, and career path development to attract future talent as a high priority for their organisations.
Overall, the quest for quality has intensified as manufacturers across segments must do more with fewer resources.
According to the survey, manufacturing leaders say today’s most significant quality management issues are real-time visibility (40% in APAC), keeping up with new standards and regulations (30%), integrating data (31%), and maintaining traceability (27%).