When it comes to the manufacturing industry, the grainy image of smokestacks and bustling shop floors often comes to mind, however, modern manufacturing is a much more complicated landscape that involves numerous businesses working together. The hazards that can befall a corporation are numerous and can occur at any stage, making it critical for their business partners to grasp the intricacies from end to end of the manufacturing process and avoid pitfalls with forward-thinking strategies.
This year, our experts at Perficient are proud to once again be recognized by a leading global technology research and advisory firm as a notable global manufacturing industry consultancy.
“Our exceptional track record with manufacturing clients has landed us recognition once again, I believe due to our decades of client-side experience, deep industry expertise, and award-winning solutions.” – Kevin Espinosa
Manufacturing Expertise Informed by Research and Client-Side Experience
Our success with clients has much to do with our experts’ comprehensive understanding of the manufacturing process and the unique pain points for all areas of the business. Perficient consistently transforms global organizations in all different product markets, from industrial machinery to chemicals and specialty materials and even forms of transportation. To stay informed and innovative, our team analyzes market trends and conducts first-party research as many OEMs are facing new challenges while they rapidly transition from hardware to software companies.
In 2025 specifically, our experts will be diving deeper into smart manufacturing, AI, and robotics, which are revolutionizing manufacturing. Further, our firm will be continuing to help guide manufacturers as they seek ways to build closer relationships with customers and improve loyalty. At the same time, they’re continuing to emphasize that before true cutting-edge innovation can take place, firm foundations for data and streamlined processes must be achieved.
Guiding Organizations Through Challenges with Primary Research
Manufacturers are increasingly trying to get closer to their consumers, with direct-to-consumer strategies being one of the key parts of these efforts. We help them plan distribution and manage customer data, which is often held by partners, and improve supply chain and estimated delivery dates. Large manufacturing companies also often struggle with customer experience due to acquisitions and need assistance in streamlining marketing and technical campaigns to ensure clear communication and accountability.
Last year, our first-party research focused on customer journeys regarding electric vehicles (EV). With 17 states now requiring a certain amount of EVs, our experts wanted to better understand how OEMs and dealerships were working to improve their EV sales and build customer experiences to drive loyalty. With perspectives from consumers and dealers, we found that consumers needed more education about the vehicles, improved charging infrastructure, and decreased total cost of ownership to be more open to purchasing EVs. Most of all, customers continually expressed that they preferred a seamless digital-first experience when researching and purchasing their new vehicles. These insights helped guide OEMs and dealers to prioritize certain aspects of their electric vehicle strategies.
In 2024, we began our research focused on the manufacturing and use of connected products. As products are becoming more frequently connected to other devices, whether for businesses or consumers, our research discovered the discrepancies in which product types and functions were being prioritized by manufacturers and end-users. Insights like these will guide manufacturers as they build strategies for connected products that answer the increasing customer demands for more impressive and seamless experiences while also keeping privacy and transparency in mind. At the same time, manufacturers of connected products are facing an unprecedented influx of data which they’ll need to quickly understand how to manage and monetize while staying compliant with privacy laws.
Perficient’s manufacturing experts are proud to continue collecting primary research that will inform strategy in key areas for these organizations.
Data-Backed Strategy in Action
Perficient is proud to not only conduct primary research and build strategies, but implement them to achieve incredible results for manufacturers. For example, transparency, flexibility, and sustainability are essential in supply chains, which we support from raw material sourcing to shop floor operations. We’ve helped a coal producer make their systems more transparent and assisted steel manufacturers in better forecasting inputs from their suppliers. We’ve also helped a health and wellness goods manufacturer migrate to the cloud with their ERP system, improving inventory management and quality assurance.
Further, we excel at enabling frictionless and impressive customer experiences, like an AI virtual assistant for an OEM’s website that enhanced the buyer journey and increased site engagement and brand loyalty. Another manufacturer needed to modernize its fire and CO detection systems while also enhancing their remote monitoring to stay competitive in the smart home market. We developed a mobile app that was able to send alerts from their home safety systems with real-time, cloud-enabled IoT infrastructure that connected their detectors to the user’s devices.
There’s no shortage of work to be done with manufacturing organizations and automotive OEMs, and we’re here to help. Learn more about Perficient’s manufacturing expertise
Source: Read MoreÂ
