At first glance, the framework looks intimidating. The intention is to lay out all the components, resources and processes that are involved with developing a clear vision and strategy. The inner ring is the foundation that will empower the organization through the digital transformation. This includes developing clear communication from leadership teams; understanding and acknowledging goals that propel the organization forward; incorporating cross-functional teams from different areas of the organization; maintaining focus on the financial impact to the business; and, finally, utilizing process and people change management to build continued success.
Delivering a clear message to everyone impacted by the transformation is the linchpin to success. The outer ring of Figure 1 represents the various business units or value chain drivers within the organization. These are the stakeholders. The middle rings illustrate the process that will evolve from defining the vision, assessing the organization’s current state, developing the strategy to achieve the vision, and executing the strategy.
Using these key approaches during the assessment and strategy phase, organizations can lay the foundation for digital transformation to drive sustainable smart manufacturing:
- Generate a comprehensive inventory of use cases spanning the entire value chain of the organization from procurement to quality control and compliance, production, and customer care.
- Organize the list of use cases into categories of applications that solve similar business pain points or address the same workflow process, such as asset health and reliability, asset performance and efficiency, procedures and documentation, and employee safety.
- Consider simple valuation methodologies to quickly estimate the potential business impact for each application. Collaborate across different areas of the organization to quantify each application's value using an approach that encompasses cost, revenue, reliability, safety and stakeholder engagement.
- Prioritize each application using several criteria, including feasibility, value, alignment with corporate strategy and stakeholder engagement. The weight of the categories will most likely change as the organization’s digital transformation process matures.