Technology trends for manufacturing in 2020 (Part 2)

The B2B2C business model will compete more seriously with the B2C model

B2B2C is an acronym for Business To Business, which is an e-commerce model combined with Business-to-Business (B2B) business to bring enterprise products to end-users (B2C) ) serve a transaction or a complete product.

B2C is a business-to-customer business model, a form of business from enterprise, company to customer. The purchase and sale takes place via the internet, of course, customers here are individuals who buy goods for normal consumption purposes, without generating further transactions.

In early 2018, IFS stated that 62% of manufacturers had benefited from after-sales market sales – either through warranty departments or service contracts. 16% of respondents have maintenance service contracts with specific agreements (SLAs), but only 4% of manufacturers can provide products with full service. for customers.

That means if manufacturers can sell their products through different channels, they can only support the service for products that are still in the warranty period. With B2B2C, they can create service relationships that help boost their revenue.

More than half of manufacturing units will invest in artificial intelligence (AI)

Most manufacturers have applied automation to their lines. While these automation systems are optimizing their processes, AI can create new process-systems. So the company can predict what will happen to its system, or they can predict the needs of customers in the near future thanks to AI.

Another area that is expected to grow in the coming years is the use of AI in market demand planning and forecasting. If the AI ​​is used in the right information environment, manufacturers will be able to tailor their supply chains based on AI analysis.

In an IFS November 2019 survey, 40% of respondents said they plan to invest in AI to serve goals such as production planning, improving customer relationships, etc. About 60% of the answers said that they would invest in improving labor productivity, optimizing the system through investing in artificial intelligence.

Productivity and Quality Office