Rockwell Automation, the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, today announced the results of the 9th annual “State of Smart Manufacturing Report.”

The global study surveyed more than 1,500 manufacturers across 17 of the leading manufacturing countries, including India. This year’s report reveals a focus on harnessing new and emerging technologies to build resiliency, improve quality, maximize workforce potential, and drive sustainable growth.

In India, given the supply chain disruptions over the last few years, the warehouse and fulfilment industry see the highest acceleration of digital transformation, followed by the renewable energy and chemical sectors. A staggering 91% of Indian manufacturers recognize the urgent need for digitization, which is driven by both internal imperatives – such as the delicate balance between quality and growth, adoption and integration of new technologies, retention of skilled workers, product quality improvement and client onboarding – as well as external challenges such as is inflation, supply chain disruptions, skilled labour shortages, cybersecurity vulnerabilities and the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additionally, Indian manufacturers are actively improving their network infrastructure and leveraging the multitude of connected hardware devices. Networking hardware, with an adoption rate of 88%, and production monitoring software solutions, with a remarkable adoption rate of 92%, lead the way in technology adoption across various industries in India.

Dilip Sawhney, Managing Director, Rockwell Automation India, said: “The 9th edition of smart manufacturing report highlights the transformative impact of new technologies, including GenAI, on the global manufacturing. From the accelerated need for digital transformation to the overwhelming adoption of technologies, the new study underscores shift towards smart manufacturing, globally.”

“The report reveals that Indian manufacturing is rapidly evolving and is investing in smart manufacturing technologies to achieve growth, address workforce issues, improve quality control, mitigate cyber risks, and attain sustainability. A wider adoption of digital transformation is crucial for India to become a trillion-dollar manufacturing economy -- a vision of government of India under Make in India initiative,” Sawhney added.