Overview
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) has had a profound effect on the way industrial businesses operate — from predicting demand and running manufacturing operations to designing products and engaging with customers. The growing availability and accessibility of data, the ever-increasing power of computing, and newly capable digital-physical interfaces have introduced a host of new opportunities (and competitive threats) for companies across industrial sectors.
“Industrial Digital” comprises a broad and diverse set of ways that industrial businesses use digital technology.
Digital offerings: Embedding connectivity and intelligence into products and services to create new revenue streams (e.g., equipment manufacturers using ‘smart’ technologies to create new value for customers) or introducing entirely new business models based on unique data insight (e.g., OEMs developing data platforms to provide performance benchmarks and best practices to product end users).
Digital customer experience: Using digital techniques, to bring greater flexibility and responsiveness to all stages of the customer journey, from need identification and research to product configuration, sales and after-sales support. For example, forward-looking industrials firms are leveraging new product visualization tools, online product configurators or ecommerce sites.
Industrial technology/Industry 4.0: Using new capabilities such as advanced analytics, robotics or automated equipment to improve supply chain and manufacturing operations. For instance, manufacturing firms are using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve demand forecasting or automated guided vehicles (AGVs) to drive warehouse efficiency.
Digital ways of working: Employing new tools and techniques such as collaborative software to make work more efficient and improve decision-making — while at the same time optimizing organizational design and governance processes to support digital innovation. For instance, OEMs are implementing new agile working models to empower teams and speed decision-making related to digital initiatives.
L.E.K. Consulting’s Industrial Digital team pairs deep sector experience with a thorough understanding of the evolving digital landscape. We bring clarity to the complex web of technology issues that clients face, and we focus on helping them harness digital technology to achieve their strategic goals. Our integrated set of capabilities gives us a unique, 360-degree view of the digital landscape and allows us to assist clients in understanding the digital opportunities and challenges that are unique to their sector and business.
Key questions and challenges
Frequent questions we have helped our clients address include:
- How can we achieve a digital transformation?
- What is the “art of the possible” with respect to digital, and which areas across the digital spectrum are most critical for our business to be investing in now?
- What opportunities exist to embed Internet of Things (IoT) capabilities in our products and create value for our customers? How should we price these products to promote market adoption and maximize long-term value for our company?
- What is an optimal ecommerce strategy to counter new online entrants that threaten our business? What does this entail?
- What opportunities will exist in our sector for digital ecosystems or information marketplaces? What should our strategy be to win in these new markets, and what business model should we employ to maximize value?
- What is an optimal organization design for our business to take full advantage of digital opportunities?
- How can we employ principles for agile working to enhance our innovation and improve time-to-market for our digital initiatives?
