Contributed by Mike Marks, Founding Partner of the Indian River Consulting Group
Mike Marks, Founding Partner, Indian River Consulting Group
In recent years, the supply chain has become unpredictable, and manufacturers and distributors alike must make bold moves to continue growing. One such move is to invest in and implement new technological solutions — especially those powered by artificial intelligence.
AI isn’t just a tool for generating silly images, though coverage in mainstream press may very well give you that impression. It’s actually a departure from traditional, logic-based coding – if A, then B, or else C — and an arrival at computer programs that can quickly review large data sets, learn from them, and make educated inferences.
When you consider the sheer amount of data that fluid power manufacturers and distributors generate and interact with every day, it’s quite easy to imagine that AI could have myriad practical applications in this space.
Many of the most exciting possibilities exist in sales and marketing. Manufacturers and distributors can use AI to quickly build and manage complex quotes, generate more (and more qualified) sales leads, identify customer-specific opportunities for cross-selling and upselling, and set up targeted marketing campaigns for greater success.
For fluid power manufacturers, AI machine learning programs can monitor and analyze data from hydraulic systems to perform all sorts of critical tasks, from predictive maintenance and equipment effectiveness optimization to production quality control and workplace safety monitoring.
In fact, AI can even help with the complex task of designing fluid machinery by considering the many interdependent constraints and requirements involved to quickly generate several design options for a given product, essentially giving your engineers a head start. There’s no need to start from square one when a well-trained AI program has generated the first couple squares for you.
Despite the long list of potential use cases and general interest in AI, few have actually gone through with adopting AI tools. According to Modern Distribution Management, 62% of distributors haven’t applied AI to their business yet, and a mere one-quarter of distributors have managed to apply it to a single use case so far.
According to a recent global study conducted by Capgemini, U.S. manufacturers are slow in joining the AI bandwagon, with just 28% implementing at least one AI use case in manufacturing operations. Europe currently leads the way, with more than half of its top manufacturers implementing at least one AI use case, followed by Japan with a 30% implementation rate.
This means that there’s still time to leverage AI to truly differentiate your company in the fluid power industry. The bolder you are now, the greater the benefits could be in the future, both short-term (as you dash ahead in the AI race) and long-term (as you generally become more efficient and productive over time).
Of course, that’s easier said than done. If you’re not sure how to get started on your AI journey, consider registering for NFPA’s 2024 Industry & Economic Outlook Conference. I will be joining a host of speakers addressing today’s leading economic and technical issues and will be conducting an interactive workshop, Application of AI Technologies to Industrial Companies. I look forward to sharing my insights into AI’s capabilities and equipping attendees with the knowledge to successfully pilot and deploy AI-powered tools at your company. It’s less than a month away, so act fast.
Mike Marks is the Founding Partner of the Indian River Consulting Group, focused on B2B channel-driven markets. Prior to founding IRCG, Marks worked in distribution management for more than 20 years. Reach Marks at ircg.com.
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