Print.IT - issue 47 - page 9

Manufacturing companies to
drive out paper
Four out of 10 manufacturing companies
(41%) plan to increase investment in
wearable tech over the next five years
in a bid to stay competitive and rid
complex supply chains of pen & paper
and other manual processes, reveals a
new survey by Zebra Technologies.
More than half (56%) of manufacturers
still rely on pen and paper to track
manufacturing steps, but by 2022 this
figure is expected to fall to 24% as the
number of fully connected factories doubles.
The Manufacturing Vision Study
from Zebra Technologies,
based on interviews with 1,100 manufacturing companies,
finds that firms across EMEA are set to increase investment in
new technologies, like Internet of Things, RFID, wearables and
automated systems, to bring goods to market faster (43%), to
address supply chain complexity (41%) and to improve connectivity
throughout their facilities (40%).
By 2022, 64% of manufacturers expect to be fully connected
compared to just 43% today.
The top areas for investment are mobile (55%), voice
direction & recognition (49%), location tracking in real-time (47%)
and wearables (41%).
Obstacles to further investment include the complexity
of these technologies (49%), budget constraints (43%) and
integration with legacy systems (39%).
Highly automated companies more likely
to experience revenue growth
Four out of 10 UK
organisations have started
using intelligent automation
in one or more business
processes, and 35% expect to
require even more automation
by 2018.
In a survey for ServiceNow’s
new report,
Today’s State of
Work: At the Breaking Point
,
91% of organisations agreed
that productivity could be
improved through the use of
intelligent automation, such
as artificial intelligence or
machine learning, to streamline
decision-making and improve
the speed and accuracy of
business processes.
The report states that highly
automated companies are six
time more likely to experience
revenue growth of more than
15% than companies with low
levels of automation.
Companies with more
than 20% revenue growth
are, on average, 61%
automated. Those with flat or
negative growth are only 35%
automated.
Cost deters half of firms from investing in IT
Almost half of firms (48%) are putting off investing in technology
for their sales teams because of concerns about cost, claims
CITE Research in a new report sponsored by SugarCRM.
The
SalesTech Report
also highlights a lack of confidence
in installing new technology, with 34% of respondents worried
about the complexity of introducing new tech systems and 20%
concerned that they lack the skill to use new tools.
One third of the 400 sales executives surveyed cite ‘resisting
change’ as the main reason for avoiding investment in new
technology
Even so, the research shows that 63% of UK companies
each year spend at least £1,200 per sales representative on
technology, including smart phones, laptops, CRM systems and
web meeting platforms; 22% spend at least £2,400 per sales
employee.
CRM remains the most frequently deployed tool for sales
teams, with 70% of organisations saying they use the technology.
Epson grows share
Epson’s decision to invest in
inkjet technology has helped
the company significantly
increase its share of the
European business inkjet
market, from roughly 25% in
Q1 2015 to 40% in Q1 2017.
IDC expects the business inkjet market in Western Europe to
achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.2% to
2020.
Canon launches new A4 colour MFPs
Canon has expanded its imageRUNNER ADVANCE series of
MFPs with three new A4 models offering colour print speeds of
up to 35 pages per minute, the convenience of a 10.1in colour
touchscreen and compatibility with Canon’s uniFLOW print
management solution and Therefore document management
software.
The imageRUNNER ADVANCE
C256i, imageRUNNER ADVANCE
C356i and imageRUNNER
ADVANCE C356P use improved
drum technology and new CS
toners for greater document
durability and colour stability and
come with enhanced processing
features including a time-saving
staple and collate function.
BULLETIN
PRINT.IT
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QUALITYDRIVESASMARTERPLANTFLOOR:
2017 MANUFACTURING
VISION STUDY
MANUFACTURERSARECONNECTINGOPERATIONSTOGAIN
GREATERVISIBILITYAND IMPROVEQUALITYASSURANCE
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