Aptean Unveils 2024 Manufacturing Trends for North America in New Report

Automation Leads to 30% Higher Revenue Growth in Face of Rising Costs and Supply Chain Disruption

ALPHARETTA, GA, October 17, 2023 – Today, Aptean, a global provider of mission-critical enterprise software solutions, announced the publication of its Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America report. The research surveys process and discrete manufacturers in North America, from manufacturing industry subsegments that include manufacturers of electrical equipment, fabricated metals, industrial machinery, cosmetics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The report offers insights into how manufacturers’ primary challenges are influencing emerging trends and affecting business growth trajectories.

Rising costs and supply chain disruptions are rated top concerns by over 50% of manufacturers surveyed. Automation of tasks and processes through digital transformation is emerging as a critical path to protect growth in the face of rising costs, and for those choosing to automate, the average rate of growth in 2022 was 30% higher than those relying on manual processes. Supply chain transformation was found to have a significant impact – the percent revenue growth gap between manufacturers that have digitized supply chain operations and those that have yet to do so more than doubled, from .7% greater revenue growth in 2021 to 1.6% greater revenue growth in 2022. The study further found that cloud adoption by manufacturers has increased significantly in recent years – from 58% in 2022 to 70% in 2023. As businesses moved to the cloud, they also reported higher revenue and profit growth (2021-2022) and predict higher revenue and profit growth in the future (2022-2023).

The research was conducted by Aptean and B2B International in August 2023. Responses came from 200 business decision makers at manufacturing companies in North America within the process and discrete manufacturing sectors. The study also identified three key trends that will shape the manufacturing industry landscape in 2024 and these – along with the full research findings – are now available in a new report, Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America.

“Automation of key manufacturing processes delivers a competitive advantage for manufacturers struggling to combat rising costs and supply chain disruptions,” said Bob Kocis, President, Americas at Aptean. “As the business environment becomes increasingly complex, the performance gap between manufacturers who have embraced digital transformation and cloud adoption and those who have not will continue to grow.”

In addition to the impact of digital transformation, the research explored:

• How early adopters of artificial intelligence (AI) are already seeing positive impact on revenue and profits

• Why commercial goals to drive efficiencies are also driving sustainability programs

• What steps manufacturers are taking to leverage data as a tool to keep up with consumer preferences

Copies of the Aptean Discrete and Process Manufacturing 2024 Trends and Outlook for North America are now available for download.

About Aptean Aptean is one of the world’s leading providers of purpose-built, industry-specific software that helps manufacturers and distributors effectively run and grow their businesses. With both cloud and on-premise deployment options, Aptean’s products, services and unmatched expertise help businesses of all sizes to be Ready for What’s Next, Now®. Aptean is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia and has offices in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. To learn more about Aptean and the markets we serve, visit www.aptean.com. Aptean and Ready for What’s Next, Now are Registered Trademarks of Aptean, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.