The AI Manufacturing Cloud is the perfect place to discover why the technological advances in modern manufacturing are so vital and why you need to start using them.
As technology evolves at a dizzying pace, and the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect businesses worldwide, the latest innovations can be harder than ever to absorb. From 3D printing and the Internet of Things (IoT), to blockchain and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), it's all out there, available for public use. So how does a business choose which of these technologies will add value to their service and keep them ahead of their tech-savvy rivals?
Put digital technology first
When it comes to competition, the latest entrants are more likely to have better understanding of new technologies and will be ahead of the rest of the field in adopting them. That can put your business at a disadvantage to begin with. Added to the fact that they're offering competing products and services geared toward similar audiences. The need to up your game is more important than even more urgent.
To keep pace with these trends, manufacturers need to reinvent themselves. They'll have to learn how to put digital technology first in their processes and approach and make crucial decisions that will transform their business into a global competitor, using data-driven approaches and cutting-edge producers.
Keep pace with the millennials
Successful competitors such as Amazon and Alibaba understand that the demographics of their customer base are shifting rapidly. We are currently living through the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and it’s changing the future of work. Nearly a third of the buying power in the market these days comes from customers of the millennial and zoomer, or Gen Z, base. These young buyers have wholly different expectations of the market from previous generations.
The millennial buyer wants everything at their fingertips, instantly and around the clock. They demand multiple channels of engagement and expect answers and information at any given time, which requires a whole new level of engagement, no matter what the product or brand might be. This is a significant shift for manufacturers to consider.
Close the manufacturing gap
Unfortunately, the manufacturing sector has been very slow to adjust to this new demographic, leaving a major, undeveloped gap open. According to a McKinsey Report, media companies are already up to 70% moved toward digital transformation. By comparison, the manufacturing sector sits, at best, roughly 33% along the way. That's a lot of ground to cover.
This means that manufacturers must change practically everything about the way they operate, from how they create products to how they market them to customers, and even down to how they offer compensation to their own workers. They have to change how billing systems work and shift entirely from being centred on their products (product-centric model) to being focused on putting the consumer first (customer-centric model).
Stay competitive in a changing marketplace
Manufacturing Cloud from Salesforce is a new product geared specifically to help manufacturers close this gap and become competitive in the changing marketplace. It is, in many ways, a one-stop shop for all your customer-centric operations.
This tailor-made CRM exclusively for manufacturers allows you to:
- operate with greater transparency
- enhance and unify your account planning and sales forecasts
- align your operations and sales
- extend your planning process to your partners
- meet your growing commitments
And you can do all of this while streamlining your business and improving engagement with customers.
How does Manufacturing Cloud do all this?
The Sales Agreements feature allows you to consolidate the terms of your agreements, including quantities, prices and duration, while combining them with real back-office figures.
The Account-Based Forecasting provides an overview of your net-new and run-rate businesses and allows your teams at the sales, product and operations levels to collaborate in one central space. It gives your account teams a full understanding of every customer by providing real-time information on sales and services and offering collaboration tools and insights.
Expect the unexpected – with a little help from Einstein
The power of Manufacturing Cloud is enhanced by the Einstein Analytics platform. Einstein is a smart CRM assistant that allows you to increase productivity while making tough decisions more quickly, helping you keep your customers happy across the board. It enables you to predict outcomes, obtain new insights into your data and automate your workflow. The platform also recommends the next steps to take based on identifying significant trends and patterns you can use to take your company to the next level.
As Einstein links to your Manufacturing Cloud as part of the Salesforce Customer 360 Platform, it gives you an entirely new understanding of your customers. Through it, you can learn the content, channels, and messages that resonate best with your customers through analysis of their interactions with your various channels of communication. It also provides every staff member in your organisation with insights within your records, empowering them with AI to take analytics to the next level.
Embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution
In short, Einstein lets you expect the unexpected by providing access to more knowledge than you've ever had before, instantly and right at your fingertips. It also allows you to use customer data to truly personalise the experience of every client, predicting the content, messaging, products, and even times that they are most likely to target.
Embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution and take your business to the next level by choosing Manufacturing Cloud and look forward to delivering predictability and transparency across your entire ecosystem.
Gain the transparency and predictability you need during the COVID-19 crisis. Check out the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud Demo today!
