Chapter 1:
The new
pressures and
AI shaping manufacturing

Manufacturers are navigating a fundamental shift.

Global volatility, rising customer expectations, stricter regulations, and rapid technological change are increasing the interdependency between development, design, engineering, production, delivery and field service. Decisions in one area now directly influence performance across the entire lifecycle.

Design choices shape production constraints. Engineering decisions affect planning and quality outcomes. Real-time data from operations feeds back into future design.
The traditional siloed model cannot support this level of complexity; competitiveness
now depends on a lifecycle that operates
as one connected ecosystem.

The recent IDC InfoBrief “Data & AI: The
Essentials for Building Robust Manufacturing Operations,” sponsored by Fujitsu, shows that manufacturers must expertly balance strategic ambitions, such as entering new markets and improving sustainability, with operational priorities including manufacturing efficiency, excellence
and supply chain resilience. It highlights that digital technologies, particularly AI, are critical to factory modernization, enabling stronger day-to-day performance while supporting long-term transformation across the connected lifecycle.

Explore regional insights from the IDC InfoBrief “Data & AI: The Essentials for Building Robust Manufacturing Operations,” sponsored by Fujitsu:

Asia | Americas | Europe

Intensifying operational pressures

Manufacturers face a growing set of challenges, including:

Fluctuating demand and shorter product cycles
Rising energy volatility
Skills shortages and an aging workforce with
critical knowledge concentrated in individuals
Stronger environmental and safety expectations
Expanding requirements for traceability and auditability
Increasing demand for customized products at speed

These pressures expose the limitations of fragmented systems and disconnected teams.

Sustainability as
a non-negotiable requirement

Manufacturers must demonstrate responsible operations across the lifecycle. Regulatory expectations, especially strong in Europe, increasingly tie sustainability to material choices, production processes and supplier practices. This heightens the need for accurate data, traceability and consistent visibility.

Sustainability has become a competitive differentiator in supply chains. Customers want to know not only that products are compliant, but that their design contributes to a circular economy.

Raja Chandrashekar, Global Vice President Supply Chain Operations, Fujitsu

Fujitsu’s Sustainability Value Accelerator helps manufacturers turn these expectations into measurable practice. By connecting emissions, energy use, waste and material data with operational systems,
it provides real-time visibility of environmental performance across plants and supply networks.
This allows manufacturers to optimize resource use, evidence progress against ESG targets and
embed sustainability into everyday decisions, rather than treating it as a separate reporting exercise.

Fragmentation slows progress

Disconnected Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), Enterprise
Resource Planning (ERP), Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), Operational Technology
(OT) and engineering environments remain a major barrier.

Fragmentation means:

Design teams lack visibility of production realities
Production teams have limited view of design intent
Planners work with incomplete or delayed data
Quality insights arrive too late to influence engineering decisions
Engineering and manufacturing teams rely on manual effort
to translate data between stages, such as from engineering
BOM to manufacturing BOM and bill of process

The result is rework, bottlenecks and reduced confidence in decision-making.

Turning pressure into opportunity

Manufacturers that connect Development, Design, Engineering, Production, Delivery and Field Service gain:

Faster innovation
Lower scrap and rework
More predictable operations
Earlier, more actionable insight

A connected lifecycle also closes the loop with customers. Insight from
market trends, customer feedback, real-world performance and regulatory changes becomes input for development and design, helping manufacturers
refine products, strengthen quality and stay competitive. When customer
and market signals flow into the lifecycle, decisions align more closely
with real needs and deliver stronger business value.

Connectivity and intelligence across the lifecycle are
becoming essential foundations for modern manufacturing.

Stronger compliance
and sustainability reporting
Improved workforce engagement
Greater delivery consistency