DRI Guides Manufacturers Launching Digital Transformation Initiatives

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sight Machine Inc., the category leader for manufacturing analytics, today introduced the Digital Readiness Index (DRI), a methodology to evaluate a manufacturers readiness for digital transformation and identify the projects likely to deliver the most impactful returns.

"DRI provides a roadmap for digital transformation. It makes use of insights weve gained through helping dozens of companies operationalize digital manufacturing."
Sight Machine developed DRI based on insights from digital manufacturing projects with some of the world's largest manufacturers. It reflects best practices from successful digital initiatives and lessons learned from some that were less successful.

The DRI process is freely available at http://sightmachine.com/digital-readiness/, where companies can find an interactive tool for gauging their readiness for manufacturing digitization and an explanatory DRI white paper. DRI uses an online questionnaire to measure technical readiness—the necessary technical assets and skills—and organizational readiness, the organizational assets and buy-in needed for an initiative to succeed.

Based on the answers to the questionnaire, DRI uses a weighted scoring system to place organizations into one of five Digital Readiness Zones: Connection, Visibility, Efficiency, Advanced Analytics, and Transformation. For each zone, Sight Machine has recommended quick win projects and areas for investment to develop more advanced capabilities.

"The majority of large manufacturers understand the competitive need for digital transformation, but getting started or even knowing where to begin is often a challenge," said Sight Machine CEO and Co-Founder Jon Sobel. "DRI provides a roadmap for digital transformation. It makes use of insights weve gained through helping dozens of companies operationalize digital manufacturing."

As companies move into higher Digital Readiness Zones, they are able to take on projects that can deliver greater impact in operations, quality, and profitability. At lower levels of readiness, project use cases include a global operations view of real-time production across the network, and statistical process control to provide alerts for out-of-control events. As they rise to a moderate level of readiness, companies can confidently take on projects like parts traceability across the value chain and high-level defect analysis. At the highest level of readiness, they can delve deeply into supply chain transformation and new business model innovation.

"Across a wide range of industries, manufacturers encounter the same set of technical and organizational challenges to getting their digital transformation projects off the ground," said Sudhir Arni, a former McKinsey & Co. consultant now at Sight Machine, who led DRIs development. "We have learned that success isnt determined by a plants overall level of sophistication, but rather by selecting projects that align with a companys current level of digital readiness."

For more information, see http://sightmachine.com/digital-readiness/.

About Sight Machine

Sight Machine is powering the digital transformation of manufacturing, used by Global 500 companies to make better, faster decisions about their operations. Sight Machines analytics platform, purpose-built for discrete and process manufacturing, uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics to help address critical challenges in quality and productivity throughout the enterprise. For more information, please visit www.sightmachine.com.