The second edition of Manufacturing Stories, Atlantic Technologies manufacturing world focus event, has just come to a close. It was an incredible day, rich in food for thought and innovative content.
Manufacturing specialists met in the technological and industrial settings of the Reggio Emilia Tecnopolo to discover the stories of the industry’s leaders, share knowledge and network.
From data strategy to AI for manufacturing to the innovation stories of Modula, Biesse and Fedegari, here are the key moments of Manufacturing Stories 2024.
Trends and future perspectives for the manufacturing industry
Italian companies operating in the manufacturing industry have acquired an awareness of just how important technology is for their growth and competitiveness. However, 62% of Italian companies fail to achieve pre-set objectives after investing in technology*. This is also because consultancy and user adoption are neglected.
Mindful of this scenario, Manufacturing Stories 2024 got under way.
During the opening speech, our colleague Emanuele Martini, Delivery Manager & Manufacturing Leader, outlined 3 technological trends that are changing the way in which companies of the industry are doing business:
• Data Strategy is the priority: for companies, leveraging data as a strategic asset along the entire value chain is crucial for improving decision-making;
• Companies are increasingly oriented towards the integration of their own systems to improve visibility and coordination between various company departments. This translates into more fluid information flows and their sharing with different business areas, boosting operational efficiency and enabling the definition of more mindful strategies;
• Artificial Intelligence plays a key role: it will increasingly help maximise productivity, reduce costs and enable more rapid decision-making.
Emanuele concluded his speech with a few useful tips and steps to consider before undertaking a transformation project:
• define objectives that are in line with the company’s strategic vision;
• evaluate the overall organisational and operational model of the Group’s companies and branches;
• consider the applicative landscape of today and tomorrow;
• assess necessary skills and stakeholders to be involved;
• run a data quality check;
• choose the right partner before embarking on the pathway to innovation.
The digital transformation pathways of Modula, Fedegari and Biesse
In the sessions that followed on from our Manufacturing Stories, we had the pleasure of welcoming Modula, Fedegari and Biesse onto the Tecnopolo stage. All three companies described the digital transformation pathway they undertook with Atlantic. Modula, an important industrial company that manufactures automatic vertical and horizontal warehouses, described the pervasive digital transformation implemented over the last few months.
Massimiliano Gigli, CEO & Market Operations Director of Modula, highlighted that Modula needed to adopt a modern and reliable CRM platform, capable of unifying processes and procedures, and providing all-round support for sales, marketing and customer care activities. “The old software was no longer suitable. Gigli explains that “Salesforce proved to be the most technologically advanced instrument and the best aligned with our requirements; yet this wasn’t enough: we needed to tackle this project with the right mindset, since technology alone is no use, the engagement of people is crucial.”
So, in order to spearhead its business objectives, Modula involved people in a change management pathway right from the outset. “It is a pervasive project that requires in-depth analysis of the current situation on the one hand and above all, the significant involvement of people, without whom we’d never be able to seize all the opportunities enabled by the solution we are implementing. Technology needs everyone’s participation and the change management pathway we have undertaken with Atlantic Technologies was fundamental” – Gigli affirms.
The Salesforce project on all clouds will go live in June 2024 and will be rolled out to all the Group’s branches by 2025.
Massimiliano Gigli, CEO & Market Operations Director at Modula and Andrea Gattia, VP of Atlantic Technologies at Manufacturing Stories event
We now turn to Fedegari, world leader in the sterile pharmaceuticals manufacturing industry.
Matteo Mazzola, Group Customer Service Director of Fedegari, described how on the one hand the partnership with Atlantic enabled the involvement of employees in the project and on the other, the optimisation of processes and the offering of excellent value to customers.
“We wanted to be our clients’ partner! Our transformation journey yielded truly remarkable results.” – Mazzola. (Discover the case)
Fedegari’s next step will be to implement the B2B Commerce platform, so that their customers can buy spare parts online, and to implement Voice, chat and digital engagement, with the aim of boosting communication channels customers can use to contact the company. Fedegari is also considering the introduction of AI for data enhancement, which would bring both internal and external benefits for customers.
Matteo Mazzola, Group Customer Service Director at Fedegari and Loretta Petrò, Sales Executive of Atlantic Technologies at evento Manufacturing Stories event
Paolo Magini, IT Application Delivery Manager of Biesse, concluded the customers’ panel. Biesse, a leading industrial company operating in the field of wood, glass, stone, plastic and composite material processing, embarked on its transformation process in 2014, leading it to entirely rethink its sales, service, field service and marketing processes.
Magini described the value achieved thanks to the implementation of Salesforce with Atlantic: “We tackled all the Salesforce Clouds and the results in terms of efficiency along the entire value chain are truly impressive“. (Discover the case)
Looking to the future, Biesse will continue to boost customer care thanks to the integration of Service Cloud Voice, soon to be implemented in its branches in Australia and New Zealand, and expand its e-commerce.
Paolo Magini, IT Application Delivery Manager at Biesse and Valentina Castelli, Sales Solutions Manager of Atlantic Technologies at Manufacturing Stories event
AI and the User Experience revolution at Manufacturing Stories
For the final part of the event, our colleagues of Engineering Group discussed the advantages of AI and the User Experience revolution.
Igor Bailo, Data & Analytics Executive Director of Engineering Group, provided a few practical and market examples to illustrate how AI contributes towards the optimisation of processes, reducing costs and opening new market opportunities.
Mauro Frassetto, Digital Experience Executive Director of Engineering Group, discussed how user experience (UX) is evolving with the use of innovative technologies like IoT, extended reality, digital twins, mixed reality and avatars. 1.4 million Italians access virtual worlds every day, an insight that confirms a veritable revolution is under way!
Lastly, Emanuele Cacciatore, Offering, Innovation and Go-to-Market Director of Engineering Group explained how we accompany clients along their digital transformation pathway, providing them with an integrated offering portfolio encompassing the entire technological stack.
The Manufacturing Stories event was also an opportunity for an immersive VR experience and a guided tour of the Tecnopolo Innovation Hub.
Want to find out more? Contact us!
*Digital Innovation Observatory, Politecnico University of Milan
