The digital transformation process, intended
as the process of changing existing business models with new digital
technologies, is still in its early stages in the European furniture industry,
with few leading furniture manufacturers that fully integrate digitalization in
their processes.
The digital transformation process for the vast majority of European
furniture manufacturers surveyed by CSIL is still in progress or just started
(60% and 10% respectively). Only 20% of respondents have a well-advanced or
fully integrated digital transformation roadmap in place.
Typically, companies that initiate a digital transformation process
first introduce digital solutions to production machines, including the
adoption and interconnection of robots for certain steps in the production
process. Secondly, they make investments to implement software to gather,
manage, and secure data from all business areas (such as ERP systems). Finally,
companies adopt advanced solutions, such as artificial intelligence and machine
learning, to analyse the collected data.
A notable disparity exists between the offer of technologies and their
effective utilization within the European furniture industry scenario. This gap
primarily stems from challenges in securing appropriate skills, a still limited
knowledge of understanding of technology, and a managerial culture that may not
always be readily receptive to change. But, in the medium term, investments in
digital transformation are expected to increase rapidly, doubling their share
of the company’s turnover, according to CSIL sample.
The investments will move towards the integration of business areas with
digital solutions to achieve the concept of smart factory. Increasing
market shares will also be tapped by smart products, which, will increase by
two digits yearly from now up to 2030.
The areas where companies invested more in digitalization include cyber
security, cloud computing, and robotics. It is important to highlight that both
cyber security and cloud computing are among the 2030 targets of the Digital
Decade Policy Programme, according to which at least 75% of EU enterprises
should adopt in their operations cloud computing services, big data, and/or
artificial intelligence (AI).
Artificial intelligence (AI), viewed as a set of technologies, holds
particular importance for tangible potential business applications in different
business areas, from production processes to streamlining and service offerings
for the furniture industry. One of the areas where AI is more common is the use
of machine learning algorithms that analyse a vast amount of consumers’ data
from social media websites to identify (and predict) the most popular product trends,
improve the customization, and tailor to individual needs, and to create new
and innovative materials.
Courtesy of
World Furniture
Magazine
Founded in Milan in 1980, CSIL is an independent research institute,
specialising in applied economics, industry competitiveness, small business,
market analysis, evaluation and regional development studies. CSIL partners are
highly qualified experts, including economists, engineers, business analysts,
statisticians, and experts in policy and project evaluation.
CSIL – Milan, Italy
