Today, large manufacturers are a wonder of automation: not only their manufacturing processes, but their business processes as well. This software-based approach – much of it in the cloud – saves them time and money and increases the transparency of their processes across departments, locations and even partner companies. For small manufacturers, however, the benefits of software-based approaches aren’t so transparent, and many small companies struggle with the best approach to software-based process automation. Software Advice, a Gartner-owned consulting firm that provides research to software buyers, recently pulled data from its interactions with thousands of manufacturing organizations to uncover trends in small manufacturing companies (defined as those will annual revenues of $100 million or less) and their aspirations with regard to software purchasing. The goal was to discover these companies’ software needs and their pain points, as well as what would compe...
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