Digital transformation in industry: process before software

UNIDO’s Industrial Development Report 2024 highlights digitalisation within industrial development policy. At company level, however, dashboards alone cannot fix poor data quality or unclear workflows.

Start with a concrete problem

Choose one measurable issue such as order-entry errors or item traceability. Establish a baseline and identify the staff who will use the resulting information.

Govern data and interfaces

Define who creates and edits records, who accesses them, how they are backed up and what happens when systems exchange information. Integration is as much an organisational task as a technical one.

Phased plan

• Measure current performance and prioritise one problem
• Map data flow and remove duplicate entry
• Pilot the workflow with real users
• Validate results in daily operations
• Scale only when the value is demonstrated

Conclusion

Successful transformation combines technology, reliable processes and capable teams.

Reliable data precedes dashboards

A dashboard cannot be trusted when departments define downtime, good units or energy use differently. Agree on a data dictionary, collection responsibility, sampling interval and validation checks before integrating systems.

Start with a small pilot and stable before/after metrics for downtime, rework and order response. Include operational-technology security from the outset rather than treating it as a later add-on.