Driving a Digital Focus to Help Customers Win

Over the past 30 years, we have seen significant advances in manufacturing, driven largely by automation and greater levels of operational efficiencies. As digital transformation progresses across the industries we serve, we will see exceptional value creation by our customers leveraging Emerson’s innovative technologies, rich domain expertise and exceptional global reach. These will be significant growth drivers for both Emerson and our customers as well in the years ahead.

Emerson has been driving the digital transformation conversation since before it had a name. We’ve led the industry in connecting the various devices and systems that form the basis for the fully integrated ecosystem of today. Of course, companies vary greatly in their readiness to embrace the shift. Some are quite advanced in their operating philosophies and are pushing the limits of how to drive their digital transformation. Others have been more historically cautious but today are stepping up to the use of novel sensors, highly secure digital pathways, and data mobility and analytics software that enable real return on investment.

Solving Industry Problems

No matter where they are in their journey, our customers all have one thing in common: pain points. Everyone has a set of obstacles they are trying to address, or processes to improve. We work hard to listen to our customers so we understand what they need – and can develop the specific solutions to address their particular challenges.

Listening and learning is what inspired us to create our Digital Transformation Roadmap. We realized that more than half of industry executives responsible for their company’s industry transformation have a great vision, but aren’t sure how to get there – even though nearly all of them felt it was important to have a clear plan in place. We agree: A pragmatic, personalized plan with defined objectives is the way companies can focus their strategy that’s both scalable and attainable, and is tied to measurable outcomes.

After all, digital transformation is a continuum – and companies are tackling their own journeys in different ways. Many introduce digital transformation concepts through field devices and sensors that give them visibility into their asset performance, whether that refers to machines on the other side of the control room or refrigerated cargo containers traveling across the Atlantic. These companies may start small and gain valuable experience – experience that allows the people in the organization to adopt it and change the way they do their work. With these proofs in place, these companies gain confidence, prioritize what will make the next impact, and then will take the next steps and bring their people along in the process. This is so important from a change management and upskilling process. As people employ more automated workflows, gain trust in their analytic tools and embrace more mobility of data, these companies can increasingly predict and detect issues, enhance safety and reliability, and enhance their business performance.  

The ultimate destination, for many companies, is connecting and utilizing information across the enterprise, which will eventually leverage cloud applications and connected services. This one-two punch of technology and expertise can help companies reach Top Quartile performance, where they are achieving operations and capital performance in the top 25 percent of peer companies. Digital transformation is fully customizable, but the lack of a one-size-fits-all approach can leave the industry wondering where to start. That’s why we are so committed to helping customers navigate this transformation with confidence – from their own starting point – and taking the journey that makes the most sense for their specific business.

Growing Our Capabilities

We continue to be the innovator and expand our capabilities with the goal of delivering quality for our customers, wherever they are on their digital transformation journey. We also look for critical technologies that can join Emerson and make our value proposition even stronger. For example, we recently closed the acquisition of Intelligent Platforms from General Electric, a key source of technology that adds a $15 billion addressable market space to our company. Intelligent Platforms’ programmable logic controller (PLC) technologies help us provide our customers with broader control and management of their operations.

By integrating Intelligent Platforms’ PLC technology with our other distributed control systems, we can help customers connect “islands of automation” within their operations to improve their performance, safety and reliability. Our new Machine Automation Solutions business will be very exciting for our customers who span the process, hybrid and discrete industry spaces. This is a rich space for us and one we plan to pursue further, making investments in our products and channels that will enable Emerson to achieve our goal of becoming a top five machine control provider.

It's been great to see the excitement and energy around the even broader set of future applications Emerson can bring to customers as they embark on their Digital Transformation Roadmap. Adding an advanced PLC technology to our sensors, final control, control systems and Plantweb Digital Ecosystem enables us to extend across a broader set of applications – positioning Emerson as a leading digital transformation partner for our customers around the world. We have a lot on the drawing board right now that will significantly expand our leadership in the IOT space. And I can’t wait to see where the conversation with customers goes next.