A new survey from Information Services Group found most manufacturers in the EMEA region have seen their business processes significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and are still focused on managing the supply chain disruptions it has caused.

Hygiene guidelines, lockdowns, border closures and remote-work requirements imposed during the crisis have had a major impact on business processes for 90 percent of the manufacturers surveyed by ISG this autumn.

All respondents expect consumer needs to change permanently as a result of the pandemic. These changes come as the global auto industry simultaneously grapples with historic transitions to electric drivetrains and new use concepts.

However, while COVID-19 has made the need for digital transformation more urgent for these companies, they are having varying degrees of success, and many are not sure how to proceed, the survey finds.

ISG Partner Christian Decker said: “In many places, there is considerable caution about how much to adjust business capabilities to more safely manage the impact of the pandemic. Only a minority of respondents to our survey have decided to try a new approach.”

Virtually all manufacturers in EMEA have begun the digitisation of supply chains, customer engagement and other aspects of the manufacturing business, but the changes wrought by the pandemic have heightened the need and opportunity for change, ISG reports. The crisis has exposed how vulnerable manufacturers and automakers are to global shocks, which have imposed large-scale limitations on their businesses.

Engineering, procurement, manufacturing, assembly, shipping, and other processes have been disrupted by limitations imposed by the pandemic, including the need to reduce physical interactions among workers in all settings. Digitization could help manufacturers face these challenges through breakthroughs such as augmented reality headsets for performing repairs remotely and predictive maintenance to reduce downtime and the need for in-person service calls.

For 68 percent of respondents, managing supply chain disruptions will be a key priority over the next 18 months. However, many do not yet know how they will adapt their ecosystems in response to the crisis, whether through mergers and acquisitions, industry consortia or a return to internal sourcing.

In fact, most of the companies do not see a strong need to adapt their digital transformation roadmaps, the survey finds. However, the pandemic has raised cost efficiency to a higher priority among the respondents.

Nine out of ten manufacturers in the study see customers demanding more digital engagement with them, especially additional opportunities to design the products they ask for. Two-thirds also see their customers seeking more choice in how to communicate with them, the study says.

Half of the companies say they are well-prepared or very well-prepared to meet emerging customer needs. Yet 39 percent say internal resistance and slow change processes are holding them back from this goal.

Decker said: “Enterprises need to understand the customers’ changing needs and be able to respond to them quickly. Achieving the necessary level of customer orientation requires cross-functional collaboration between all areas of the value chain, which calls for a new operating model.”