Deloitte’s 2025 Smart Manufacturing Survey found that there is widespread and growing confidence that smart manufacturing and operations will be indispensable to productivity and enterprise growth. 92 percent of manufacturers surveyed said that they believe it will be the main driver for competitiveness over the next three years.
A parallel trend is the rising expectation for production systems to accommodate frequent design changes without sacrificing quality. Customisation and shorter product cycles becoming standard across many sectors, from automotive to medical. As such, manufacturers are prioritising tools that maintain process control even when volumes, part geometries or production schedules fluctuate.
Industry surveys and case studies consistently highlight flexibility, adaptability and digital integration as top priorities when selecting new technologies.
This move towards flexible production can be found, for example, in shop floor environments where product variety, rapid design changes and demanding machining capabilities require measurement systems that are fast, accurate, and simple to use.
Read the full article in DPA's February 2026 issue