The industry faces multiple challenges and challenges. What trends will lead the way in the second half of the year and early 2025?
1. Innovation and digital transformation
Advances in AI and machine learning
The integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning is essential to improve efficiency and decision-making in real time, and is one of the technologies that will undoubtedly define the competitiveness of companies.
Moreover, these developments in AI will affect 60% of jobs in advanced economies, where, for the first time, they will also impact skilled jobs. This brings with it major ethical and social challenges, which are discussed in detail in this article.
Industry 5.0
The evolution towards Industry 5.0, which combines automation with human-machine collaboration, will allow for greater customisation and adaptability in production, generating higher quality products and customer satisfaction. This new landscape represents a new era of unprecedented collaboration between humans and machines, where the synergy between artificial intelligence and human teams drives productivity and innovation to unprecedented levels.
2. Sustainability and climate change
Renewable Energies
The push towards renewable energy sources such as solar and wind is crucial to reduce carbon emissions. Businesses must adopt sustainable practices and clean technologies to comply with environmental regulations and contribute to the fight against climate change, which has in the Net Zero Coalition its most ambitious goal: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
Circular economy
The implementation of circular economy models, which promote the reuse and recycling of materials, will help reduce waste and optimise the use of natural resources, creating a more sustainable industry. Today, we are still confronted with alarming figuresonly 12% of secondary materials and resources re-enter the economy. This is a devastating statistic that indicates the great challenge facing the industry.
3. Cybersecurity
Data protection
With increasing digitisation, companies are strengthening their digital strategies to protect data and documents from attacks that could compromise sensitive company information. However, there is a long way to go to maintain secure environments and zero risk. In this article we take an in-depth look at the 5 keys to cyber security for industrial companies.
Regulations and compliance
Complying with data protection regulations, such as GDPR in Europe, is essential to avoid penalties and maintain the trust of customers and business partners, an increasingly strong imperative with the rise of AI.
4. Talent and training
Training in new technologies and lack of professionals
Technological advancement requires a workforce trained in advanced digital and technical skills. Companies must invest in continuous training programmes to keep their employees up to date, while an unprecedented public-private effort is required to equip people with skills for new jobs.
In figures, in Spain alone, more than 90,000 professionals with expertise in data and Artificial Intelligence will be needed over the next three years to be able to carry out projects and compete internationally.
Talent attraction
Competition for qualified talent is intense. It is crucial to develop retention strategies and attract professionals with technology and project management skills. In this sense, there are thousands of emigrated professionals who intend to return to Spain and Portugal in sectors with high demand, such as engineering, construction, transport, logistics and ICT, while there are also professionals in other countries who wish to come and work in our industry with guarantees. Facilitating these could be a boost for the industrial sector of the Iberian Pole in terms of qualified professionals.
5. Globalisation and competitiveness
International expansion
Companies should look for opportunities to expand into international markets to diversify their revenues and reduce dependence on a single market. Proof of this is Russia’s war in Ukraine, as a result of which Europe found itself on the ropes because of its dependence on a single energy supplier. Applied to industry, the motto becomes ‘diversify and you will win’, because the success of 90% of the most competitive companies in the sector lies in the fact that they are more diversified and more multi-active.
6. Access to finance
Investment in technology
Access to finance is vital for investment in new technologies and infrastructure modernisation. Businesses will need to explore investment funds, credit lines or subsidised programmes to undertake refurbishments in order to remain competitive.
The European Recovery Funds play a key role in this respect, and their success will depend to a large extent on the permeability of aid to SMEs, which often cannot undertake major investments in innovation and digitisation without significant public support. Small and medium-sized enterprises continue to find it difficult to enter into demanding consortia and meet the requirements of the Pertes.
Financial management
Efficient financial management will enable companies to maximise the use of their resources and ensure their long-term viability. In macroeconomic terms, the inflation figures shown to date hinder liquidity and access to credit for companies, especially SMEs, so it will be essential for public administrations and credit institutions to implement mechanisms to minimise this impact on economic activity, which is, after all, what drives employment and generates wealth.