When Evaluating Vendors, 64% of Manufacturers Surveyed Cite Strong Onboarding and Ongoing Support as Crucial

Global technology intelligence firm ABI Research recently completed its 2024 Manufacturers’ Technology Adoption & Attitudes Survey, a comprehensive survey of 461 manufacturing decision-makers across the United States, Malaysia, and Germany to uncover real-world attitudes, adoption trends, and valuable insights that reflect the current technological landscape within the manufacturing industry. When asked which criteria were most important when evaluating a new solution or vendor, 64% of respondents ranked a robust onboarding process with training, resources, and post-sales follow-up as the most critical. 

“Improving quality and productivity levels are key objectives for survey respondents. However, an overriding concern is how to deploy the technologies to achieve those objectives. Manufacturers require assurance that they will receive adequate support and training resources to quickly adapt, along with ongoing follow-up from the vendor,” explains Michael Larner, Distinguished Analyst at ABI Research.

Vendors often prioritize outlining potential investment outcomes to provide evidence of return on investment. Benefits will take longer to accrue if users cannot fully understand and properly utilize the solution. To avoid this, the vendor or their partners must be present during the initial launch, provide training resources that enable users to map the solution to their workflows, and adhere to a strict follow-up plan with the customer. These measures will require investment in the post-sales process, emphasizing partners’ education so that they effectively represent the vendor in onboarding processes.

The survey further revealed that recruiting and retaining staff is challenging for manufacturers. The lack of skills underscores the concerns not only regarding deploying technologies but also fully grasping the opportunities that digital technologies offer.  “Hand holding by the vendor will be required when manufacturers are devising Proofs of Concept (PoCs), evaluating suppliers, and implementing solutions at their facilities,” Larner concludes.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Industrial and Manufacturing Survey 1H 2024: What Are Respondents Looking for from Vendors? report. This report is part of the company’s Industrial & Manufacturing Technologies research service, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights.