By Mark Feathers, Product Marketing Manager, Epicor

The United Arab Emirates’ non-oil GDP grew by 4.4% in the first half of 2024, taking the country another sizeable step towards realising the goals of “We the UAE 2031”. Manufacturing constituted 15% of non-oil GDP during the period, showing yet again that home-grown factories have a significant role to play in sustainable prosperity.

 

But any opportunity space is, by its nature, competitive. And when seeking an edge, manufacturers are confronted by a shopping mall of technology options. Inaction is not an option, but any move made has the potential to bring a net positive or a net negative.

 

In search of a competitive edge, but restrained by doubt over the next best investment, leaders also face limited resources. And any path they choose must come with measurable results so that ROI can be calculated and investments justified. In a growing sector, manufacturing companies must plot a course to their own sustainable growth, and smart-factory technologies that optimise operations and increase efficiency will seem like the logical way forward.

 

Paper vs practice

On paper, technology brings operational efficiency, cost savings, and many other benefits. By now, UAE manufacturers know that to prosper from a tech investment, they must define their business goals clearly. They cannot afford to succumb to the fear of missing out. By formulating each investment in the form of “problem first, solution second”, they can not only bring value to their organization but do so quickly.

 

In Epicor’s global Future of Work in Manufacturing study, we found 39% of manufacturing workers and 52% of managers considered their workplace “very modern” compared to industry competitors. Given the age in which we live, these figures may seem surprisingly low, but they can be explained by the everyday experiences of both managers and workers outside the workplace where AI and smart hardware are part of life.

 

For UAE manufacturing, these findings are significant because the nation is home to a relatively younger (and hence, more digital-native) population than its global peers. As of 2025, the median age here is 31.6 years compared with 38.5 in the US, 40.1 in China, 49.8 in Japan, 40.1 in the UK, and 45.5 in Germany. As UAE manufacturers look to their future technology investments, they must account for these attitudes or risk suffering a talent drain to more forward-looking competitors — a trend that may prove difficult to reverse.

 

Inclusive plans

Manufacturers must plan carefully to ensure that investments in technology represent modernisation rather than backwards steps. Plans must, of course, include budget but they must also include staff training and the integration of procured tools with legacy applications. Many benefits are available to the manufacturer who brings the whole workforce with it when it moves. Buy-in from the factory floor to the back office means input from all stakeholders. And input from all stakeholders means an increased likelihood that investments will be wisely targeted.

 

This inclusivity is important because every business is unique. Perhaps your manufacturing firm can use GenAI exactly like your main competitor does; perhaps not. Your stakeholders will know. There is a risk that because GenAI is the newest thing, it will eclipse strategy and lead to a hasty procurement process. So, if widescale adoption were to take root in the UAE manufacturing sector, it should be tempered by the problem-first approach mentioned earlier. If GenAI makes data analytics easier and faster and leads to more efficient operations or better decision making, then the investment is worthwhile. But if it is adopted simply to keep pace with the industry with no plan for training or use cases, then positive impacts may be elusive.

 

Turning possibility into the practical

Some potentially lucrative use cases for AI are predictive maintenance, the visualization and virtual testing of process models, and the optimisation of employee work scheduling. In Epicor’s global research we found 76% of manufacturing leaders see the potential for AI to identify production inefficiencies, and 51% think it will be useful in forecasting the price of raw materials. Meanwhile, automation can elevate the employee experience by boosting accuracy and reducing human workloads; and the Internet of Things can optimize factory environments and supply chains.

 

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) platforms can harvest data from the entire manufacturing ecosystem, analyse it centrally using AI, and deliver better visibility to business leaders, leading to better decision making and higher ROI. ERP can also draw on predictive analytics to maximize ROI by demystifying the future for the C-suite. Predictive analytics can be especially powerful when provided with data from IoT devices and sensors, which allows it to assess factory floor processes and machinery. AI monitoring can boost output and reduce downtime.

 

And finally, in a region where sustainability has become an indispensable element of business operations, the right technology investments can help enormously. Sustainability is the classic example of problem-first digitalisation. While the precise journey may vary from organisation to organisation, it is one we all must take. Reducing waste, optimising energy use, and enhancing supply-chain resilience will be crucial to the future of all UAE businesses. But beyond brand reputation and regulatory compliance, manufacturers can enjoy significant bottom-line boons.

 

Manufacturing leaders need not necessarily be technology leaders. But with the right partners, it becomes easier to identify the right challenges and the right way to tackle them. Investments become wiser, and ROI greater. - TradeArabia News Service