Opinion: AI meets manufacturing: Bridging the gap with local expertise

Dan Watson

According to Gartner’s 2025 industry benchmarks, information technology departments in manufacturing are facing significant budget constraints, even as the demand for their services continues to rise. Deloitte’s latest outlook reinforces this trend, noting that economic and geopolitical pressures are forcing manufacturers to make tough decisions about where and how to invest in technology.

In Springfield Business Journal’s recent Economic Growth Series report, 33% of local survey respondents identified advancements in technology and artificial intelligence as one of the top five most important issues businesses will face in the coming years. Additionally, 10% cited technology investments as their highest business expense – ranking just behind employee wages and benefits, and the cost of goods and materials. Together, these insights highlight how technology is not only shaping strategic priorities but also becoming a significant factor in operational budgeting.

And while many companies are increasing IT spending this year, much of that is earmarked for replacing end-of-life Windows 10 computers and cybersecurity solutions and not toward staffing or skills development.

As technologists, we want to push to stay ahead of the curve and keep our companies at the leading edge. Manufacturing companies, though, typically lag, as does the middle of our country.

In this age of the proliferation of AI and machine learning, however, this is very dangerous. No company can risk falling behind its competitors, and this is especially true for manufacturers facing economic turmoil, razor-thin margins and our area’s extremely difficult labor market.

However, these technologies are not simply plug-and-play and require a lot of learning and expertise that many companies and technologists do not possess.

This is where Springfield shines.

Our area is lucky to have several companies bringing AI specialization to the local market. We have access to many design agencies, digital services and managed service providers all scaled up to help local businesses in their AI journeys.

In an ongoing request for quote for AI-related services, within two weeks I was able to easily get responses from and meet with seven different companies able to provide the services we need with very little lead time. Five of the seven companies are local. All were able to meet our complex needs, which involved several disparate data sources to improve a process that has repeatedly proven too difficult for humans.

This process also opened my eyes to the level of data science expertise needed to do an AI project correctly, the sheer number of man hours needed to research data and train models, and the misconception that the AI model, once trained, will work and learn forever. Spoiler: They require a significant amount of upkeep, maintenance, retraining and new, better, faster models come out all the time.

Most IT departments could not take on such a project and maintain their current duties – especially those in manufacturing.

Implementing business policies and having leadership teams that permit the engagement of these external service providers is essential. Utilizing third-party companies to provide this expertise enables your IT staff to concentrate on their current projects and responsibilities while integrating advanced technologies into your business operations.

To remain competitive in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI and machine learning, manufacturers must embrace external expertise and specialized service providers. Springfield exemplifies a strong local ecosystem that supports businesses in overcoming technological challenges, enabling them to harness AI effectively despite limited internal resources. By fostering collaborative engagements and adapting leadership policies, companies can integrate cutting-edge technologies while allowing their IT teams to focus on core operations, ensuring sustained growth and innovation in a demanding market.

Dan Watson is infrastructure and security manager at CNH Reman and chair of the Springfield Tech Council. He can be reached at dwatson@sgftechcouncil.com.