What will Smart manufacturing starts with operational stability, not technology.change in customer needs in 2026?
At Evergo, we regularly discuss how the needs of organizations evolve in high-pressure operational environments — where every change must be delivered without interrupting day-to-day operations.
In the case of manufacturing companies, these conversations are increasingly less about technology itself. Far more often, they focus on operational stability, accountability for outcomes, business continuity, and the ability to execute transformation under real-world constraints: regulatory, workforce-related, and financial.
This conversation is an attempt to capture the challenges that most frequently bring industrial and operations leaders to us today — and how we view them through the lens of experience gained from large-scale relocations, plant transformations, and turnaround programs delivered across Europe and globally.
Smart manufacturing is often associated today with technology, automation, and new systems. From your perspective, where does transformation in a manufacturing environment really begin?
Transformation in manufacturing always starts with stability — not with technology.
If a plant has not mastered the fundamentals of quality, planning, accountability, and operational discipline, any new technology will only accelerate chaos.
In practice, we see organizations reaching for “smart” solutions before answering very basic questions: are processes repeatable, are responsibilities clear, and are decisions made at the right level. Without this foundation, technology does not transform operations — it merely obscures existing problems.
In the case studies you lead, the theme of transformation “without stopping production” appears frequently. Why has this become such a critical challenge today?
Because most organizations no longer have any operational buffer. There is no time for downtime, for “we will implement and see,” or for experiments disconnected from day-to-day operations. Production must run every day — regardless of whether a relocation, acquisition, or deep operating model change is underway.
As a result, transformation is no longer a project with a clear start and end. It becomes a continuous exercise in managing risk and accountability. For many organizations, this requires a fundamental shift in how transformation itself is understood.
You have led relocations involving entire production lines, thousands of square meters, and hundreds of employees. What most often determines whether such a transformation succeeds?
Success is not determined by tools or timelines. It depends on whether the organization can sustain a single, coherent decision-making model throughout the entire transformation.
In relocation programs, pressure escalates quickly — locally, politically, and over time. If there is no clear point of reference at that moment — who decides, based on which priorities, and in service of which business objective — the transformation begins to fragment. In such situations, our role is to take responsibility for exactly this dimension: decision coherence and operational continuity.
In one of your projects, you prepared a plant for a strategic acquisition. What proved to be the biggest challenge in that context?
The challenge was not technical readiness, but organizational alignment.
Once again, success depended on whether a single decision model could be maintained under increasing pressure.
Without clear ownership, priorities, and escalation paths, even well-prepared organizations struggle to move through acquisition processes without operational disruption. Our focus in such cases is to protect continuity while enabling the organization to operate within a shared frame of reference.
In turnaround projects, leadership and accountability are recurring themes. Where does rebuilding a plant in crisis really begin?
It always begins with stabilizing leadership and decision-making.
If an organization lacks clarity around responsibility and priorities, no optimization effort — whether related to cost, quality, or performance — will deliver sustainable results.
This is particularly visible in turnaround programs. Only once decision clarity is restored can teams effectively address costs, quality, customer service, or regulatory compliance. This work is rarely visible from the outside, but it is absolutely fundamental.
Looking ahead to the needs of manufacturing companies in 2026, what will become the new operational minimum?
The new minimum will be the ability to introduce change without destabilizing operations. Organizations that cannot maintain stability while transforming at the same time will lose competitiveness at an accelerating pace.
Smart manufacturing alone will not be a differentiator. Operational maturity will — the ability to use technology deliberately and effectively, rather than simply deploying it.
Paweł Wroński
Partner