Manufacturers need to invest in AI or risk falling behind, PwC advises
Just 3% of Irish manufacturing companies have fully integrated AI into their operations versus 8% for EMEA companies. While the gap cited in PwC's report 'AI in Operations — Revolutionising the manufacturing industry' isn't huge, Irish firms are being urged to act now and not let it widen.
Áine Brassill, operations transformation partner, PwC Ireland, takes heart from the survey findings that there is a lot of AI innovation and piloting going on, with many Irish firms clearly looking to catch up.
'Around 70% of Irish respondents are piloting and scaling up their AI projects compared to 55% for EMEA counterparts. We can, therefore expect a surge in widespread AI implementation in Irish manufacturing in the years to come,' said Áine.
'While the initial focus regarding AI implementation is on operational and productivity improvements, the real interest lies in the potential to disrupt and fundamentally reinvent existing business models. AI agents will make the ability for AI systems to autonomously perform tasks a reality, enabling decision making and delivering real competitive differentiation.
'However, building trust in AI will be critical for customers, regulators and employees. Companies need to be confident in the integrity of solutions that will drive safe and secure AI outcomes. Taking a responsible approach, including upskilling employees, will be critical to getting the most from AI alongside confirming future compliance with regulators and the EU AI Act.'
Áine Brassill, operations transformation partner, PwC Ireland.
The report found that both Irish and EMEA manufacturers believe in AI's potential to increase profitability. Irish operations, however, are less optimistic than their EMEA counterparts as regards their belief in what AI can deliver.
Some 73% of Irish manufacturing operations expect AI to increase profitability by 2030 versus 84% of EMEA respondents. Just 26% of Irish respondents expect AI to increase profit margins by at least 6% by 2030, trailing the 40% of EMEA manufacturers.
The report features 400 manufacturing operations' executives in over 30 countries in Europe, Middle East and Africa, including Ireland. In Ireland, 43% of respondents were in pharma/life science and med-tech multinational operations with the balance in retail and consumer and industrial products.
AI in Ireland is also maturing relatively slowly. Some 29% of Irish respondents reported no business benefits as yet from AI versus 14% for the EMEA.
Just 4% of Irish and EMEA manufacturers have already enjoyed financial benefits and return on investment from AI. A further 11% report that they have received measurable financial benefits (EMEA: 13%).
Irish manufacturing operations are also investing less in AI initiatives than their EMEA counterparts. In the last five years, 32% of Irish manufacturing operations invested less than €1m in AI initiatives (EMEA: 29%). 15% invested in excess of €6 million compared to 41% for their EMEA counterparts.
In both Ireland and EMEA, progress is slow on AI. Just 3% of Irish manufacturing companies have fully integrated AI into their operations compared to 8% for EMEA companies.
At the same time, there is a lot of AI innovation and piloting going on with many Irish firms clearly looking to catch up: 70% of Irish respondents are piloting and scaling up their AI projects compared to 55% for EMEA counterparts. We can therefore expect a surge in widespread AI implementation in Irish manufacturing in the years to come.
Gary Hanniffy, director of manufacturing, PwC Ireland, said: 'Like many businesses, the manufacturing industry is facing significant uncertainty stemming from geopolitical disruption, economic fragmentation, supply chain volatility, tightening regulation, climate change, technology transformation and increasing costs.
'AI offers a real opportunity for business model reinvention for manufacturing operations and our study shows that the potential benefits from AI will justify the effort. The survey suggests that manufacturing operations can become more competitive as a result of full-scale AI adoption.
'The survey highlights that a majority of Irish manufacturing operations, consisting largely of pharma, life sciences and med-tech multinational companies, are piloting AI initiatives rather than having moved to scaling and integrating the technology right across their business operations while EMEA companies are more advanced in their implementation journey.
'At the same time, they do have high expectations for realising the benefits from AI in terms of profitability and other financial benefits,' Gary added.
'Getting to the next level requires investment and results here are mixed, with some companies planning significant investment levels, others are not yet ready to commit. In Ireland, in particular, more investment in AI is also needed to keep up with EMEA peers.'
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The survey highlights a number of key challenges for successful AI implementation. These include: data quality; IT & data security; reliability of AI-generated content and data availability.
Gary Hanniffy said: 'Strong organisational structures and processes are essential for steering and delivering a successful AI strategy and to enable safe and secure outcomes. Those manufacturing organisations who have integrated and scaled up their AI projects are using an organisational governance model that involves a central AI team (Ireland: 100%; EMEA: 71%).
'On the other hand, the majority of those organisations that have just started piloting AI lack coordinated governance and are using non-centralised organisational structures (Ireland: 76%; EMEA: 58%). This finding is in line with PwC's earlier 2025 GenAI Business Leaders survey, indicating that more work needs to be done on AI trust and governance such as building appropriate governance structures.'
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