Resilience‑first strategies strengthen OEM profitability

Titled 'The OEM Advantage Playbook', the research is based on insights gained from 500 OEM leaders across 17 countries. It highlights that while OEMs continue to navigate workforce instability, supply chain volatility, cost pressure and rising customer expectations, many are adapting how they operate to perform more consistently when conditions are less predictable. Rather than relying solely on machine performance, leading OEMs are focusing on faster recovery, operational consistency and decision-making grounded in data.

"The next era of OEM leadership won't be defined by who builds the most advanced machine," said Evan Kaiser, vice president, global OEM and emerging industries at Rockwell Automation. "It will be defined by who builds a business that delivers consistent performance despite workforce turnover, supply disruptions and relentless market pressure."

The research highlights several critical shifts shaping OEM performance and competitiveness. Rapid recovery has emerged as the new profitability lever; with average outages lasting 40 hours and costing $3.6 million, leading OEMs enable customers to recover in 24 hours or less by designing machines that detect issues early and restore performance quickly, protecting both revenue and customer confidence. At the same time, workforce instability has become a permanent condition, with turnover reaching 47 percent in some regions; in response, top performers embed expertise directly into machines and workflows, reducing reliance on individual experience while enabling faster onboarding and more consistent performance.

Performance measurement is also evolving, as high-performing OEMs expand their focus beyond traditional production yield to include profitability and customer outcome metrics such as cost of goods sold, lead times, and downtime recovery, alongside people-centered measures like safety and satisfaction. Technology adoption is becoming more intentional, with leaders strategically deploying digital twins, AMRs, and cobots to design quality into machines and improve deployment consistency, using field insights to inform future designs rather than addressing isolated issues. Finally, compliance and cybersecurity are increasingly powerful differentiators, with leading OEMs integrating cybersecurity into product design from the outset and treating it with the same rigor as safety to support market access, minimise delays, and strengthen customer trust.

The full findings of the OEM Advantage Playbook can be found at:

www.rockwellautomation.com/en-gb/capabilities/oem-machine-builders/advantage-playbook.html