Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK) today released global research showing how leading machine builders strengthen performance, resilience and customer trust amid increasingly complex operating conditions.
Titled the OEM Advantage Playbook, the study draws on insights from 500 OEM leaders across 17 countries and finds that while OEMs face workforce instability, supply chain volatility, cost pressure and rising customer expectations, many are changing how they operate to deliver more consistent results when conditions are unpredictable. Rather than relying solely on machine performance, leading OEMs focus on faster recovery, operational consistency and data-driven decision-making.
The full findings of the OEM Advantage Playbook can be found here.
"The next era of OEM leadership won't be defined by who builds the most advanced machine," Evan Kaiser, vice president for global OEM and emerging industries at Rockwell Automation, said. "It will be defined by who builds a business that delivers consistent performance despite workforce turnover, supply disruptions and relentless market pressure."
The research shows that rapid recovery has become a new profitability lever; with average outages lasting 40 hours and costing $3.6 million, top OEMs enable customers to recover in 24 hours or less by designing machines that detect issues early and restore performance quickly. The study also reports that workforce instability is now treated as permanent, with turnover reaching 47 percent in some regions, prompting leading OEMs to embed expertise into machines and workflows to reduce dependence on individual experience, speed onboarding and maintain consistent performance.
Performance measurement is evolving, the report finds, as high-performing OEMs track profitability and customer outcome metrics—such as cost of goods sold, lead times and downtime recovery—alongside traditional production yield and emerging people-centered measures like safety and satisfaction. The research further notes that technology is being applied with greater intent, as top performers adopt digital twins, AMRs and cobots strategically to design quality into machines and improve deployment consistency while using field insights to inform future designs rather than solving isolated problems.
Finally, the study finds that compliance and cybersecurity are becoming differentiators, with leading OEMs integrating cybersecurity into product design from the outset and treating security with the same discipline as safety to support market access, reduce delays and build customer trust.
For more information please visit www.RockwellAutomation.com.
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