Digital Transformation Services: Insights from Automation World on AI Readiness in Manufacturing

Vera Nieuwland | Featured in Automation World | July 8, 2026

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Automation World recently published an article authored by Vera Nieuwland, exploring why AI adoption is stalling among mid-market manufacturers.

According to Automation World, only 27% of manufacturing companies surveyed have a data warehouse or data lake, compared with 60% across the broader mid-market, and 73% remain stuck in the testing phase with none reaching full-scale AI operation. The article points to legacy ERP systems and siloed data as the top barriers, cited by 55% of manufacturers, well above the 41% market average. It frames AI readiness as less of a technology problem and more of a data and culture problem.

For manufacturers under growing pressure from customers and partners to digitize, this signals that AI investment without a clean, connected data foundation produces more pilots, not real scale. Building organizational readiness, not just buying tools, is what separates companies that will pull ahead.

Read the full article in Automation World.

Want to see the full data behind AI adoption in the mid-market? Download Kaufman Rossin’s report, The State of AI in the Mid-Market.
 

Vera Nieuwland Business Consulting Services Digital & AI Transformation Services Leader at Kaufman Rossin, one of the Top 50 CPA and advisory firms in the U.S.