Answer extracted from The Manufacturing IT Podcast — listen to the full episode below.
How do manufacturers measure their digital maturity level?
Digital maturity is assessed across three core dimensions—technology, people, and process—using innovation workshops and structured digital assessments. Manufacturers can then benchmark their scores in production, quality, and maintenance capabilities against a large database of comparable companies, revealing exactly where they stand within their industry and revenue range.
Three dimensions, one framework
Wipfli's approach to measuring digital maturity doesn't isolate technology as the only factor. Instead, the company evaluates how people, process, and technology work in concert within a manufacturing organization. This holistic view ensures that no critical component is overlooked when determining readiness for digital transformation.
During innovation workshops and dedicated digital assessments, Wipfli scores capabilities across key operational areas—production systems, quality management, and maintenance practices. Rather than simply measuring tool adoption, the framework captures how effectively manufacturers integrate these three elements into their day-to-day operations.
Benchmarking against your peers
What makes this assessment valuable is not the score alone, but how it stacks up against similar manufacturers. Wipfli maintains a comprehensive database called WIPFLY IQ containing data from companies across plastics, molding, and stamping sectors. This allows any manufacturer to see exactly where they rank compared to peers in their industry and revenue bracket.
This peer comparison is essential for context. A score of 65 might represent strong leadership in one segment but lagging performance in another. As Mo Abuali explains in The Manufacturing IT Podcast, the WIPFLY IQ database transforms a raw score into actionable intelligence by anchoring it against real manufacturing operations of the same size and sector.
Mo Abuali — Director, Digital Strategy at Wipfli. With nearly 25 years in manufacturing—half spent on shop floors serving automotive companies like Toyota, and half delivering MES, IoT, and AI solutions—Abuali brings both hands-on operational experience and strategic perspective. He holds a PhD in Industrial Engineering from the University of Cincinnati's Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems, where his research spanned manufacturing facilities across the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and Singapore.
Beyond the initial assessment score, manufacturers learn which specific areas merit investment first. Wipfli's methodology detailed in this episode doesn't just identify gaps—it prioritizes them based on industry benchmarks and competitive positioning. A company ranking in the bottom quartile for maintenance systems might discover that moving to industry median would unlock significant cost reductions, making it the logical first initiative.
The practical power of digital maturity assessment lies in this clarity. Rather than guessing which digital investments matter most, manufacturers can listen to how Mo Abuali's team at Wipfli guides this process and understand exactly how to map their current state, identify realistic peers, and chart a roadmap grounded in real industry data rather than vendor promises.
Key takeaways
- Digital maturity spans three interdependent dimensions: technology, people, and process—not technology alone.
- Structured assessments score capabilities in production, quality, and maintenance to create a composite maturity profile.
- WIPFLY IQ database enables benchmarking against manufacturers in the same industry and revenue range, transforming raw scores into competitive context.
- Peer comparison reveals which improvement areas offer the highest return, enabling data-driven prioritization of digital investments.
See also
What career path led to expertise in both shop floor operations and digital manufacturing solutions?
Mo Abuali spent almost 25 years in manufacturing, half on shop floors serving companies like Toyota in the automotive industry, and half delivering digital solutions including MES, IoT platforms, and AI to manufacturers.
How can AI-driven predictive insights improve proactive decision-making on the manufacturing plant floor?
Rather than after-the-fact analysis, AI can provide plant floor operators with proactive information about what to expect in production based on equipment and historical data patterns, enabling teams to act before problems occur.
What market shifts is the MES industry experiencing regarding IT involvement and system architecture?
The traditional level-based architecture where level two is controls, level three is MES, and level four is IT is blurring together. IT is becoming increasingly integrated across the entire manufacturing technology stack rather than siloed at the top tier.