365telugu.com online news,MUMBAI, December 4, 2025: Global manufacturers are rapidly moving toward a future defined by intelligence and autonomy, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) expected to be a top driver of operating margins within the next year, according to the Future-Ready Manufacturing Study 2025 by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The landmark study surveyed 216 senior manufacturing leaders across North America and Europe, representing sectors like automotive, aerospace, and heavy equipment. It reveals a strong industry consensus on the transformative power of AI, while simultaneously exposing significant gaps in readiness.
Key Findings: The Race to Autonomous Operations
The research paints a clear picture of manufacturing’s imminent AI-powered evolution:
- Margin Driver: A strong majority of manufacturers (75%) expect AI to be one of the top three contributors to operating margins by 2026.
- Autonomy is Near:74% of leaders anticipate that AI agents (Agentic AI) will manage a substantial portion (11–50%) of routine production decisions within the next three years (by 2028).
- Agentic AI refers to autonomous systems that can perceive environments, set goals, and execute actions with minimal human oversight, leading to self-optimizing workflows.
- Human-AI Collaboration: As AI scales, 89% of leaders surveyed anticipate increased human-AI collaboration on the factory floor, signaling a shift in workforce roles.
- Productivity Boost: More than 30% of manufacturers forecast meaningful productivity gains from AI-led modernization initiatives.
- Improved Visibility: 67% report already having improved real-time supply-chain visibility, strengthening resilience and responsiveness.
The Readiness Gap: Ambition vs. Reality
Despite the high expectations for AI’s impact on margins, the study highlights a critical challenge: only 21% of manufacturers report being fully AI-ready.
This “readiness gap” exposes foundational deficiencies in data quality, system integration, and basic infrastructure across global plants and supply chains.
Anupam Singhal, President – Manufacturing, TCS, commented on the findings, stating, “Manufacturing is an industry defined by precision… That strength of foundation becomes multifold with AI in orchestrating decisions—delivering transformational business outcomes through greater predictability, stability, and control.”
Ozgur Tohumcu, General Manager – Automotive and Manufacturing, AWS, emphasized the shift toward intelligent systems: “The future of manufacturing is not just digital, it is autonomous — powered by AI that learns, evolves, and operates continuously.”
A New Era of Operational Intelligence
The findings indicate that manufacturers are deepening investments in cloud platforms and foundational capabilities to support real-time decision intelligence. Organizations are already embedding AI-driven use cases, with nearly 40% reporting early measurable gains in areas like quality control and planning.
The accelerating momentum behind Agentic AI suggests the sector is preparing not only to modernize but to operate with a fundamentally higher level of intelligence, resilience, and agility across the entire manufacturing value chain. TCS is leveraging its deep domain expertise and offerings like TCS Manufacturing AI for Agentic Futures to help clients build adaptive, future-ready enterprise ecosystems.