Measuring ThingWorx’s Impacts on the Bottom Line with Forrester

What Does Forrester Do?

Forrester gives businesses the information they need to understand how investing in technology can bring about real economic impact. Its robust financial analysis helps business technology consumers confidently make their own decisions as they navigate evolving challenges. Elaine Maurer, a Senior Consultant at Forrester, recently took a close look at how PTC was working with several of its customers to reach ROI quickly, while laying the groundwork for sustained and growing value over time.

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Value of IoT Solutions and How ThingWorx Helps

Maurer recently joined PTC’s Craig Melrose, EVP of Digital Transformation Solutions, to break down how ThingWorx has impacted companies in a broad range of industries: consumer packaged goods, automotive and industrial, and medical devices. These organizations are based in both the United States and Europe and vary in size – some are smaller companies, while others are worth nearly $50 billion.

While ThingWorx helped the companies interviewed achieve vastly different goals, there were common challenges among all of them, such as field service difficulties, problems on the factory floor, and the consequences of poor quality. Some examples include: 

• When one medical device company shifted its focus to remote maintenance, leadership knew ThingWorx was the key to success. Since its competitors were already achieving their goals using the IoT software, the organization felt confident in the technology. By taking advantage of the flexible, pre-built features included with ThingWorx, the company was able to accelerate its implementation process. This speedy execution presented the opportunity to detect problems in the field before their customers and repair the issue remotely (or at least on the first try).

• A consumer packaged goods company also cited speed of implementation as a major driver for utilizing ThingWorx, especially since it relied on PTC partners to get up and running fast. Soon after ThingWorx’s implementation, the company realized a $20 million financial improvement, and plans to add IoT solutions in additional factories to help compete with larger companies.

ThingWorx’s reach is not just financial. According to the companies interviewed, it had a significant impact on two other critical aspects of business: Company culture and sustainability. Organizations utilizing the platform exhibited an improved quality of work, with employees experiencing a greater work-life balance as well. Melrose mentioned that ThingWorx allows them to “work smarter, not harder” – enabling greater efficiency and ease of work for all involved. And when it comes to sustainability, less is more. The consumer packaged goods company reduced scrap by 20%, becoming more climate friendly and a better corporate citizen as a whole.

Key Takeaways from Forrester

Forrester interviewed internal stakeholders and PTC customers to quantify ThingWorx’s impact on organizations – such as increased sales, productivity, and how many hours were saved. Forrester discovered that ThingWorx provided a 147% ROI with a net present value of $7 million. At just eight months, the payback period is robust – and demonstrates that ThingWorx can change the future of companies in all stages of the manufacturing journey.