Building A Tech Adoption Roadmap

Building a Tech Adoption Roadmap

Most manufacturing and logistics companies know they would benefit from investing in digital tools and automation. What’s harder is knowing where to start and what to prioritize, especially when time is short, margins are tight, and your team is already stretched.

The resources here are informed by what real, Indiana AML companies have actually tried—what worked, what slowed them down, and what they wish they would’ve known before they started.

What Pushes Companies to Move

When the Workforce Changes, so Must the Work

For Thomas & Skinner, the push toward automation wasn’t about cutting costs, it was about keeping a critical process running when experienced workers had retired, taking institutional knowledge with them.

Technology can unlock new levels of productivity, but sometimes it’s simply about doing what you can no longer ask people to do.

Where to Start

Most manufacturing and logistics companies have ideas about where technology could help. The hard part is building a system to decide which ideas are worth acting on, and in what order. Your first project doesn’t need to be big–it needs to be well-defined. Here’s how to get there, with repeatable methods and advice from peers who’ve been through it.

Guides

Articles

Getting to ‘Yes’ on New Technology Requires Timing, Process and Risk

Selecting the right tech at the right time for the right price can be the toughest part. Learn how Indiana Furniture navigated that roadblock.

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Adopting New Technology Starts With Asking the Right Questions

Successfully determining how and when to deploy automation starts with posing the right questions. Learn about Batesville Tool & Die’s automation journey.

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Creating an Internal Support Team

Behind every bold industry initiative is a team making it happen—see how an internal support team turns strategy into real impact.

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Video Case Studies

Thomas & Skinner

Thomas & Skinner shares how their tech adoption journey moved from skepticism to action and why they now advise other manufacturers to move fast.

Watch Case Study

Draper Inc.

Draper explains how they defined their first project, the lessons learned from a longer-than-expected installation, and how they doubled production capacity.

Watch Case Study

Guides

Idenitfying a Worthy Business Problem

How to put your business problem into words before you start shopping for tech solutions.

Defining Your First Digital Project

How to move from operational pain points to a pilot that proves value.

Building A Tech Adoption Roadmap

How to build a system that sequences your tech initiatives in the right order, without overextending your team.

Articles

Tech Adoption Initiatives Will Fail Without a Dedicated and Capable Champion

Susan Carlock knows a dedicated internal champion is essential to the technology adoption process. Learn more about her experience.

Creating an Internal Support Team

Behind every bold industry initiative is a team making it happen–see how an internal support team turns strategy into real impact.

Adopting New Technology Starts with Asking the Right Questions

Successfully determining how and when to deploy automation starts with posing the right questions. Learn about Batesville Tool & Die's automation journey.

Getting to ‘Yes’ on New Technology Requires Timing, Process and Risk

Selecting the right tech at the right time for the right price can be the toughest part. Learn how Indiana Furniture navigated that roadblock.

Video Case Studies

Evan Wood, EVP, People & Strategy at Fort Wayne Metals.

Fort Wayne Metals (Part 1) - Building an AI Program

Fort Wayne Metals shares how a citizen developer philosophy and a dedicated AI architect role helped scale AI adoption company-wide, and why they tell other manufacturers to start simple and grow from there.

Evan Wood, EVP, People & Strategy at Fort Wayne Metals, laughing with employees.

Fort Wayne Metals (Part 2) - Building Your First AI Agent

Fort Wayne Metals shares how they went from skeptical to building their own AI agents, and why they focus AI on behind-the-scenes work so it never comes between people and human connection.

Grant Harmeyer, Senior Enterprise Architect at Fort Wayne Metals.

Fort Wayne Metals (Part 3) - Using AI to Modernize Machine Maintenance

Fort Wayne Metals shows how they turned old machine manuals into an AI-powered maintenance assistant, cutting down search time for technicians standing in front of a machine.

Fort Wayne Metals (Part 4) - AI Training

Fort Wayne Metals compares AI adoption to coaching youth baseball: let people play and engage first, and they'll learn to prompt naturally without a formal training session.

Thomas & Skinner

Thomas & Skinner shares how their tech adoption journey moved from skepticism to action and why they now advise other manufacturers to move fast.

Draper Inc.

Draper explains how they defined their first project, the lessons learned from a longer-than-expected installation, and how they doubled production capacity.

Peer Insights

Indiana’s manufacturing and logistics companies are asking the same questions: Is now the right time? Is this the right investment? How will our workforce adapt? You do not have to figure it out alone. Companies across the state are navigating these decisions right now, and their frameworks, key questions, and hard-won lessons are yours to bring back to your team.

Indiana Furniture’s Five-Part Process for Making Smart Tech Decisions

Start with the problem, not the technology

Indiana Furniture recommends only pursuing tech when it solves a clearly defined problem, not because it's exciting or because competitors have it.

Keep everyone watching for solutions

Chad wants his whole team tracking industry developments and peer moves. When everyone is paying attention, you multiply your chances of finding the right solution.

Keep a "someday" list and review it regularly

Some problems show up before solutions exist. Some solutions arrive before you're ready. Indiana Furniture tracks both so they're prepared when timing converges.

Budget like a checkbook, not a credit card

Tech adoption gets a dedicated budget line, but big spends in one year affect the next. Intentional spending keeps the work sustainable over the long term.

Accept risk, but time it carefully

Chad learned the hard way that jumping in too early can mean building tools that vendors haven't created yet. Watching for the right moment is part of the strategy.

“It’s that convergence of ‘I’ve got a problem, there’s an opportunity to fix it, and now we  found a technology that’s the right size,  right time, right cost.’”

Chad Nord

VP of Operations
Indiana Furniture

Attend An In-Person Session

The guides and case studies on this page are a starting point. Our Industry Exchange Series brings Indiana AML companies together for one-day workshops across the state where you can dig into these topics alongside peers who are navigating the same decisions.