Global Lighthouse Network 2025

Trends in technology: AI hype and Lighthouse adoption1.3 Much of the discussion around AI is still focused on potential rather than proven applications. Many lament how AI is falling short, even hindering workers’ productivity. A report in July 2024 found that despite 96% of C-suite executives expecting AI to boost efficiency, 77% of employees reported it adding to their workload.14 In production settings, AI’s lack of real-world impact15 has stalled deployment relative to the global average, with a recent survey revealing a 35 percentage point (p.p.) drop year-over-year in leaders planning to increase AI spend (down from 93% in 2023).16 Some organizations are finding it difficult to make the business case for investment, especially in some countries where the requisite talent is expensive. For example, in the US, hiring just three key roles for AI development can cost nearly a half million dollars.17 This is not unusual. Just five years ago, there was similar hype around IIoT and its promise of real- time connectivity. Today, mindful of the costs of connection, sites deploy IoT selectively in domains offering the highest returns – such as predictive maintenance, inventory management and asset tracking. AI breakthroughs are following a similar trend. As with IIoT, Lighthouses remain ahead of the curve: 77% of their top five use cases feature analytical AI, up from an average 62% in 2023 and 9% now feature generative AI (GenAI).18 Figure 5 shows the growth in AI-enabled use cases among Lighthouses’ top five presented during site evaluations and a breakdown of AI applications by domain for the 2024 cohorts. On average, these use cases have driven an improvement of more than 50% in conversion costs, cycle times and defect rates19 for Lighthouses.20 From digital twins21 to LLMs, each technology innovation is as new to Lighthouses as it is to everyone else. It is easy to forget that commercial- grade LLMs first became available only a few years ago. What has stayed consistent for Lighthouses is their mindset: value-backed approaches, rooted in real business needs. The following chapters will delve deeper into the mindsets that distinguish Lighthouses from the rest and provide practical examples of how they have cut through the hype in both their production sites and value chains. On average, AI-enabled use cases have driven an improvement of more than 50% in conversion costs, cycle times and defect rates for Lighthouses. Analytical and GenAI use case composition1 by Lighthouse cohort FIGURE 5 1622 2030 30 3240 424455697679910 Cohort 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101 11 12 1329 4 Asset management 27 1Resource management 23 4 Quality 12 7Workforce enablement 18 1Product development 17 1Integrated planning & procurement 14 1Material handling, fulfilment & logistics 23Supplier & customer connect ivitySep ‘18 Jan ‘19 Jul ‘19 Jan ‘20 Sep ‘20 Mar ‘21 Sep ‘21 Mar ‘22 Oct ‘22 Jan ‘23 Dec ‘23 Oct ‘24 Jan ‘25% of top five use cases presented for Lighthouse designation 2024 cohorts applied AI across the value chain, # of use cases by domain+19 p.p.Analytical AI GenAI 1. Out of top five use cases for each Lighthouse Source: Global Lighthouse Network. Global Lighthouse Network: The Mindset Shifts Driving Impact and Scale in Digital Transformation 11