Executive summary Industrial operations are entering a decisive decade shaped by structural shocks and accelerating frontier technologies. Geopolitical shifts, climate volatility, workforce shortages and heightened cyber risk are disrupting traditional operating models, while advances in AI, automation, simulation, robotics and hyperconnected infrastructure are redefining what industrial systems can achieve. These forces are accelerating the shift towards intelligent industrial operations that learn continuously, adapt autonomously and operate in sync across factories, enterprises and multi-tier networks. This report examines how these shifts play out across the value chain. It outlines the shared design logic emerging across diverse functions, as capabilities progress from early experimentation and assisted intelligence, through scaled-up human-machine collaboration, towards increasingly autonomous, self-orchestrating systems. It introduces a future-ready transformation model (see Figure 4) that helps leaders understand how functions will evolve over the next decade, and assesses the role of different technologies in driving this evolution and their points of greatest operational impact (see Figure 5). To deliver on this shift, leaders must focus on a small set of enablers: –Strengthen governance for AI-driven decisions. –Embed cybersecurity from the outset. –Enable the workforce to collaborate effectively with intelligent systems. As autonomy scales up across operations and ecosystems, leaders must ensure these systems create value responsibly and in line with strategic priorities. Executive highlights FIGURE 1 Function-by-function blueprint of how intelligence is being embedded across the industrial value chain, including real-world case studies.Future-ready operational functions1133 Shifts that explain how intelligence transforms performance and how each function evolves over time.Cross-cutting transformation themes3355++ Common evolution patterns and technology impact over time that guide the shift towards intelligent, interconnected and value-driven operations.Transformation model + Technology impact profile Clear priorities to help leaders steer, sequence and scale-up intelligent transformation.Leadership roadmap Intelligent Industrial Operations Outlook 2026 4