Industrialization: what is it and why do we hear about it so often?

Why talk about industrialization?

In a context where companies face growing pressure to accelerate delivery times, optimize operations while reducing costs, and maintain service quality and security, developing industrialization becomes essential.

Often approached from a technological angle (“Tech for Tech”) by IT departments, the benefits of industrialization for business functions are less visible. Yet it offers real value in terms of competitiveness, efficiency, and can even improve the customer experience.

Industrialization is about simplifying processes, automating, standardizing, and ultimately delivering time savings, cost reductions, and quality improvements.

What exactly is it?

Industrialization occurs at multiple levels and affects several areas within an organization. It can involve improving customer experience (for example, with self-diagnosis tools from an internet provider, or automated/AI-driven customer service in insurance), standardizing business processes (like claims management), or internal processes such as IT supervision and support automation. In short, industrialization impacts nearly every facet of how a company operates.

Industrialization: significant investments, challenges, but what results?

It is often hard for teams, especially leadership, to immediately perceive the value of industrialization. Initial investments can seem high, reminding us that in ROI, there is an “I” that shouldn’t be overlooked. Overcoming this requires a cultural shift, involving all teams so that industrialization is integrated from the very design of services.

Industrialization, often seen as a technical subject (tools, AI, platforms, technical skills), is not just IT’s responsibility. Real and visible results come when industrialization serves the business and end customers. IT and business teams must collaborate on use cases. Investments made in IT industrialization must demonstrate measurable reductions in operational costs.

The success of industrialization depends on developing and sharing new skills across teams—a key step to turning this transformation into a genuine performance lever.

The axes of industrialization

Industrialization relies on six core axes: automation, tools, value, continuous improvement, standardization, and ecosystem.

These pillars do not operate in isolation; they interconnect to form a coherent, synergistic system. For example, standardization facilitates automation using specific tools. Focusing on value guides continuous improvement efforts, while an ecosystem approach ensures all value chain actors are aligned and optimized.

The six pillars of industrialization: optimizing processes and performance

Standardization and automation: engines of efficiency
Standardization is the first step toward industrialization. It establishes uniform norms and procedures to ensure product consistency, reproducibility, and greater efficiency. A classic example is the Ford Model T (1908), the first mass-produced car with standardized parts, reducing assembly time from 12 hours to 2 hours 30 minutes.

Automation accelerates and stabilizes processes. By replacing manual work with mechanical or electronic systems, it boosts productivity and quality while reducing human error. Today, automation extends far beyond manufacturing: robotic process automation (RPA) optimizes finance, HR, and customer service.

Tools and value optimization
Tools play a key role in industrialization. Software, frameworks, and platforms facilitate automation, improve system integration, and ensure efficient process monitoring.

Optimizing value for the end customer is crucial. Inspired by Lean Thinking, this principle focuses on identifying high-value tasks and eliminating unnecessary activities through precise value chain mapping and process simplification enabled by automation.

Continuous improvement and ecosystem approach
Continuous improvement is fundamental. Rather than pursuing one-off optimizations, it should be embedded in an ongoing dynamic, whether addressing issues, adapting to change, or refining existing processes.

Integrating the entire ecosystem—including suppliers, partners, distributors, and customers—enables global rather than local optimization. The automotive industry illustrates this well, as manufacturers collaborate closely with suppliers to improve supply chains and component quality.

From theory to practice

The six pillars of industrialization provide a structured framework to optimize processes and performance. But theory alone is not enough. At Talisker, we regularly support clients—IT departments, executive teams, and operations leaders—in implementing industrialization strategies tailored to their challenges.

Stay tuned for our next blog post, where Talisker will explore industrialization in practice:

How to implement industrialization and address its organizational and cultural challenges.