Technology | Lou Musante| May 20, 2025
Small and mid-sized manufacturers are discovering that data isn’t just for fine-tuning operations – it can be a product and profit center in its own right. In today’s industry, manufacturing data itself can be a business value proposition. Treating data as a strategic asset can unlock new revenue streams and competitive advantages, much like any physical product or service. In fact, data-driven companies tend to be valued higher by investors (often double the market-to-book value of peers) because of the economic benefits their information assets generate. Below, we explore how manufacturers can package, monetize, or leverage their data as a business asset – with real examples of smaller manufacturers doing it.
Treating Data as a Business Asset
Manufacturers generate mountains of data from machines, sensors, quality systems, and customers. Rather than keeping these insights siloed for internal use only, forward-thinking firms manage data with the same care as physical inventory. By viewing data as an asset class, manufacturers can measure its value and actively seek ways to monetize it. Sometimes this means direct revenue (selling or licensing data), and other times it’s indirect – using data to enhance products or partnerships in ways that boost sales and customer loyalty. Crucially, treating data as an asset is a mindset shift that opens the door to creative business models.
Ways to Monetize Manufacturing Data
Manufacturers of all sizes are experimenting with data monetization models. Here are some proven approaches turning factory data into opportunity:
- Licensing or Selling Data – If you have unique process or product data, consider licensing it to others. For example, a mid-sized U.S. manufacturer of sonic buoys found itself undercut by low-cost rivals, so it licensed its specialized manufacturing and testing process data to those competitors instead of losing the business. By selling its know-how (essentially data and expertise), the company turned would-be competitors into clients – generating a new revenue stream from information. This shows that even proprietary manufacturing knowledge can be packaged and sold under the right conditions (with appropriate safeguards like NDAs or royalties).
- Data-Driven Service Models (Servitization) – Embedding data into your product offering can transform it into a service. A classic example is Rolls-Royce’s “Power-by-the-Hour,” where engine performance data is used to sell uptime rather than just engines. Even though Rolls-Royce is large, the concept scales down: manufacturers can attach IoT sensors to equipment and offer uptime guarantees, predictive maintenance or usage-based billing. Michelin, for instance, launched an IoT-enabled service for truck fleets (EFFIFUEL™) that uses tire and fuel consumption data to advise customers on efficient driving. This data-powered service improved customer retention and created a new profit center. Similarly, mid-sized industrial firms like compressor-maker Kaeser have shifted to “equipment-as-a-service” by using sensor data to maximize uptime and charge customers for delivered air rather than the machine itself – leveraging data to earn recurring revenue.
- Partnerships and Data Sharing – Sometimes the value of your data is unlocked through partnerships. By sharing selective data with suppliers, customers, or even former competitors, manufacturers can create win-win collaborations. In one case, competitors became partners when that buoy manufacturer licensed its process data – they all benefited from improved processes. Another example: when Stratasys acquired small 3D-printer maker MakerBot, it wasn’t just buying machines – it was acquiring MakerBot’s online community and data ecosystem. This crowdsourced design data (from MakerBot’s user community) helped Stratasys spur innovation and cut R&D costs. Small manufacturers can similarly partner with tech firms or industry consortia, contributing data (e.g. performance stats or usage trends) in exchange for insights, co-developed products, or fees. Cross-industry partnerships are another avenue – an electronics manufacturer making smart vehicle sensors might share its device data with a car rental company to improve safety, and get paid for that information. In each case, data becomes a bargaining chip for better deals or new income.
- Contributing Data to AI Development – The AI boom has created massive demand for high-quality datasets. Any manufacturer with rich operational data (think: years of production metrics, machine telemetry, defect images, etc.) may possess something valuable to AI developers. Companies in various industries are already licensing data to train AI models, and manufacturers can do the same. For instance, anonymized production data could be licensed to an AI startup building predictive maintenance algorithms. By contributing data to an AI project (either directly or via a data marketplace), a manufacturer not only earns licensing fees but also helps shape AI solutions that it might later benefit from. As one data industry report put it, “any and every company can become a data provider, because any and every company will have information which others find valuable. Manufacturing SMEs can treat their historical data as digital assets – potentially licensing datasets to third parties, or pooling data with peers to co-create AI-driven improvements.
From Factory Floor to New Revenue
Real-world stories prove that manufacturing data can drive new revenue streams when approached creatively. Whether it’s selling data outright, bundling it into services, or leveraging it
in partnerships, small and mid-sized manufacturers have more options than ever to capitalize on information. The key is to start viewing data as core business assets – ones that can be packaged, traded or utilized just like physical products. By doing so, manufacturers can turn years of operational insights into a competitive differentiator and even a source of income. In a data-driven economy, the companies that succeed will be those that not only excel at making products, but also at monetizing the data those products (and processes) create. The opportunity is clear: your manufacturing data might just be your next best-selling product.