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By Mike Minelli
BEET recently had the opportunity to participate in the Ford Innovation Expo, hosted by the Industry 4.0 Accelerator and Michigan Economic Development Corporation. We were joined by our partner, CoffeeTree Group, to demonstrate our newly launched BEET Enterprise platform and, more importantly, to listen – to hear how manufacturing and IT leaders at major automotive OEMs are thinking about the future.
What stood out was this: the conversation is shifting from “build vs. buy” to how external platforms can complement internal development. That shift is helping many manufacturers move faster and scale more effectively.
The Cost of Custom Development
Across the industry, manufacturers are investing heavily in internal teams to build digital tools from the ground up. At face value, it makes sense. You know your processes, your plants, your constraints – why wouldn’t you build exactly what you need?
But internal development comes with a high price.
Let’s say you have 200 people working on internal software. At a fully loaded rate of $225,000 per head – a conservative estimate – that’s $45 million a year. And still, most internal tools don’t scale across plants. They’re hard to maintain, slow to adapt and often duplicated across departments.
BEET Enterprise, by contrast, is designed for scale from day one. We’ve already solved the problems many teams are just starting to scope. Our platform can be deployed and delivering results in a matter of weeks, not quarters.
A recent McKinsey study found that over 70% of digital transformation initiatives in manufacturing fail to scale, largely because of fragmented tools and siloed development.
Takeaways from the Ford Innovation Expo
There were some strong technologies on the floor, but many are still navigating long internal approval cycles. That’s what made our conversations different: BEET is an approved vendor already. It’s ready. We can start now.
What stood out wasn’t just the interest in what we do – it was how teams were thinking. There was clear momentum toward a hybrid approach – where proven external platforms complement internal systems and free teams to focus on higher-value problems.
Last summer, we shifted our approach. We made a conscious decision to align more closely with internal IT teams – to support and extend their efforts. That mindset has guided every decision since. Hearing similar thinking reflected back at Ford reinforced that we’re on the right track.
Why OEMs Are Rethinking How They Scale Tech
This isn’t about replacing internal teams – it’s about putting them in a position to succeed.
Manufacturers have deep in-house expertise. But too often, those skilled teams are stretched thin – tasked with building and maintaining platforms that already exist, rather than solving the next layer of business problems. Time and resources that could be spent improving operations are instead tied up in infrastructure work.
That’s where BEET Enterprise fits in. It’s an enterprise-grade platform built to integrate with your existing environment and accelerate progress across plants. Internal teams stay in control, but now they’re building on a foundation that’s already proven and deployable at scale.
It’s not “build vs. buy”—it’s “build better with buy.”
The Real Cost Isn’t Just Dollars – It’s Time
For OEMs and tiered suppliers navigating volatile demand, tight labor markets and rising cost pressures, time matters as much as money. Internal development can take 12 to 18 months before delivering measurable impact. That’s a long time to wait for visibility or productivity gains.
BEET Enterprise is designed to shorten that runway. Manufacturers using the BEET platform typically begin capturing actionable insights within weeks – and achieve full ROI in under 30 days.
The question isn’t whether you can build it. It’s whether you can afford to wait.
To leaders at other OEMs, tiered suppliers, and advanced manufacturers: if your teams are still carrying the full weight of custom development, there’s another path worth exploring.
If you’re ready to move faster, reduce friction and give your teams a stronger foundation, let’s talk.
