Manufacturing buyers are not waiting for vendors to guide the buying process. They are researching earlier, forming shortlists before sales conversations begin, relying heavily on supplier websites, validating information through independent sources and involving larger buying committees. For industrial automation vendors, that means the first sales conversation often happens long before a salesperson is invited into the process.
That is one of the central findings from the 2026 B2B Manufacturing Buying Journey Report from Automation.com and RH Blake. Based on a survey of 121 global manufacturing leaders, including 66% with significant or final decision authority, the research shows that vendors need to be discoverable earlier, more technically useful and better aligned to how manufacturing buyers actually make decisions.
In a recent Automation Insights presentation, Automation.com Chief Editor Renee Bassett spoke with Dan Konstantinovsky, Strategy Director at RH Blake, a leading manufacturing-focused marketing agency, about what the findings mean for B2B suppliers and marketers of industrial automation equipment. Below are 10 takeaways from the research and what automation vendors should do differently as a result.
1. Buyers aren’t waiting — they engage earlier with a short list
Insight: 81% of manufacturing buyers have a short list before contacting a vendor.
Why it matters: If a vendor is not visible, credible and useful early in the research process, it may never get the chance to compete. Marketing’s role is no longer limited to creating awareness or supporting sales after a lead is generated. It now helps determine which suppliers are considered in the first place.
Action: Build early-stage content around buyer problems, comparison criteria, technical considerations, use cases and business impact.
2. Early vendor contact is a request for expertise
Insight: Nearly 25% of buyers look to speak with a vendor within the first 10% of the buying journey.
Why it matters: Early contact does not always mean buyers are ready for a product pitch. Often, they are looking for help understanding the problem, clarifying options or framing the business case.
Action: Equip sales and technical experts to act as advisors early in the journey. Build content that helps buyers define the challenge before they compare solutions.
3. Vendor websites are the primary commercial content asset
Insight: Vendor websites are used throughout the buying journey (awareness through decision).
Why it matters: Your website must answer role-specific questions, validate claims and be technically accurate since buyers return to it repeatedly.
Action: Audit the website against real buyer questions by journey stage and persona. Add content that addresses specifications, integration, implementation, proof, ROI, support and risk reduction.
4. Vendors overestimate their understanding of buyers’ processes
Insight: Only 29% of buyers say vendors understand their process very or extremely well.
Why it matters: When vendors misunderstand the buying process, they often show up with the wrong message, at the wrong time, for the wrong stakeholder. That creates friction and reduces confidence.
Action: Map the buying journey with direct customer input. Train sales teams on how buying committees make decisions, not just on product features and competitive claims.
5. Use of AI for supplier research has nearly doubled — but trust is low
Insight: Use of AI for supplier research rose from 23% (two years ago) to 48% (2026); trust in AI outputs averages 4.9/10.
Why it matters: Buyers may use AI to discover options, summarize information or compare suppliers, but they still validate what they find. That makes technical accuracy, third-party credibility, structured content and consistency across digital channels more important.
Action: Optimize content for both search and LLM discovery, but do not stop there. Make sure the content buyers find is specific, verifiable, technically accurate and supported by credible proof.
6. More budget does not mean faster decisions
Insight: CAPEX expectations are improving, but buying cycles are lengthening.
Why it matters: More available budget does not automatically create urgency. Buyers still need to justify risk, validate the need, build internal alignment and feel confident the investment will pay off.
Action: Build marketing programs for a longer decision journey. Use sustained nurture, business-case content, ROI tools, implementation guidance and compelling-event messaging that keeps the case for action alive over time.
7. Committees drive decisions — content must serve multiple personas
Insight: 83% involve five or more evaluators; ~20% involve more than nine.
Why it matters: A single generic message cannot serve engineering, operations, finance, procurement, IT, safety and executive leadership equally well. Each stakeholder evaluates risk and value through a different lens.
Action: Build role-specific content and sales enablement tools that help internal champions explain the decision, address objections and create consensus across the buying committee.
8. Buying triggers are shifting toward asset aging, capacity expansion and safety
Insight: Top current triggers: asset aging, capacity expansion and safety (over prior emphases like energy/sustainability).
Why it matters: Many vendors still lead with product capabilities, but buyers are often motivated by business conditions that make change necessary. The most effective messaging connects the solution to the trigger behind the decision.
Action: Build campaigns around compelling events: aging infrastructure, production constraints, downtime risk, safety exposure, expansion plans, regulatory needs and operational disruption.
9. Thought leadership has moved upstream and shapes challenges
Insight: Thought leadership is influencing buyers earlier in the journey, especially as they frame challenges and objectives.
Why it matters: Buyers use thought leadership to make sense of problems before they define requirements. That gives suppliers an opportunity to shape how buyers understand the issue, compare alternatives and prioritize action.
Action: Create content that frames the problem, explains the stakes, challenges outdated assumptions and helps buyers understand what a better approach looks like.
10. Effective thought leadership drives commercial outcomes — and buyers know what “effective” looks like
Insight: 87% view organizations more positively for effective thought leadership; 82% are more likely to contact them. Top perceived qualities: real-world expertise, relevance to challenges and strong research data. Yet perceived quality of available thought leadership dropped from 62% to 48% in two years.
Why it matters: Thought leadership is not just a brand exercise. It can improve perception, increase sales receptivity and create a stronger reason for buyers to engage. But generic content is losing effectiveness. The transcript notes that perceived quality has fallen from 62% two years ago to 48% today.
Action: Prioritize evidence-backed content with real technical insight, practical examples, original research, customer context and clear implications for manufacturing decision-makers.
Summary
The message for industrial automation vendors is clear: buyers are doing more of the journey before they talk to sales, but they are not looking for less help. They are looking for better help earlier.
That means vendors need to be easier to discover, more useful on their websites, more accurate in how they understand the buying process and more intentional about supporting every stakeholder involved in the decision.
The suppliers that win will not simply be the ones with strong products. They will be the ones that help buyers make sense of complexity, build confidence earlier and move larger buying groups from interest to action.
