5 Trends Shaping the Future of Manufacturing

Emerging enterprises and CEOs thinking of starting new manufacturing or product design businesses have a number of tools including social media and digital marketing that allow them to take an idea and bring it to market faster, cheaper and with an intimate customer connection. Here are five trends that can provide a tailwind to help.
  1. Crowdfunding. Money isn’t always available from traditional sources. Why borrow from one or two friends when you can borrow from a thousand new friends? Globally the crowdfunding industry is estimated to have raised a hefty $5 billion last year. The largest engine is Kickstarter, but smaller ones include Indiegogo and Appba-cr. Writing on Autodesk’s website, west coast blogger Rich Thomas advises using one’s home page to introduce your product and never underestimate the quality of a well-chosen video and coherent message. However, he warns “a Kickstarter page is not a business plan. The road to a successful crowdfunding campaign is littered with stalled or broken-down initiatives that began with a great idea, but fizzled due to a lack of long-term planning.”
  2. New Shoring. Many companies are bringing their manufacturing closer to the consumer or end user. Increased costs overseas, decreasing wage disparities, increasing shipping and transportation costs as well as related environmental factors have contributed to more local manufacturing. Being near also helps being timely with end users. Digital technology and close communications allows suppliers to work closer together to ensure manufacturers have the right parts at the right time. Helps with creating more jobs at home, too.
  3. Additive manufacturing. If cutting and drilling is considered subtractive manufacturing, then 3-D printing that adds layers to a three dimensional object is additive. 3-D printing is steadily becoming cheaper. Soon everyone who wants one can have a consumer version. It’ll be like having a VCR in the 1980s. Everyone from opticians to aerospace engineers is using these devices for parts and prototypes. (Autodesk’s Fusion 360 software is an example of the collaborative design software leading the way.)
  4. Open-Source Hardware. The use of open-source hardware isn’t meant to replace domain knowledge, says Rich Thomas. But it can help improve one’s ability to function. Thomas points to Adafruit Industries, founded by MIT engineer Limor Fried as an open-source epicenter for small business, selling hundreds of electronic kits designed to serve the community of DIY makers flooding the Internet with their unique products.
  5. Advanced automation. Sensors and vision system are becoming ubiquitous. Coupled with artificial intelligence software this confluence transforms basic automation into advanced automation. And the best part is that the costs are dropping. Robots and similar devices are longer the province of big companies. Smartphones with built-in features like GPS, compass and accelerometers can even be an input device for advanced automation systems.

As usage increases and costs decline, what’s considered “advanced” technology soon becomes basic for everyone including small to mid-size companies. With so much tech available at a reasonable cost, it’s no surprise that small and mid-size manufacturing is experiencing a rebirth.

Read: https://www.pddnet.com/articles/2014/02/why-new-shoring-new-school-manufacturing-trends-small-business

Read: https://lineshapespace.com/5-manufacturing-trends-shaping-the-future-of-small-businesses/

 


MORE LIKE THIS

  • Get the CEO Briefing

    Sign up today to get weekly access to the latest issues affecting CEOs in every industry
  • upcoming events

    Roundtable

    Strategic Planning Workshop

    1:00 - 5:00 pm

    Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process

    Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:

    1. Lack of systematic approach (70%)
    2. Laundry lists without prioritization (68%)
    3. Decisions based on personalities rather than facts and information (65%)

     

    Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns.  They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning.  Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process.  This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented.  If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form.  The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.

    New York, NY: ​​​Chief Executive's Corporate Citizenship Awards 2017

    Women in Leadership Seminar and Peer Discussion

    2:00 - 5:00 pm

    Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations. 

    Limited space available.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $495 will be added to your total.

    Golf Outing

    10:30 - 5:00 pm
    General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
    Sponsored by UBS

    General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.

    The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.

    To sign up, select this option in your registration form. Additional fee of $295 will be added to your total.