While RFID technology has been in place for upwards of two decades, it has come a long way in the last year. Originally an inventory management tool that also helped reduce merchandise theft, it is currently helping retailers improve customer satisfaction and improve merchandise management and planning.
The Internet of Things (IoT) is creating a big buzz in business these days. This is no surprise given recent statistics: Juniper Research recently estimated that the number of IoT-connected devices will increase to 38.5 billion worldwide in 2020, up by more than 285% from 13.4 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, McKinsey estimates that the IoT could unleash as much as $2.3 trillion in global economic value by 2025.
After Nike recently announced it would start offering customers the ability to make their own sneakers using 3D technology, Under Armour is also raising the bar with manufacturing automation.
Technology is shaking up all types of markets today, obliterating old business models everywhere with newer, more dynamic approaches. In particular, machines have gotten smarter, and can perform high-level analysis and make decisions—processes that used to be exclusive to the human brain. This is a quantum leap in processing, and we’re at a point now where machines are able to think for themselves.
Can the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute deliver on its promise to bring digital innovations to manufacturers large and small?
Automation solutions are increasingly incorporating capabilities to handle the Internet of Things, but manufacturers will likely need to shop separately for many best-of-breed IoT components.
Nearly half of American jobs could be automated in “a decade or two,” according to a recent argument by two researchers in The Economist. The jobs of everyone from telemarketers to title examiners to watch repairers to library technicians have become endangered by advances from the Internet of things, while many of those that have been deemed safe from such disruption are hands-on healthcare-related occupations: mental-health social workers, oral surgeons, prosthetists and recreational therapists. Yet, as this phenomenon unfolds, it underscores areas of opportunity, not only for individuals, but also for companies organized around their skills.
Manufacturing’s history includes three waves of change: the “lean” revolution of the seventies, the outsourcing phenomenon of the nineties and the automation revolution of the current decade. But there is no rest for the weary, as McKinsey consultants are currently warning American manufacturers that they must get ready now for the next big change, which they are calling “Industry 4.0.”
U.S. companies reshoring their operations and foreign firms investing in facilities here brought more than 60,000 manufacturing jobs to the U.S. in 2014, according to a recently released report reby The Reshoring Initiative. That’s up roughly 2% from record levels in 2013 and a fourfold increase since 2003.
Most manufacturers now have automated, Internet-enabled technology on their factory floors. These technologies allow for the collection of data from all types of equipment, and analysis of that data can improve the efficiency and quality of production, as well as quality of the product itself.
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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:
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.
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.
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.
