Thinking Anew About Manufacturing
By Michael Codega, Solutions Consultant
The last couple of months have caused manufacturers to think anew about many things — supplier, customer and workforce relationships; the economy; outsourcing, insourcing, and reshoring; lean; automation; and on and on. Things have changed.
The Georgia Manufacturing Extension Partnership recently completed a survey of manufacturing companies to determine key issues they face and how they are addressing these. Key issues include:
- Challenges and Needs: Skills, both basic and technical, and marketing/sales emerged as the most common need or challenge.
- Trade and Tariff Policies: Many companies have raised prices for products and have passed along some or all of this cost to customers.
- Profitability: The average Georgia manufacturer reported that their average return on sales was 11.9%. The rate of profitability for manufacturers competing based on application of innovative was twice as high as those that competed based on low price.
- Advanced Manufacturing Technology: 80% of manufacturers utilize digital technology. Fewer than 20% have implemented technologies such as robots/cobots, additive manufacturing, augmented reality (AR) tools, or the internet of things (IoT).
- Data Security: Security safeguarding proprietary information and data is an increasing concern. Innovation activities: Many companies have implemented process and organizational innovations.
To read the full report please click HERE.