Manufacturing - Future Trends

Manufacturing - Future Trends: "Future of manufacturing – articles, videos and presentations on the future of manufacturing by Futurist conference keynote speaker Patrick Dixon, presentations for companies such as Siemens, Gillette, Nokia, Ford, Toshiba, HP, General Electric and Airbus.

Issues for manufacturers: controlling risks and quality in outsourcing and offshoring, supply chain management, prices of raw materials – especially energy. Finding next generation efficiencies – perfection in process management. Future of engineering and robotics, 3D modeling, faster prototyping, speed to market and innovation. Sustainability: protecting the environment in a profitable way.

Challenge in manufacturing: maintaining competitive advantage in manufacturing when most products in an industry sector are converging in design, price and quality – yet most real innovation is divergent, doing things differently to serve customers better.

Strategy: manufacturing leaders need to be agile, with more than one strategy to be successful in risky and uncertain times.

Greatest manufacturing risk: institutional blindness – when manufacturing management are surrounded by too many people who have been in the same industry too long.

Greatest manufacturing opportunity: breath-taking innovation which really captures the imagination and passion of customers."