As a supplier to the manufacturing industry, we like to look ahead at the industry’s outlook for 2023. Understanding and adapting to changing and emerging trends is crucial for our growth and success. Here we look at valuable insights and highlight the key trends in this ever-evolving landscape.
Despite the current climate of economic uncertainty, the manufacturing industry has exceeded the expectations of previous years. Maintaining strength that was gained during the pandemic, manufacturers have had highs of demand and production, but they need to look to the future and embrace strategies to maintain the current run of growth. According to a recent report by Deloitte there are five trends that the industry should watch out for.
Technology
Investing in advanced technologies to help mitigate risk.
The report shows that manufacturers have increased their digital investment over the past few years and accelerated the adoption of emerging technologies. Companies with higher digital maturity have shown greater resilience. Continued investments in advanced manufacturing technologies can help develop the required agility.
Talent
Implementing a broad range of talent management strategies to reduce voluntary exits.
Despite a record level of new hires, job openings in the industry are still hovering near all-time highs. Additionally, voluntary separations continue to outnumber layoffs and discharges, indicating substantial workforce churn. This prevailing workforce shortage, elevated by supply chain limitations, is reducing operational efficiency and margins. Manufacturers are pursuing several approaches to strengthen their talent retention strategy.
Supply chain
Relying on time-tested mitigation strategies with enhanced tactics to achieve supply assurance.
In a survey, 72% of executives believe the continuing shortage of materials and the ongoing supply chain disruptions present the biggest uncertainty for the industry, even in the coming year.
Manufacturers are mitigating these risks not only with increased utilisation of digital technology but also with time-tested approaches including building local capacity and moving from just-in-time sourcing to create redundancy in the supply chain.
Smart factory
Taking a holistic approach to smart factory initiatives to unlock new horizons.
Manufacturers will likely continue progressing toward smart factory transformations, as these initiatives drive future competitiveness. Many manufacturers are making investments in laying the technology foundation for their smart factories. One in five manufacturers already experiment with underlying solutions or are actively developing a metaverse platform for their products and services.
Sustainability
Focusing on corporate social responsibility.
The fast-evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) landscape may require close monitoring in 2023 for manufacturers. Many organisations voluntarily comply with a complex network of reporting regulations, ratings, and disclosure frameworks. But regulators globally are also moving toward requiring more disclosures for nonfinancial metrics. Manufacturers are progressing toward their ESG commitments by making operational changes across their value chains.
You can download the full report here
We support the manufacturing industry in their growth and challenges, if you would like advice from our expert knowledgeable team, please contact us on 01623 424 442 or sales@asmechsystems.co.uk
