“ My job is to help all customers to rethink how they operate , rethink their workforce – supply chain , security , data , cultural shifts , as well as anything and everything that they worry about ,” said Çağlayan Arkan , Vice President , Global Strategy and Sales Lead , Manufacturing & Supply Chain at Microsoft . Arkan is excited to be at the front of the digital age and a part of Microsoft ’ s transformation .

“ I ’ m so fortunate to be doing what I ’ m doing , because it ’ s a historical point ,” he explains . “ Microsoft has one of the most ambitious and broadest mission statements , and that really is very attractive .“ Technology has changed both personal lives and how businesses operate .

It ’ s part of Microsoft ’ s mission , in terms of , ‘ we democratise technology and now , we ’ re going to democratise digital transformation ’. Being part of that , being able to influence something that is so impactful – I don ’ t know how life gets any better .”

� CODECLAN Digital skills academy CodeClan offers manufacturers the skills they need to outperform automation – from transferable skills to specific ones in manufacturing

� NTT DATA & MICROSOFT AZURE A new report on migration and supply chains from NTT DATA explored how manufacturing enterprises can leverage the power of Microsoft Azure , to increase flexibility and resilience

� CHINESE MANUFACTURING Lockdowns , politics and trade wars are getting in the way of China ’ s position as the ‘ factory of the world ’. Companies are leaving the country for other productive Southeast Asian countries , like Vietnam , Japan and Indonesia

� RISING COST OF RAW MATERIALS Bibby Financial Services helps SMEs to grow . New data from BFS shows that inflationary pressures are stretching manufacturers , with 38 % describing themselves as ‘ just about breaking even ’.

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