DIGITAL FACTORY
TOP INDUSTRY X PRIORITIES FOR MANUFACTURERS IN LIGHT OF COVID-19
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COVID-19 has shone the light on manufacturing , infrastructure and product development and accelerated many businesses on their digital transformations . As they navigate the upcoming opportunities and challenges , there are four key areas manufacturers need to focus on :
1 . Local , advanced manufacturing : Despite a shift to offshore manufacturing several years ago , robotics and other new approaches drive down costs , enabling manufacturers to consider running operations closer to home , which can prove to be more effective .
2 . Protecting workers : Increased automation of some activities can help protect workers in a socially distanced context so it ’ s something manufacturers should consider .
3 . Supply chain diversification is key : Even if in the short term a bigger choice of suppliers increases complexity and cost , a diverse ecosystem is a must . Manufacturers have learned that reliance on one or two locations must go and be replaced by a range of resilient options .
4 . Connecting sites as a global portfolio : Digital can provide a view of capacity , demand , production and maintenance downtime across all sites globally . This is vital to boost resilience and enable dialling up or down of production in certain locations . And analytics must be at the core of managing locations collectively as a portfolio , interconnected and able to flex to changing localised conditions - and prevent undue reliance at the site level . on proximity of people . “ sites that were used by dozens of engineers were stripped back to skeleton teams . Remote working is challenging enough for an office environment – rolling this out to the production line requires even more digital prowess .”
With these challenges in mind , “ there is no question that the industry has had to adapt quickly due to COVID-19 ,” comments Walker . However , she adds that “ with a resolute focus on the following three areas , manufacturers will see bright spots on the horizon .”
FEBRUARY 2021