Continuous improvement has been the backbone of operational excellence for decades—but today’s pace of change has surpassed it. In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson explains why manufacturers must move beyond traditional continuous improvement and embrace collaborative innovation.
Smart proactive companies are moving supply chains from global to local - or regional at a minimum. Yet the best companies are doing that while also focusing on resiliency. Our best clients are getting ahead of the pack with proactive strategies to move towards local with resiliency.
Medical products manufacturing is gaining momentum as companies want to build resilience to mitigate risk in the supply chain. Executives have realized that they must better control their end-to-end supply chain to ensure supply as geopolitical risks, vulnerabilities, and disruptions continue to arise while tariffs also push companies to build domestic capacity.
Although it starts with a depressing state of affairs for manufacturers, there is vast opportunity on the horizon. Manufacturing investments have been pouring into the U.S. and the three pillars of economic success are trending positive. Companies must prepare to scale and for success.
Priorities that power the triple bottom line of social, environmental and financial performance are gaining momentum. Sustainable advancements, smart manufacturing and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence are trending as they can deliver win-win improvements, supporting profitable growth and success.
As geopolitical, tariff, and other supply chain risks are causing concerns with offshoring strategies and the global sourcing perspective, companies are reviewing domestic alternatives. Companies are moving towards domestic and regional supply chains and preparing to scale manufacturing and the extended supply chains.
During volatile times of heightened uncertainty, companies typically batten down the hatches to save money and avoid rocking the boat. As the business outlook pivots to the positive, demand will be stimulated, providing huge opportunities for those companies prepared to scale rapidly with AI and advanced technologies and serve customer needs.
In a world of constant distractions and disruptions, it's easy to overlook the fundamentals. In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson explains why success still depends on getting the basics right—safety, quality, service, production, purchasing, planning and the use of ERP and related systems. Before adding complexity, make sure the foundation of your supply chain is strong.
What's trending in manufacturing was highlighted at the Valve Manufacturers Association (VMA) Annual Meeting. From discussions on utilizing AI to what's trending in water, data centers, geopolitics, supply chain and foundries, we provide highlights, stats, and implications for the future of manufacturers and extended supply chains.
Disruptions rarely stay contained and aluminum is a clear example. In this Supply Chain Byte, Lisa Anderson explains how challenges in one material can ripple through the entire end-to-end supply chain, affecting the largest of manufacturers.
