The 2024 World Manufacturing Foundation report titled – 2024 World Manufacturing Report – New Perspectives for the Future of Manufacturing: Outlook 2030 – explores the critical “tipping points” that will reshape manufacturing by 2030.
Driven by a combination of geopolitical, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal forces (referred to as PESTEL dimension), these shifts require manufacturers to think ahead strategically and act quickly and flexibly.
This report helps industry leaders and policymakers prepare their companies for the future in an increasingly VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous) world.
The following outlines the ‘Key Recommendations‘ section of the report.
1. EMBRACE CHANGE TO OVERCOME CRITICAL MANUFACTURING CHALLENGES IN A VUCA WORLD EMBRACE CHANGE
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- Skills: Develop agility, adaptability, and resiliency skills in the leadership team and workforce to respond quickly and effectively to shifting circumstances, including unexpected situations.
- Technology: Embrace business intelligence & data analytics technologies that can assist in minimising uncertainty, boosting adaptability, and improving resiliency.
- Culture: Create a VUCA leadership and workforce culture capable of thriving amidst constant change and uncertainty.
2. LEVERAGE BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND DATA ANALYTICS TO NAVIGATE THE GRAND MANUFACTURING CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
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- Skills: Become a data detective, with analytical and data storytelling skills, uncovering hidden trends, translating them into business insights, and driving action-taking.
- Technology: Make use of business intelligence & data analytics technologies to analyse (big) data and present actionable information to decision makers.
- Culture: Promote a business intelligence & data analytics culture that values data-driven decision-making.
3. FOSTER INNOVATION AT THE HEART OF MANUFACTURING TRANSFORMATION
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- Skills: Develop skills for innovation such as creativity, adaptability, entrepreneurial thinking, and transdisciplinary work in the leadership team and workforce.
- Technology: Pursue technological innovation and organisational change to explore new business and operating models.
- Culture: Foster an innovation culture that embraces the opportunities found in incremental and radical transformations.
4. PLAN STRATEGICALLY DESPITE THE PACE OF DAY-TO-DAY MANUFACTURING BUSINESS OPERATIONS
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- Skills: Cultivate research, analytical, and critical- thinking skills in the leadership team to create innovative but viable business strategies and solutions.
- Technology: Use data and technology to improve not only strategic planning but strategy execution.
- Culture: Promote a forward-thinking culture, planning for the future, not just for the present.
5. IMPLEMENT ROBUST RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL THREATS AND DEVELOP CONTINGENCY PLANS
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- Skills: Develop skills in the leadership team and workforce to identify, understand, evaluate, and mitigate risks.
- Technology: Leverage analytical technology for predictive analysis and risk assessment.
- Culture: Embrace a risk-aware and bold culture that acknowledges and assesses risks, and encourages the development of contingency plans.
6. IDENTIFY AND ADOPT BEST MANUFACTURING PRACTICES TO COVER THE BASICS OF COMPETITIVENESS
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- Skills: Build skills to analyse business processes critically and regularly for the adoption and development of best practices.
- Technology: Use processes and technologies that have reliably led to consistent proven outcomes.
- Culture: Nurture a culture of best practices focused on their identification, copy, transfer, and translation between business units, and their promotion.
7. APPRECIATE SUSTAINABILITY AS A MANUFACTURING BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY RATHER THAN PREDOMINANTLY A CHALLENGE
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- Skills: Foster green innovation skills in the workforce to identify and exploit opportunities to generate value from green products, services, processes, or business models.
- Technology: Use green technologies and processes to mitigate environmental impacts, comply with regulations, and adapt to new customer expectations.
- Culture: Inspire a culture of green innovation focused on the design, engineering, and (re-) manufacturing of environmentally friendly products across their lifecycle.
8. EXPLORE NEW MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN SUPPORT THE DIGITAL-GREEN TRANSITION
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- Skills: Put forward and integrate digital and green workforce skills for achieving net-zero goals.
- Technology: Leverage digital technologies for materials-, energy-, water-efficiency smart and sustainable manufacturing systems.
- Culture: Create a hybrid culture passioned about digital and green literacy to sustainably reshape manufacturing systems.
9. INVEST IN BUILDING A TALENT PIPELINE AND DEVELOPING FUTURE LEADERS FOR A STRONG MANUFACTURING SECTOR
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- Skills: Aim not only for new skills learning but also for their practice to create impact and for them to be perfected.
- Technology: Take advantage of technology to enhance workforce planning & talent management with talent analytics.
- Culture: Encourage a culture of continuous learning and knowledge-sharing in and among the leadership team and workforce.
10. BUILD STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS TOWARDS A COMPETITIVE MANUFACTURING BUSINESS ECOSYSTEM
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- Skills: Cultivate in the leadership team coopetition skills to make relevant strategic choices that balance collaboration and competition.
- Technology: Support coopetition choices with decision-support systems to better understand their risks, impacts, and expected outcomes.
- Culture: Spark a healthy competition culture and propel win-win strategies.
Download and Read the full report here to future-proof your company.
