Lisa Anderson was quoted in a SelectHub article when she warned that, in the area of attracting and retaining workforce talent, competitors will always try to steal your best employees.

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Manufacturing Trends 2024: Maintaining A Competitive Edge

What are the most essential manufacturing trends of 2024? I hate to burst your bubble, but this industry doesn’t just focus on AI, IoT, data mining or advanced manufacturing software.

We’re talking about the big-picture patterns that are shaping the future of manufacturing as we speak. This guide will tell you how to retain labor, keep a carbon-neutral work environment, maintain a positive reputation and more.

Key Takeaways

• Some ideal technologies for manufacturing include IoT, IIoT, AI and data mining.
• When adopting smart factories, there should be a harmonious balance between machines and humans.
• Top manufacturing process types include repetitive, discrete, process, continuous, job shop, 3D printing and more.
• Ideal ways to attract and retain manufacturing employees are giving them satisfactory work environments, liveable pay and benefits, training opportunities. and more.
• Because of the digital twin market’s resourcefulness across the manufacturing and PLM sectors, this market could hit $155.84 billion in value by 2030.

Top Trends for 2024

1. Attracting and Retaining Workforce Talent

Lisa Anderson, founder and president of LMA Consulting Group Inc., warned that competitors always try to steal the best employees.

Pay alone will not suffice. In our experience, the most important priority to retaining top talent is company culture and leadership. People do not follow companies. They follow leaders. Clients with leaders who appreciate talent, offer training and advancement opportunities, and are willing to address poor performers and tough topics are respected and successful. On the other hand, clients with volatile leaders are losing talent at a quick pace.”

To read the full article, click here.

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“Executives realize they need to proactively manage customer service, inventory and their end-to-end supply chain. In order to consider the full picture and related options, business intelligence software is vital, and the AI component to add predictability into the mix is quickly becoming a ‘must have,'” said Lisa Anderson, president of Claremont, CA-based LMA Consulting Group, Inc. and manufacturing expert known for creating supply chain resiliency.

Whether you’re a mass clothing company crafting the latest fashions or a mid-sized facility baking and packing bread for local bakeries, manufacturing ERP software can streamline production, keep all eyes on your supply chain and provide compliance adherence. It’s also critical to invest in technology-based manufacturing trends to maintain your competitive edge and boost your KPIs.

However, you don’t want to invest in every trend you see because it’s popular or your colleagues use them. Like software, if the trend doesn’t mesh with your practices, it’ll cause friction and harm instead of helping revenue. We took the time to craft a solid list of these technological innovations and received opinions from manufacturing experts. Before we begin, let’s examine popular processes and growing industries.

Manufacturing Process Types

There are several processes manufacturers consider when they craft products. Some companies may implement more than one. The top five strategies include:

• Repetitive: As the name implies, this practice creates the same product repeatedly 24/7 to meet production rates and is altered as necessary to align with customers’ needs.
• Job Shop: Job shops focus on a specific area and build particular products in small amounts. They implement turning, milling, drilling, roughing and other machining techniques to craft products with different details and shapes.
• Discrete: Manufacturers leverage this technique for big jobs. They create separate parts in different local or global plants and combine them to make the final product in one location. Computers, cameras and cars are a few examples of discrete manufacturing products. You can take apart products and sell or replace parts easily.
• Process: Process manufacturing, unlike discrete, creates products in one location. They transform raw materials via heating, cooling, chemical or other forms of conversions to create goods like food, beverages, lotions, etc. You can’t take apart these products, typically following recipes or formulas.
• Continuous: A subset of process manufacturing, this practice resembles repetitive but deals with raw ingredients like gasses, liquids, slurries and more.

Full Story

The post SelectHub: Manufacturing Trends: Leveraging Software and Tech to Maintain a Competitive Edge For 2021 appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

Of course, it was very exciting to be featured on Bloomberg’s ‘What’d You Miss?’ show! It speaks to the rising popularity of reshoring that Bloomberg is searching for supply chain experts to talk about reshoring and whether it makes sense.

One Tip to Implement This Week:
As I said on Bloomberg, of course, the answer of whether you should reshore is “it depends”; however, it is becoming quite attractive for many industries and situations. At a minimum, review whether it makes sense to source manufacturing closer to your end customers. If you need a push, look no further than the Amazon-like customer requirements, increasing labor costs in China, the lessening importance of labor costs as the Future in Manufacturing panel discussed, the risk of disruption (tariffs, COVID-19, natural disasters etc.) and more. I discuss this topic in depth in my eBook, Future-Proofing Manufacturing & Supply Chain Post COVID-19. 

Post COVID, disruptions and risk remain elevated as a ship got stuck in the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal experienced a drought, and the Red Sea is in chaos with ships being diverted from the Suez Canal as the war heats up in the Middle East. Geopolitical and supply chain risks are at an all-time high. Thus, smart and proactive executives are optimizing their supply chains with reshoring, nearshoring and focusing on regional supply chains. We have also launched a Supply Chain assessment so that you can evaluate how you are positioned in your supply chain. Knowing where you stand is a critical first step on your journey to optimizing your supply chain.  

June 1, 2020

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The post The Future of Manufacturing appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

CLAREMONT, Calif., March 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expert, Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD, president of LMA Consulting Group Inc., has released, Future-Proofing Manufacturing & the Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Supply Chain predictions for 2020. Ms. Anderson asked business owners, executives and industry professionals for their insights and predictions for the state of business in 2020. From a wide range of industries like food and beverage, building products and logistics to specialties such as trade, sourcing, technology, human capital and economic development, the experts represent a wide range of businesses in size and complexity.

“We are at a critical juncture in our field. To succeed in 2020, manufacturing and logistics organizations need to become agile, proactive and even disruptive to merely survive. The most successful organizations are going to do a deep dive into human capital, technologies and strategies that will achieve the trifecta – a superior customer experience, profitable growth and improved working capital provide,” Ms. Anderson commented. LMA Consulting Group works with manufacturers and distributors on strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation to maximize the customer experience and enable profitable, scalable, dramatic business growth.

With the influence of additive manufacturing artificial intelligence, IoT, robotics and blockchain, technology can pay a pivotal role. Yet, technology is not the sole answer. “It’s the smart application of the appropriate technology by top talent, aligned internally and across the extended supply chain who follow a well-thought out strategy that wins the race,” she said.

While experience can direct future activity, it is important to be prepared for the unexpected. “The hyper influence of the coronavirus has radically disrupted supply chains. This puts a spotlight on the need to proactively future-proof the supply chain. It’s more than focusing on vendors and the source of supply. It’s the integration of all of the pieces from raw materials through delivery and measuring the customer experience along the way with backups in place along every facet of the supply chain,” she concluded.

Ms. Anderson is an active member of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, was recently appointed to the Department of Commerce, District Export Council of the Inland Empire and is sought out by organizations such as Oracle for her manufacturing and supply chain insights. Future-Proofing Manufacturing & the Supply Chain can be downloaded here.

About LMA Consulting Group – Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD

Lisa Anderson is the founder and president of LMA Consulting Group, Inc., a consulting firm that specializes in manufacturing strategy and end-to-end supply chain transformation.  She focuses on maximizing the customer experience and enabling profitable, scalable, dramatic business growth. Ms. Anderson is a recognized Supply Chain thought leader by SelectHub, named a Top 40 B2B Tech Influencer by arketi group, 50 ERP Influencer by Washington-Frank, a top 46 most influential in Supply Chain by SAP and named a top woman influencer by Solutions Review. She recently published, I’ve Been Thinking, 101 strategies for creating bold customer promises and profits. A regular content contributor on topics including a superior customer experience with SIOP, advancing innovation and making the supply chain resilient, Ms. Anderson is regularly interviewed and quoted by publications such as Industry Week, tED magazine and the Wall Street Journal.  For information, to sign up for her Profit Through People^TM Newsletter or for a copy of her book, visit lma-consultinggroup.com.            

 

Originally published on PR Newswire on March 13, 2020

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The post Manufacturing Expert, Lisa Anderson, Releases Manufacturing and Supply Chain Predictions for 2020 appeared first on LMA-Consulting Group, a supply chain consulting firm.

“As manufacturers realize what can be achieved with technology such as AI, IoT, robotics, and additive manufacturing, they are sourcing manufacturing closer to the customer to create a customer experience advantage (rapid customization and delivery) with a lower cost base” points out Lisa Anderson, president of Claremont, CA-based LMA Consulting Group, Inc. and president of LMA Consulting Group, Inc., Claremont, CA.

US manufacturing recovered slightly in January but isn’t out of the woods

Dive Brief:

• The U.S. manufacturing sector showed signs of life in January, with the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing manager’s index (PMI) rising from 47.8% in December 2019 to 50.9% last month. A reading above 50% marks sector expansion, while a reading under 50% signals contraction. 
• “Rising demand from households has helped support production in recent months, but January saw a marked slowing in new orders for consumer goods,” Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit ​said in a statement. “Production of capital goods such as business equipment, plant and machinery meanwhile fell for the first time in almost four years, hinting at weakened business investment.”
• In 18 of the manufacturing sub-sectors ISM tracks, eight reported seeing some growth in January, namely consumer electronics, furniture, food and beverage, and tobacco products. Eight saw a contraction including apparel, leather and allied products; textile mills; electrical equipment, appliances and components; and petroleum and coal products.

Dive Insight:

January marked the first month of expansion since July 2019, however, the manufacturing sector isn’t out of the woods just yet.

“US manufacturing limped into 2020, with falling exports dampening output growth and causing a pull-back in hiring,” Williamson said. “The survey data are consistent with factory production falling moderately, meaning the manufacturing sector looks set to act as a drag on the overall economy once again in the first quarter.”

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Published in Supply Chain Dive on Feb. 3, 2020

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March 5, 2018

According to ISM (Institute of Supply Management), manufacturing expanded more than it has in 14 years in February – it is on fire!  Improving global economies and firm business investment are fueling this expansion.  The factory index climbed to 60.8 from 59.1.  Export orders are also up from 62.8 from 59.8 which is the forth consecutive improvement and the longest stretch in six years.  Are you taking advantage of this manufacturing boom?  How can you?  Coincidentally a recent article was on exports – perhaps that is one area of opportunity?  It appears to be for the vast majority of U.S. companies.

What Should We Consider and/or What Impacts Could Arise?

Let’s start by taking a look at your latest trends.  Has your volume increased?  If not, why not?  Are you in an industry that has been negatively impacted?  How do you perform vs. your competition?  Most likely, you are growing.  Do you know how your growth compares with the industry’s growth?  Could you be growing more quickly?  Perhaps it would just take a small tweak….

If you are set up to be agile and are positioned to grow, you are likely to grow faster than your competitors.  In today’s Amazon-impacted marketplace, no matter your industry, if you cannot deliver on-time and within the expected time frame (which is quicker and quicker with each passing month), you will lose the order to your competition.  Even in contract-oriented industries, you have to be alert.  Not only might you lose the order, you could lose the next contract.  

Are your manufacturing facility and supply chain ready for growth?  Have you provided your suppliers with updated forecasts?  Are they able to keep up?  Do you and your extended supply chain have the staffing, training programs, equipment, cash, and more in place?  If you aren’t sure, find out!

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