Manufacturing is a critical step when it comes to the business process. You might have a great business idea for a product or service–but without proper manufacturing, you’re not going to get very far. Here are some growing trends you should be aware of regardless of your industry.
Offshoring
It’s hard to overstate the importance of offshoring in the world of global business. Companies have been regularly outsourcing various steps of the production process for decades now, so it’s nothing new. But it’s very important to understand the advantages and disadvantages that it offers. Offshoring is when you have foreign companies overseas manufacture part or all of your product for you. Often, this is a lot cheaper than domestically-manufactured products. You also can circumvent certain laws, regulations, and taxes–although you’ll be subject to others of various degrees of intensity, depending on the country you outsource to.
AI Integration
Even though manufacturing has become a massive and globally competitive industry, that doesn’t mean that the process itself has gotten better. Mass production over time has actually led to a decrease in the quality of manufacturing. This is where AI integration comes in. With rapidly advancing AI technology, businesses and manufacturers are more able to detect and address more problems with the product. This can be done in the creation stage of the process, the engineering and testing stage, and the manufacturing stage. While a human touch can be very potent when it comes to good products, AI can theoretically do all of the mental “busy work,” of addressing issues with efficiency, saving human minds for the more important matters.
Consumer-Driven Manufacturing
The modern landscape of the economy is vastly different from what it was even just ten, fifteen, or twenty years ago. Consumers expect their needs and want to be met in a way that is faster and more efficient than ever, thanks to the transformative practices of companies like Amazon. The business model that used to be the standard of the previous century simply cannot keep up. Flexibility and the ability to adjust quickly and efficiently are becoming just as important as the quality of the product itself. When it comes to manufacturing you need to be able to address these needs if you want to stay competitive.
Manufacturing is the foundation of a functioning company. Whether or not you have the ability to use artificial intelligence, and whether or not you can radically improve your company’s agility, you need to be educated. You never know when a transformative opportunity might arrive.
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