The global economy has entered a new mega-cycle characterized by value chain disruptions, resource competition, and climate change. Leading manufacturers are re-evaluating and fundamentally redesigning their operations strategies instead of making incremental adjustments. Global value chains will undergo a collective rewiring as manufacturers reconfigure their strategies.
This white paper discusses five trends that will dominate this rewiring:
Manufacturers are moving towards multiple connected but highly localized value chains.These multi-local chains will rely on local suppliers and customers, served by manufacturing “in the region, for the region”.
Managing the resulting complexity and cost increases in multi-local value chains will require manufacturers to “be” digital by adopting data analytics and automation technology.
To make up for lost economies of scale, manufacturers are looking to achieve “economies of skill” by setting up specialist teams that are recruited globally, trained internally and deployed flexibly.
Sustainability will become an integral part of localized operations as manufacturers undergo this transition.
This will require careful trade-off management between performance, sustainability and resilience to drive value for the customer.