A view of manufacturing in 2024 and beyond

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The manufacturing industry endured its most severe disruption in more than 10 years during the global Covid -19 pandemic. The disruptions included various types of challenges such as supply chain instability, transportation issues, and worker shortages.  

There is good news despite the disruptions that happened. The manufacturers rose to the challenges and invested in and implemented incremental innovation. Resilience is the key theme as the manufacturing industry continues to recover. The manufacturing industry has demonstrated resilience and continues to evolve and witness manufacturing trends that are altering and advancing today’s global manufacturing landscape.  

A poll of over 200 global manufacturing C-suite decision makers reported that 68% listed improved resilience and agility as a top business priority. It is crucial to implement the right technology and include only relevant trends in planning and operating an agile and resilient manufacturing business.  

A key challenge for manufacturing executives in 2024 and beyond will be rebalancing the business. The past three-and-a-half years have been spent in emergency response mode. There are some indications that supply chains are becoming more stable and predictable, and companies are closer to meeting labor needs, but challenges still lie ahead. Some of those challenges in 2024 and beyond include the following. 

 Resistance to change: New trends and innovations implement new processes which are often met with implementation resistance by team managers and employees. One way to enable managers and employees to accept these changes is through training and development of new technologies.  

Disruptions in the supply chain: Any type of change in the manufacturing process has the potential to impact the supply chain. Therefore, a manufacturer must work closely with their suppliers to mitigate potential risks and challenges when implementing any new technology or trend in their process.  

Government regulations: If a new technology is being implemented, it is imperative to ensure that all processes are in compliance and as per the legal and regulatory requirements. The myriad of varying regulations within various governmental agencies and municipal jurisdictions can present a time-consuming and costly effort and result in complexities in the approval and implementation process. 

 Environmental Concerns: The manufacturing industry has increased extensively. This has led to a growing concern about the impact that manufacturing is having on the environment. Thus, manufacturers are adopting new technologies that help them reduce their environmental impact. 

 Technological challenges: Technology has evolved at an exponential pace due to Covid-19. Today’s climate of competition has made it imperative that business apply these technologies or they risk becoming outdated and non-competitive. The development of new technologies such as automation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things (IoT), and digital twins has revolutionized the manufacturing industry to evolve further.  

Capacity to meet consumer demand:  More and more consumers are demanding personalized and customized products in today’s world. Customers are choosing manufacturing companies that can offer a certain degree of personalization and cater to their specific requirements. This consumer demand has precipitated manufacturers to adopt new technologies to increase their manufacturing agility and capacity.  

Increased costs and technology complexities: Cost and complexity are two factors that can often impede implementation of a new technology, innovation or trend. The implementation can be expensive, complex and may require the expertise of specialized professionals to implement. 

Global competition: Competition is no longer only on a local, regional or national basis. The rise of globalization has forced manufacturers to face competition from across the world. This change in the competitive environment encouraged manufacturers to adopt new manufacturing trends to gain a competitive edge.   

What are some manufacturing readiness strategies for 2024 & beyond to meet the challenges?

Today’s manufacturing solutions are progressing very fast. There are new technological advancements every year to consider as part of an effective business strategy. Here are a few assessment aspects required to build a successful business strategy. 

• Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current situation in the business.  
• Identify the potential gaps between the current status of the business and the desired vision of the business in the future.  
• Embrace end-to-end automation in the business and incorporate a sophisticated master data management solution. 
• Connect ecosystems with a strong integration solution and embed analytics to make data-driven decisions. 

Artificial Intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics are driving efficiencies in manufacturing. This is enabling more remote monitoring and focused manufacturing which are fed by enormous amounts of data. 

 Predictive maintenance and digital twin technology reduce errors. Equipment failures can be extremely expensive in manufacturing.  Studies have shown that unplanned downtime costs manufacturers $50 billion annually. The Internet of Things combined with big data analytics enables sophisticated algorithms to predict failures with great accuracy before they actually occur. 

 Supply chain restructuring Is changing where products are manufactured. The need for resilience is driving dramatic shifts in shoring and sourcing, especially in North America and Europe. The major influence for this change is Covid-19. 

 Micro-factories are emerging as commerce evolves. The widespread effects of the global pandemic have impacted how manufacturers make things. Micro-factory is small, highly modular setups that use leading-edge technology like AI, robotics and big data to enable hyper-autonomous manufacturing.  

 Increasing pay is one way to attract workers and manufacturers are raising wages and reskilling workers to combat the labor shortage. A Deloitte survey estimates a shortage of 2.1 million skilled workers in the manufacturing sector by 2030. The survey also showed that 38% of executives said recruiting new workers is a top priority. 

 Closing Thought 

“As equipment and machines are becoming more and more complex, we are asking workers to keep track of more and more data. We believe AR is the way to help workers keep up with the complexity of manufacturing operations.”  J.P. Provencher, VP for Manufacturing /Strategy and Solutions at PTC (software development company, Boston, MA). 

 Glenn Ebersole is a registered professional engineer and the Director of Business Development at JL Architects, a nationally licensed commercial architecture firm based in West Chester. He can be contacted by [email protected] or 717-575-8572.