Prepare for more change
What was normal two years ago will almost certainly not be normal during the second half of 2010, or even during the first months of 2011. What was normal then, in fact, might never be normal again. Even though it might be a cliché, change really is the new normal in manufacturing.
Among those changes are the new gaps in the supply chains of some larger original equipment manufacturers, the result of smaller companies closing, which might cause delays and problems in receiving supplies in a timely manner. A number of industry experts say the availability of credit will also likely change, what with banks starting to somewhat relax their requirements. But the biggest change might be the addition of manufacturing jobs.
“Manufacturing is now the only business sector that has been adding jobs for five months,” says Emily Stover DeRocco, president, The Manufacturing Institute. “Manufacturers have added 126,000 new jobs.
“But the focus is going to continue to be more on what we call mass customization, as opposed to mass commoditization. This reflects, again, the industry’s response to globalization, which is that U.S. manufacturers, in order to maintain their global leadership, have had to move to a higher quality and a higher value product.”
And that higher quality product will almost certainly lead to more changes in the way manufacturers and so many other companies plan and do business, the ripple effect across industries.
For example, if you have not already reassessed your vision and your plan for your company, that should move to the top of your priority list.
“Reassess your priorities and really have a vision for what you want the company to be five or 10 years down the road,” Fenton says. “Keeping a lid on costs is important, so technology and investment are important, as is investing in employees.”
