Although we’ve been gritting our teeth at home for the longest time now and have witnessed the constant vaccination efforts all around us, we are still a far cry away from truly surpassing the Covid-19 global pandemic, and there’s still plenty of work that needs to be done. In fact, it’s honestly left many of us speechless knowing that we’ve already seen many major economic waves happen, such as the flash crash of the cryptocurrency, and to think that the world has yet to pull the ace up its sleeve.
However, with a post-pandemic world seemingly taking form right in front of us, the next few steps up ahead will heavily be decided by the manufacturing industry and how it plans to address the current issues it faces. And so, today, we’ll be going over just why it plays a key role in shaping the world as we know it.
Stressed Global Supply Chains And Demand For Consumer Electronics
Up until today, the world still faces an overwhelming issue with stressed global supply chains that have emptied inventories, forced certain warehouses to gather dust, and exposed a number of industries to long turnover times and a long list of backlogs. What’s worse, given the massive surge of users on digital platforms, demand for consumer electronics is rising to an all-time high during a crucial period when supply can’t keep up. As a result, it all boils down to the global manufacturing industry on how they approach these challenges for the second half of 2021.
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Maximizing Currently Available Resources:
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- Now more than ever before is the objective of maximizing efficiency and minimizing drawdowns becoming increasingly important given the circumstances. And unless companies utilize the advantages of automation for shop-floor operations, supply chains will remain bottlenecked given the suboptimal work capacity.
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Ongoing Chip Shortages:
- We’ve yet to resolve the issue of chip shortages, and since nearly every appliance, gadget, and piece of equipment known to the modern man is built with a chip at its foundation, manufacturing can’t begin without the necessary materials. And because supply remains and procurement of raw materials is still at the mercy of the global pandemic, contingency action falls under the hands of the manufacturing industry to seek alternative methods of appeasing current levels of demand.
Economic Recovery And Its Environmental Impact
Furthermore, while the economic recovery mentioned above entails the stabilization of the global supply chains and for inventory to catch up with demand, these factors largely depend on the environment and can subsequently cause a struggle with our climate goals. Therefore, if we were to solely focus on the reopening of the world economy to reach pre-pandemic levels, it might come at the cost of our surroundings and cause carbon emissions to shoot up at a threatening speed. As a result, it is mandatory for the manufacturing industry to acknowledge and account for the environmental impact resurging operations will bring.
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Rising Consumer Activity And Minimizing Waste Generation:
- Much of the world’s retail sales have now shifted onto e-commerce, and with rising consumer activity to be dealt with, we must also concern ourselves with minimizing the waste this generates. Economic recovery in this day and age also calls for environmental action, and industry leaders must pioneer the shift toward sustainable manufacturing processes, carbon neutrality, and the adoption of Industry 4.0.
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Utilizing Advantages Of The New Work Environment:
- The remote work environment has become the new norm and has enabled many opportunities for companies to not only diversify their talent pool but also address certain gaps through outsourcing. And with what bit the hybrid workplace can provide, it is a step forward in maximizing the efficiency on the shop floor.
Unparalleled Growth Opportunities For Small To Medium Enterprises
Lastly, while these challenges do pose threats to the industry as a whole, they also serve as opportunities for small to medium enterprises to grow and gain an edge against bigger companies. And because of the current circumstances, we are in the middle of an unprecedented level playing field for businesses situated in the manufacturing industry to innovate.
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Adoption Of New Technology:
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- Despite the advances in technology, many companies, especially those in the manufacturing industry, have lagged behind in upgrading their technical infrastructure. And with the current economic situation, there’s no better chance to acquire better tech, such as
- , automatic packaging systems, and industrial printing setups, to name a few.
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Change Is Coming, So Buckle Up’
Overall, whichever path the global manufacturing industry takes will certainly decide the next few changes to come, so we strongly recommend for relevant industries position themselves in advantageous areas. And for those directly involved with manufacturing, take the information mentioned above as a guideline to approach the second half of 2021.
