What’s the SCOOP? - The Future of Manufacturing

By Philip Spagnoli Stoten Founder of SCOOP

By Philip Spagnoli Stoten

As the world starts to recover from the pandemic, thoughts are turning to what the future will look like and how business will operate as we come to terms with the impacts of the virus on work and society. For the manufacturing world, some of the change is around automation and digital transformation. For others it’s about supply chain security and preparing for the next disruption, which is both unknown and inevitable. Many companies are also exploring where and how they manufacture and if long supply chains are the right way to go.

I’ve been talking to friends, industrial leaders and anyone who’ll listen, as well as reading voraciously, to try and understand what the world might look like post-COVID-19. Here’s a few pieces that have caught my eye:

Starting with the supply chain, I have been reading more and more about the desire of governments, particularly the US, to secure supply chains for future resilience. This piece from Forbes writer, Marco Annunziata, entitled “The Supply Chain Begins – And Ends – In The Earth” really does underline the importance of supply chain from the ground up.
Also in Forbes, Deborah Wince-Smith states that “America’s Lack Of Chips Is More Than A Blip”. She’s not wrong! Unfortunately, with the current semiconductor shortage, 169 American industries are now impacted, according to estimates from Goldman Sachs — and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
And lastly from Forbes, so you don’t think that’s all I read, Amar Hanspal explores the connection between design and manufacturing in an excellent article entitled, “When Two Disciplines Collide: Design Meets Manufacturing For Product Magic”. Amar says “Compare the delight of unboxing an iPhone or downloading an intuitive application like Instagram with the experience of trying to assemble furniture from one of your favorite stores. In stark contrast to user experience, the “manufacturing experience” leaves a lot to be desired.”
We’ve been talking a lot recently about a manufacturing renaissance in both the US and Europe, largely due to a desire to shorten supply chains and to reduce reliance on certain countries, particularly China. I shared some ideas on this topic with two guests on SCOOPstudio’s newest monthly show MADE IN EUROPE earlier this month. And read some great insight from one of those guest, ALL Circuits’ CEO Bruno Racault, who penned a piece entitled “Made in France – A Manufacturing Renaissance” back in April and contributed the last “What’s the SCOOP – Europe’s Manufacturing Renaissance” feature along with KATEK Group CEO Rainer Koppitz, Writer and consultant Marco Annunziata, CloudNC CEO Theo Saville, and European industry spokesperson Dieter Weiss.
Meanwhile in Iceland, they have been experimenting with a shorter working week for some time and recent published results that show impressive outcomes. “Iceland’s four-day working week trials an ‘overwhelming success’, report finds” is well worth a read and some thought as we contemplate a more automated world with greater machine autonomy.