As an industrial manufacturing expert, you know the challenges that come with complex production processes. Manufacturing is one of the biggest and most significant industries in the world, and it develops at a fast pace. In this article we set out several trends that will help you stay ahead in the years to come.
1. Globalisation and supply chain complexity
Rising trade costs in North America and Brexit in Europe are two of the forces that have made supply chains harder to manage. Shipping costs from Asia, and China in particular, have gone up as well, driven partly by a shortage of warehousing capacity. Continuing political uncertainty makes some manufacturers hold back, which in turn delays investment.
In some cases manufacturers are forced to untangle complex global sourcing issues, which can lead them to look for near-shore production partners. As a result, more and more manufacturers are adopting hybrid or cloud integration solutions to manage their supply chain infrastructure in an agile, flexible way.
2. Smart manufacturing and 5G
The fifth-generation network is spreading across the globe. Where earlier cellular technologies struggled with capacity from the start, 5G is part of a broader global transformation. Industrial manufacturers expect faster connections, and with them the ability to expand centralised tracking, cloud use and quality inspection. As coverage grows and connections become more reliable, an ecosystem of smart industrial manufacturing takes shape.
3. Agility and responsiveness
Improving technology pushes manufacturing companies to become more agile and responsive. New demands and changing market conditions mean customers expect ever more from production cycle times and end-product quality. Cutting the time it takes to create, schedule and process a customer's order becomes increasingly crucial. That is good news for manufacturers too: the better they can match production cycles to emerging demand, the more agility they build into their operations.
4. 3D printing
3D printing is another fast-moving technology with the potential to transform industrial manufacturing. It lets organisations produce prototypes faster and more cheaply, which is a more cost-efficient way to troubleshoot and test. It also allows manufacturers to make parts that are in high demand without waiting for tooling. Industries such as automotive and aerospace have already built 3D printing into their production processes, and other sectors are following.
5. Sustainability
Sustainability keeps climbing the agenda in manufacturing. Companies are finding ways to run production without taking a toll on the environment. Sustainable manufacturing rests on three pillars:
- A unified way of working: establish a workflow across all engineering departments that promotes transparency and efficiency.
- Current technology: train employees to work with the best available tools and technologies. Efficiency, safety and collaboration all benefit from that investment.
- Lean engineering operations: build a manufacturing process in which waste, overproduction, scrap and delay are eliminated.
Those pillars are broad, so here are some concrete steps to make an industrial manufacturing process more sustainable:
1. Replace old compressors with new, high-efficiency ones 2. Reduce energy consumption during non-production time through organisational and technical measures, such as proper stand-by settings 3. Use fluids with minimal environmental impact 4. Add equipment that supports improvement, such as a resource-preserving filter 5. Extract and recover oil 6. Recycle
Production Heroes as your industrial manufacturing partner
As an industrial manufacturing company, [Production Heroes](/) is focused on delivering high-quality, sustainable products. We follow manufacturing trends closely and implement them where we can. Sustainability matters to us, which is why we only work with manufacturers who use current technology and take their ecological footprint seriously.
Looking for a capable [product manufacturer](/process)? Get in touch. We guide you all the way through, with transparent and frequent communication. And we do more than manufacture: we have two dozen professionals on our floor with over twenty years of experience in design, engineering and manufacturing, who can help take your innovation to the next level.