Crafting the Modern Manufacturing Enterprise

Manufacturers are not simply struggling with COVID-19. They are tackling a perfect storm of challenges ranging from pre-pandemic technology adoption to the future of sustainable manufacturing, alongside new consumer experience expectations and safety requirements that evolve daily.

This was the impetus for my latest paper on how to become a modern manufacturing enterprise in the midst of these challenges.

The video below summarizes these tangled issues and addresses why manufacturers were struggling to scale and monetize transformation efforts before COVID-19.

To avoid repeating these mistakes, manufacturers must take a total-systems-thinking approach that will allow them to re-wire transactional processes, democratize data, and re-think existing and future technology application altogether.

Dissecting the Anatomy of the Modern Enterprise

An agile mindset was key to surviving the changing demands presented by COVID-19, but to truly build this kind of agility into the DNA of an organization its business and operational systems must be designed to support agile product pivot.

To illustrate this, I’ll use the key graphic from my paper as a guide in the video below, which presents a systems view of modern manufacturing.

Pivoting Toward Modern Business

Before beginning a roadmap on how to begin transformation efforts, it is vital to remember total systems thinking is required for a systemic and structured transformation.

My recent work with clients has shown this is accomplished by pivoting in four key areas outlined in this video.

Empowering the Modern Manufacturing Worker

Last but not least, manufacturers must examine the human element behind modernization and the trends shaping workforce transformation.

Modernizing the manufacturing workforce is not a new goal, however it is now a much larger playing field with new stakes and bigger rewards. Enabling and connecting the workplace can not only impact immediate business goals, but serve as an excellent entry point into a broader and deeper digital journey.

See how in this paper co-authored by myself and Neal Meldrum of Microsoft on how manufacturers are moving away from fragmented experiences and legacy systems to an enabled workforce that will speed the ongoing transition of traditionally "blue-collar" workers to digital craftspeople: Creating the Modern Manufacturing Workforce.