Happy 2022 Everyone!

Navigating the Current Manufacturing Industry

2021 was a year full of highs and lows, and we look forward to the great things that 2022 has in store! 2021 posed many challenges for various industries due to supply chain issues and other pandemic-related factors. Businesses have had to adapt to these changes in order to remain successful, and one of those industries is Manufacturing. The pandemic had major effects on the manufacturing industry and moving into the new year, there will likely be significant changes being made to reshape the industry as a whole. We have compiled five ways that the manufacturing industry is adjusting operations in order to provide insight into navigating the new changes and improvements being made.  

A Larger Focus on Innovation

In last week’s blog, we discussed all of the incredible technological innovations that are being made in this new year, and the manufacturing industry is not exempt from these advances. Manufacturing can greatly benefit from new technology to automate certain tasks and improve efficiency. Automation, however, would not replace human workers; it would work to improve productivity as a whole. However, despite the major benefits automation offers the industry, only 14% of manufacturing businesses report that innovation and adopting new technologies is not a core part of their business strategy (1). Hopefully, in 2022, this percentage will increase with all of the new developments being produced such as AI, machine learning, and smart machines (3). 

Greater Preparation for Supply Chain Disruptions

The global supply chain crisis had detrimental effects on the manufacturing industry, but many businesses are implementing backup systems to ensure they will not be as susceptible to supply chain issues. Deloitte reports that supply chain strategies for 2022 will be multi-faceted incorporating digital supply chain networks and utilizing data analytics (2). This will allow for more flexible responses to supply chain issues due to greater visibility into the numbers and the current state of the supply chain.  

Greater Sustainability Efforts

A new widespread business imperative is to become more sustainable regardless of industry. Investors and customers are doing more business with companies that promote sustainability and integrate sustainable practices into their businesses. Manufacturers are not exempt from this trend and it is expected that more and more businesses in the industry will adopt more sustainable ways of performing their business operations (3).  

Focus on Cybersecurity

As industries become more integrated between the physical workplace and IT, cybersecurity attacks are becoming more prevalent and are occurring more frequently. In the case of the manufacturing industry, cybersecurity attacks not only threaten their financial information but can also be extremely detrimental to production processes resulting in massive production loss. By adopting and putting into place strong cybersecurity efforts and defense, manufacturing companies can be well-equipped to handle attack efforts (4).  

Changing the way Talent perceives the Industry

The manufacturing industry has been dealing with staff shortages and Vistage reports, “73% of manufacturing businesses report challenges in operating at full capacity due to staffing troubles and 63% to intend to increase the size of their workforce over the next 12 months” (1). The industry is adopting practices such as diversifying the talent pool and appealing to youth in order to try and fill these staff gaps. Making the training process fast and relatively cheap for talent to enter into a well-paying and rewarding career in manufacturing is one way that they hope to boost morale for the unemployed to enter into the manufacturing workforce. Also, 75% of manufacturing CEOs report that they are boosting wages and 59% of those are boosting them by 4% or more (1). 

Overall, manufacturing is finding innovative ways to recoup from the trivial year of 2021 and operate efficiently and effectively in 2022. It is expected for even more efforts to be made to increase resiliency with the unknowns about the supply chain disruptions looming overhead. Implementing an ERP to help streamline and gain visibility is a perfect way to always be prepared for the unknowns, and SAP Business One has the solution for Manufacturing. With features to help manufacturing efficiency, production and planning, inventory management, and meeting regulatory mandates, SAP Business One is ready and well-equipped to increase manufacturing operations with ease. 

Read more about how SAP Business One works for the manufacturing industry here: https://softengine.com/industry/manufacturing/ 

1. https://industrytoday.com/2022-a-crossroads-for-the-manufacturing-industry/ 
2. https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/energy-and-resources/articles/manufacturing-industry-outlook.html 
3. https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/expert-insights/7-manufacturing-trends-for-2022 
4. https://www.upkeep.com/blog/manufacturing-trends-2022