The bad news about the economy may continue for some time this year, but manufacturers should not take their eyes off a number of long-term business and technology trends that will continue to course through industry.
It would be easy to get distracted by the current crisis. Cost reductions, layoffs, reorganizations, and other belt-tightening tactics are happening in nearly every sector in response to the slowdown in consumer spending for everything from clothing to cars. It would appear that the meltdown has forced us into a vast retreat.
Yet, underlying trends in such areas as enterprise integration, customer awareness, inter-organizational collaboration, and information management will not go away or be content to occupy the back burner. They were shaping the context of manufacturing before the recession, and they will continue to do so throughout and beyond it.
But how does a company beset by economic woes find the wherewithal to understand these trends and turn them into advantages? Manufacturers must dig deep and find a way. Otherwise, they risk falling behind competitively once a recovery occurs. Pay attention to the following: