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:
Enterprise Integration. Creating the "one company" around common processes and systems has been a rallying cry of successful U.S. manufacturers for years. Speed and agility require efficient ways of working, supported by reliable and consistent information. You can't do this if your company is a collection of disparate information systems and fiefdoms. Get everyone on the same page!
Customer Awareness. Seeing clearly and listening intently to customers about their problems and desires is the real meaning of being customer-centric. It's not about doing whatever customers want; it's about understanding the context in which they live and work, and helping them progress to higher states. Learn to listen!
Inter-Organizational Collaboration. One of the ironies of globalization has been the need to focus more as you try to do more. Vertically integrated organizational models have given way to what some call "partner networks," or, to use a favorite phrase of technocrats, "business eco-systems." Whatever the label, trying to do more with greater force while emphasizing core competencies has led manufacturers to try to extend their skills through outsourcing and other partnership arrangements. But the issue has always been managing and leveraging these networks. Now, with Web 2.0 tools, there is a greater opportunity to manage them, at least from an information-sharing point of view. Get beyond connectivity!
Information Management. The biggest issue with IT and automation isn't that we need more information. Manufacturers are awash in it. Extracting meaning, organizing the information, and building decision-making processes around all the computer-generated data are the challenges. The solution: architectural clarity and discipline, and process and cultural reformation. Join the movement! The Information Revolution is just beginning!