The World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Advanced Manufacturing – an august body made up of senior executives from the sector and esteemed academics - reports that the global manufacturing industry is "in a state of upheaval and flux". “There are multiple issues, opportunities and threats facing the industry that will define its future. The global recession left a number of large Western manufacturers in decline and needing government resuscitation. Globalization has brought increased competition, with new competitors from emerging markets gaining scale and market share. The incredible economic growth and rise in consumption in emerging markets, such as China and India, has opened up new markets. Multinational companies that want to serve these new markets will need to manage a global manufacturing footprint, with its attendant risks including external disruptions. Policy-makers need to understand the complexity of today’s post-industrial manufacturing ecosystem and the various drivers of change”.
The World Economic Forum's Future of Manufacturing project tracks how the global manufacturing ecosystem is evolving. This five-minute video explores the future of industry and asks does manufacturing really matter? Leading manufacturers and policymakers discuss human capital, currency volatility, labor rate arbitrage and the potential of advanced manufacturing. The Future of Manufacturing project identifies what companies and countries must do to win in a rapidly changing world.
Tiffany Misrahi a Research Analyst at the World Economic Forum writes, “The world’s complexity and interconnectedness demand a new type of model and solutions for the industrial sector. This is exactly what the Global Agenda Council on Advanced Manufacturing is working on. A new model for manufacturing will not come from one stakeholder, but from a multi-stakeholder dialogue accounting for all relevant issues affecting the sector, including the rising middle class in emerging economies, innovation, job creation and skills gaps, trade policy, supply value chain evolution, environmental impact and more.”
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