Navigating a Slow Economy: Strategies for Manufacturers
Lisa Anderson of LMA Consulting Group was quoted in Manufacturing Dive about how manufacturers can navigate a slowing economy.
A Manufacturing Resurgence Is On Its Way
Manufacturing appears to be turning the corner. According to the ISM, the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) recorded a contraction but at the slowest pace of the recent cycle. In fact, this is the third straight month of improvement.
The Resurgence of the Manufacturing Workforce
Manufacturing is making a resurgence in the U.S. and other countries around the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a shortage of 550,000 stable manufacturing jobs to be filled in manufacturing businesses nationwide.
Why Is Inventory Accuracy Foundational to Success?
Inventory accuracy is foundational to success. Most clients aren't concerned about inventory, and they shouldn't be if they can count on what their system says.
Predictable Revenue & Resilient Operations for Manufacturing Success
Manufacturing is in a state of flux. After seven straight months of contraction in manufacturing, it is not surprising manufacturers are thinking about cutting back. On the other hand, in many industries, manufacturers continue to have a robust backlog and are growing faster than their capacity.
Optimizing Business Decision Tradeoffs with SIOP
Making the appropriate business decisions will make or break success. Executives get paid the big bucks to make these decisions. Unfortunately, one poor decision can outweigh thousands of good ones rapidly. SIOP (Sales Inventory Operations Planning), also known as S&OP, is a tool that will optimize these tradeoffs for effective decision making.
Using Capacity Planning to Increase Revenue & Profitability
Manufacturing is on a downward trend after eight months of PMI (purchasing manager's index) below 50. It dropped to 46 in June. China's manufacturing also shrank for a third month in a row to a PMI of 49. Yet manufacturers backlogs remain relatively robust in many industries, leading executives perplexed on what to do about capacity shortfalls.
SIOP / S&OP: Don’t Reshore; Move Manufacturing Forward
Globalization is not working. Geopolitics abound. For example, the war in Russia and Ukraine ravages on. There are concerns around the nuclear power plant in Ukraine, occupied by Russia. And that is aside from the impact on oil, food, commodities and much more. China continues to threaten Taiwan and has already changed Hong Kong. It is no longer the same for business. There are countless risks throughout the world.
Strategies to Expand Thinking to Innovate & Advance Technology
It is not easy to expand your thinking, open yourself up to new ideas, and think creatively while completely focused on day-to-day execution. Yet it will be the most important ingredient to success in the next several years.
How Smart Manufacturers Are Navigating Interest Rate Hikes
Interest rates have increased by a historic amount within the last year. Increases of almost 5 points on such an aggressive timeline is already having a significant impact on manufacturers and distributor’s ability to fund and support their business growth.