When military spending increases, defense-related manufacturing booms. It isn't rocket science to figure that out; however, it can be tempting to wait too long for confirmation of orders.
According to the Institute for Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, manufacturing is on an upswing.
As one of the panelists at the Manufacturers' Summit last week said, "Have you ever seen manufacturing in the news more than it has been lately?" Quite an intriguing point.
Just because many manufacturers are seeing a positive outlook to the future doesn't mean it will turn into a reality unless we back up the talk with action.
A recently released study by Manufacturing and Supply Chain Expert, Lisa Anderson, MBA, CSCP, CLTD, president of LMA Consulting Group Inc., indicates that 70% of US manufacturing executives expect near-sourcing to increase within the next five years.
Manufacturing innovation is the highlight at this summit, where creative solutions and industry trends will be the focus.
As one who drives the Los Angeles freeway system on a daily basis, it is obvious we need improvements; however, we also do not have time to deal with anything but a quick delivery of these improvements.
We all know we should think long term. And we talk about thinking long term. But, do we actually think long term - and live with our decisions even when it's hard? Not nearly as often as we should!
According to the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) risk index, risk is the highest since 2013. It is easy to become complacent. Are you adding risk into your supply chain conversations and plans?
Whether outsourcing, insourcing or near-sourcing or a combination of all three, manufacturers need to reassess their strategies to measure risk and ROI.
