The post-pandemic push to make supply chains more regional and resilient is creating growth opportunities for many of the domestic small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that large original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) rely on. These SMEs survived the waves of offshoring in the 2000s, often because they made lower-volume or costly-to-ship parts for automotive, aerospace, or industrial equipment sectors. But it was challenging for them to invest in new equipment or facilities when there wasn’t much growth. Now some of the growth is coming back, and there is an opportunity for these SMEs to adopt new software and manufacturing innovations, and rethink how to improve the efficiency and productivity of their operations.
How Smaller Manufacturers Can Upgrade Their Tech
Six ways to get started.
September 21, 2023
Summary.
It is an opportune time for SME manufacturers to upgrade their operations by investing in new software and manufacturing innovations. The reasons include pressures on OEMs to build more resilient supply chains and to regionalize production and the falling cost and increasing ease of use of new technologies. This article describes six steps that SMEs can take to adopt these technologies.