What’s Trending In Industrial Manufacturing In 2017

Industrial manufacturers are always the ones affected by economic changes and government policies. Although the manufacturing industry has started benefiting from the growth of globalization, this seems to be short-lived as more and more nationalist governments around the world are being established, and that includes the U.S.

On the other hand, some industries that specialize in molding fabrication such as Weiss-Aug reel to reel molding continue to thrive despite all odds. Even some equipment manufacturers and service providers like ICON Equipment Distributors reported some increase in their inventory. This means that equipment manufacturers are able to withstand the uncertainty of the global economy.

What do such companies do in order to cope with challenges that are presented from economic changes? These companies change with the trends of manufacturing, and today we will look at these trends for this 2017.

1. Customer Connectivity

Gone are the days that manufacturers just produce their products, sell to their customers, and forget everything else. Nowadays, the production and delivery of goods is just the beginning of everything. This means a product being delivered to a client or a customer is just the beginning of a long and lasting business relationship that is being developed through customer connectivity.

Customer service is not any more limited to troubleshooting of issues. What many companies do today is they get in touch with customers to monitor their experience with the products and to get constant feedback to improve such experiences. It happens using different platforms such as social media marketing and the internet of things.

2. Pricing Innovation

In recent decades, human resources adopted a system of compensation known as pay-for-performance. To track work, they use apps like Clockspot: Online Time Clock & Employee Timesheet Software. This system has become the most popular alternative to a fixed salary.

Industrial manufacturers are using the pay-for- performance pricing instead of fixed prices for products. In this way, they can reduce the number of visits their technicians make in order to repair some issues. Customers can now pay for what they have, and they pay high prices for quality products.

3. Technical Partnership

Self-sufficiency is ideal in an economic climate in which competition is less. However, almost every company innovates to dominate the market. Hospitals and healthcare institutions that have decided to go high-tech are now in partnership with tech companies such as IBM, Google, and the like.

Industrial manufacturers are also doing the same. They are not only merging with tech companies, they are also inviting experts in other different fields in order to incorporate their system with new technologies. This is why some equipment manufacturers are now having partnerships with software companies for the purpose of product integration.

4. Hiring Diverse Talent

In the past, industrial manufacturers preferred those who specialize in a particular field. If they manufacture tools and materials, they wouldn’t just look for engineers. Instead, they would look for material engineers.

Today, an engineer who doesn’t know anything about coding is less preferred. However, knowing how to code or read data without knowing how an engine works is also futile.

These days, industrial manufacturers prefer to hire people with diverse talents rather than different people with different talents.

Final Thoughts

Trends are determined by the economic climate, but there are times that trends run counter and reverse a situation instead. The trends in industrial manufacturing this 2017 are a product global economic uncertainty, yet they are becoming the tools to survive it as well. This year, the above trends will continue to change the way industrial manufacturers deal with economic and market challenges.

 

Photo by PattyJansen pixabay