Strategies manufacturers adopt in the next few years will have strong consequences for the future. Manufacturers need to capitalize on new business models and opportunities to stay competitive in today’s dynamically changing environment.

According to a survey conducted by Foresight 2020, manufacturers face 4 primary challenges:
•Achieving efficiency gains through reducing operating costs
•Supply chain management
•Speed of innovation
•Customer relations management (CRM)

ACHIEVING EFFICIENCY GAINS THROUGH REDUCED OPERATING COSTS
At Citadel, our staff of Lean Six Sigma trained consultants, have experience in analyzing and evaluating manufacturing processes, with an emphasis on the clients’ core technology and communication infrastructure. Streamlining workflow, inventory management, and data transfer are crucial to reducing cycle times and costs associated with manufacturing. As globalization produces more pressure on US manufacturers, firms have to find opportunities in aftermarket products, support/maintenance contracts, as well as services. Integration and real time collaboration with suppliers and customers in a never-ending process of improvement of product and service. Delivery will be a key differentiator in today’s manufacturing environment.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
As companies continue to diversify their business strategies and integrate global suppliers and business partners into the supply chain stream, firms are driving harder for more in depth data management and communication throughout the value stream. Many internal IT departments within the manufacturing environment have not adapted their technology to reflect these rapidly changing advances. Supply chain organizations will increasingly implement Business Analytics and Business Intelligence to the value stream to continually reduce costs and increase efficiency. As new supply chain processes evolve, manufacturers will be able to leverage for value across the supply chain. Supply chain visibility within the vendors and collaboration from end users is imperative.

SPEED OF INNOVATION
As the world flattens and networks and economies overlap, speed to market through highly innovative products and services will determine the survival of today’s manufacturers. Real-time metrics – reporting, analysis, dashboards, key process indicators and scorecards enable data from multiple sources, often disparate databases, to tightly monitor operations by having information quickly available to make rapid decisions. Through enhanced technology solutions, such as virtualization and unified communications and collaboration tools such as Sharepoint and the evolution of Web 2.0, firms are able to innovative and deliver to market faster than their competitors.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS MANANGEMENT (CRM)
The shift from a product centric focus, to a service centric focus is forcing manufacturers to achieve real-time detailed market analysis and insight by collaborating closely with clients. Products can rapidly become commoditized, so it is crucial for manufacturers to move rapidly to customer demands for new products, highly customized, with value added services integrated in the offerings. Detailed collaboration with customers, vendors, and suppliers allows for these touch points to grow over the lifetime of a client relationship. New innovative technology solutions such as video conferencing, web enabled data mining, SOA (software oriented architecture), and CRM software solutions are improving the competitive landscape for manufacturers.