Manufacturers lay out blueprint for industrial success

Many of the world’s biggest manufacturing firms could be missing out on “breathtaking” benefits because their production networks are not designed to suit 21st century demands, according to the new guide from Cambridge University. ‘Making the Right Things in the Right Places’ also warns that many firms are relying too heavily on short-term outsourcing and offshoring to countries such as India and China. Without a more systematically designed global “footprint” or network, it says, even leading businesses will miss out on savings, fail to gain market share and could disappear within the space of a generation. The new guide is the result of over a decade’s work by researchers and practitioners in the University’s Institute for Manufacturing, who co-developed a manufacturing network strategy with several leading multinational firms. It provides a set of best-practice guidelines, offering a systematic approach to the development of production networks suitable for 21st century markets. The constantly changing nature of the global environment means that it is essential these issues are continually addressed and adapted to meet evolving circumstances, it maintains. Professor Mike Gregory, Head of the Institute for Manufacturing, said: “Most companies have acknowledged the need to reconfigure global manufacturing but until now there has been no single, coherent approach to doing so. “We are on the brink of wholesale changes in the way in which global manufacturers operate and while that period of transition is potentially hazardous, the potential benefits are breathtaking. For the first time, this guide offers a definition of best practice that builds on existing academic thinking and practical experience to guide them through that uncharted territory.”