The future’s bright, and its dependent on IT

ERP and supply chain systems in the wide manufacturing sector will see a new wave of growth this year, far exceeding last year’s implementation rates. Independent UK analyst Cambashi says that its econometric models indicate growth at around 10% for 2003, with similar predictions for engineering IT. Says Mike Evans, managing director of Cambashi, “IT lost the trust of its clients because of all the hype of the last couple of years. But users are asking for help now to deal with business drivers like the End of Life Directive.” He says these will drive a tidal wave of change, forcing companies to invest in new and additional IT to support different, as well as more efficient, processes across product lifecycles. He also makes the point that despite tough economic times, globally, disposable income continues to rise “quite fast”, also fuelling growth. Beyond these, he makes the point that, looking at the big picture, as resources become more scarce and commodity prices rise, so the emphasis will again fall on design and manufacturing processes to deliver more for less. That in turn, he suggests, will push users towards ‘pay as you go’, rental and more IT outsourcing and service provision, not only to make IT support affordable, but also more flexible and responsive, while also reducing risk. He’s not suggesting a resurgence of the ASP (application service provider) concept, nor that Web services will make computing as a service available tomorrow. But he is saying that IT as a whole will be increasingly recognised as a key enabler and supporter of better processes and of essential change. It will also force attention on what amount to integrated PLM (product lifecycle management) systems and systems that support collaborative engineering, as well as on supply chain systems that, at one end improve demand forecasting, and at the other make supplies replenishment slicker, faster and much less inventory intensive. The latter is all blue sky stuff, but it’s not difficult to extrapolate the thinking down from the multi-site, international organisations to which this clearly applies, to the smaller manufacturers and contractors feeding the machines.