Prior to 2020, many countries faced a steady decline in their onshore manufacturing industries. Sourcing majority of their raw materials and supplies from international distributors. However industry change and growth is expected in the coming years. Here is what we learnt about manufacturing in 2020.
Manufacturing is critical to a modern Australian economy. It is key to almost every supply chain and adds value across all sectors.
The Australian government learnt from 2020 that not enough manufacturers were scaling-up in areas that provide good returns to the economy. They have proposed a strategy to grow manufacturing and create jobs onshore by:
- getting the economic conditions right for business
- making science and technology work for industry
- focusing on Australia’s areas of advantage
- building national resilience
Market volatility is essential to staying competitive. With rising material prices and labour costs, manufacturers have to improve their capabilities, put resources into training staff and improving production processes.
For us at Black Lab Design, 2020 highlighted our competitive edge of faster delivery times, lower transport costs and our clients having the ability to visit our production processes in person. The combination of these factors and our ability to adapt with the changing times, opened up a whole new market of revenue.
Furthermore, we learnt the importance of agility. In terms of business strategy, agility is the ability to quickly shift attention and resources to mitigate risks and fully capitalise on growth opportunities. Speed, responsiveness and strong client relationships allowed us to manage industry volatility in this way.
We were a metal fabrication focused manufacturer that quickly adapted to manufacturing hand sanitiser stations that were installed in over 1000 stores across Australia. Meeting market demands and restructuring our business model to continue to gain revenue.
This is an example of how we reinvented ourselves. Many manufacturers and other businesses also followed this method in the wake of the pandemic:
- Finding new market opportunities
- Creating new products to address new needs and demands
- Modifying manufacturing facilities and capabilities
- Restructuring business model to invite new sales opportunities
John Dyck, the CEO from CESMII – A Smart Manufacturing Institute stated, “2020 has really helped bring into focus and reprioritise where to invest for the future for a more resilient manufacturing operation and supply chain.”
