Dealing with supply chain issues – lead times of more than a year for some components – means that the company has had to raise levels of inventory, not an ideal situation, but they’ve been able to adapt through it all.

One of the last things you want to hear if you’re a manufacturer, distributor, vendor, or supplier is “your shipment is stuck and we have no idea when it’ll arrive.” What do you say to your customer?

It has been said so often, and it holds so true – the events of the last year and a half have been unprecedented. The global effects of COVID-19 have rippled through the supply chain impacting every industry including, but not limited to, delays in shipping, rising prices, and material availability. 

English actor and author Alan Bennett once said, “We started off trying to set up a small anarchist community, but people wouldn’t obey the rules.”

Vaccines are being rolled out across the globe. The process is occurring faster in some areas than others, sure, but the fact that a vaccine is being distributed at all means that the worst is behind us and that everything will go back to normal. Right?

This past year has been ripe with massive disruptions. In fact, 94% of manufacturers surveyed say demand has significantly changed as a result of COVID-19. 

Industry 4.0 represents the fourth and newest phase of the Industrial Revolution, one that is centered around interconnectivity, automation, machine learning, and real-time data. 

This spring have presented no shortage of hurdles. While many industries are facing new challenges, for those in manufacturing, this may mean continuing production despite supply chain disruptions, health and safety concerns, and economic impact.

Is your manufacturing operation continuing during this outbreak? If so, you are not alone. Eighty-eight percent of our manufacturing survey respondents work at an essential business.

Until recently, such sophisticated quality automation processes and capabilities required big investments in manufacturing systems beyond the reach of smaller manufacturers. However, current trends have brought commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) solutions into the SME market.