The future of manufacturing is changing rapidly as technology evolves and touches every aspect of the manufacturing process. The ultimate aim of any manufacturing activity is to produce goods that are compatible with the needs of consumers worldwide. With advances in material and process science, the future of manufacturing is marked by ever-optimized solutions to complex problems. To ensure that products satisfy customer demands, manufacturers today are dependent upon a wide array of technologies ranging from traditional manufacturing techniques to more sophisticated computer software to bring their products to market on time and within maximum profitability. In order to take full advantage of these technologies, manufacturers need to build highly integrated supply chains consisting of a number of partner companies that not only operate in parallel but are also required to support each other’s activities. Machine vision and deep learning technologies are enabling manufacturers to build systems that are capable of quickly assimilating information from a wide variety of sensors, data-handling devices that run on the latest manufacturing software and platforms such as ERP applications and cloud computing.
The introduction of manufacturing software such as ERP has led to the evolution of supply chain management systems that have dramatically improved the efficiency of the manufacturing process. These supply chain management systems have greatly improved the speed at which components are moved through various steps in the production process thereby enabling manufacturers to increase the pace at which they produce. The adoption of such technologies such as ERP has also resulted in the emergence of many new jobs opportunities in supply chain management owing to the increase in demand for skilled personnel to manage this aspect of manufacturing. The future of manufacturing therefore appears to be one characterized by ever-improving machine vision and deep learning technologies coupled with an increase in the speed of implementing these technologies. Machines are becoming smarter and thus more capable of assimilating and processing large volumes of data at a faster rate, which in turn will enable manufacturers to make more informed decisions regarding the production process and thereby improve the quality and quantity at every step.
Alongside this, a rapid increase in the supply of skilled labor (both white collar and blue collar) has also helped manufacturers to leverage cheap labor and increase their competitiveness. Manufacturers have therefore been able to lower the cost of manufacturing relative to other industries, leading to positive results for profitability. These improvements in manufacturing businesses can only be expected to grow as artificial intelligence is developed and robots become even more intelligent. Thus we can expect to see the future of manufacturing businesses on a blue-chip platform driven by artificial intelligence.