My wife is a Sociology Professor at University of California, Irvine specializing in labor unions. One of her books, Talking Union discussed the struggle between labor and management at the Ford River Rouge plant. Back at that plant in early to mid 20th century, Henry Ford implemented a strategy to control the supply chain, not just to build cars, but to control the manufacturing of raw materials like steel, glass, and rubber. Those days disappeared for a variety reasons, one being that US workers demand a descent wage and working condition as opposed to many of their contemporary global counterparts who didn’t have either.
But a US manufacturing boom may be on the horizon, and opportunities for businesses of all sizes should be included in their ten or twenty year horizons. I came across an article on Motley Fool by Steve Heller who pushed investing in 3-D printer manufacturers. The trend will be no more waiting, ordering, inventory management when many parts can be made on demand. These parts can be custom clothes to body parts to airplane engine parts. The article stated that the only limitation was the imagination of the end user.
Another article, The 4 Technology Trends That Could Bring Back US Manufacturing by Jessica Leber echoed the message but from a US manufacturing point of view. She includes 3-D Printing as one of these trends writing, “It used to be that a company would have to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in building a production line before making one single cheap widget. Now, with additive manufacturing (a term which includes 3-D printing technologies), companies can start to design distributed manufacturing operations that ‘scale with the market they serve,’ says Schmidt. Making things ‘at the point of use or point of need’ will help small companies that make products in the U.S. stay competitive.”
When you develop and implement a strategic plan, I always say to keep one eye on the path in front of you, and one eye on the horizon. Too many of our small business clients ignore the second part and only ask, “What are my sales today, and do I have enough cash to make payroll on Friday?” They completely lack vision because they do not design a strategic plan, and worse off if they do, they don’t steadily implement it.
Almost every business that is supplying some product to their customer, should include these manufacturing technologies in their strategic plan. Sure, it may not materialize for five years in their industry, but to position your company to be ready will label you as an industry leader, not follower. Even now, your strategic plan can include tactics for you to purchase a small 3-D printer for smaller parts that are in high demand.
3-D printing is just one of many technologies that can assist small and medium-sized businesses in their strategy. You can wait in the car as the technology train passes by, or you can wait at the train depot and jump on. You just have to look down the tracks and position yourself.