The Future for Manufacturing: What’s Next for the Industry?

Since the transition out of the EU, manufacturing industries have had to adapt their business processes into a new way of working. Covid 19 played a part in these pivotal decisions to help prepare them for the future transitions in the market, which will greatly support advancements moving forward.

 

Manufacturers were prepared for this period of disruption, through drawing up contingency plans for all possible eventualities and taking on adaptations to their current way of working through scenarios such as the following:

 

1. Stock Buffers: To give them a buffer in the first few months they stored parts or goods and even took on additional warehouse space to give them a buffer during the first few months

2. Supply Chain Changes: To avoid potential delays, they brought in temporary supply chain adjustments, such as using different routes or ports.

 

Now, as the initial disruption settles down, it is time to lay down long-term plans from all that has been learnt along the way.

 

So, what’s next for manufacturers? And how are they future proofing their operations to help improve stability?

 

 

The implications that came with Brexit included administrative delays and additional tariffs which for manufacturers was not ideal and clarified the ineffective long-term solution of this. This means that businesses are needing to assess whether it still makes sense to continue importing from or via the EU, or whether to explore alternative arrangements.

 

The potential options that could be considered include developing local, UK-based supply chains, or importing from outside Europe altogether. Alternatively, manufacturers will be looking into new logistics partners based on the truck and driver shortages.

 

 

Since supply chains are now being restructured, Brexit has also opened new sales opportunities for the UK to broker its own trade deals, which makes trading with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the US much more favourable. This is because international markets offer significant expansion opportunities, while also enabling firms to mitigate any potential losses from the EU.

 

Find out more about the international trading and quality regime in place among our sister company, Clevtec, here.

 

 

As they optimize their supply chain and sales strategies for Brexit, manufacturers can react in these times of change by reviewing new technological tools that will help bring efficiencies, boost productivity, or increase sustainability.

Technologies such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence and data analytics are becoming increasingly sophisticated, with use-cases now emerging across manufacturing and logistics processes.

 

See how our sister company Clevtec Services revolutionised their digital design engineering to support a different prism of design, here.

 

 

Through preparing and adapting to Brexit there has been a steep learning curve for manufacturers, however Clevedon Fasteners have assurance about their prospects. We have a long heritage of resilience and innovation and have once again shown our capacity to adapt and evolve in the face of new challenges.

 

Through our honesty, integrity and credibility, our focus on using these external influences is to provide a catalyst for driving growth.

 

Learn more about Clevedon Fasteners and how we can supply cost-effective, unbeatable industrial fasteners and components to you, here.