Globalization has created a fiercely competitive environment for domestic manufacturers. U.S. producers have led the world in most measures that matter for the past 50 years, but the rising productivity requirements and customer demands in the global marketplace stress this foundation of our economy. Manufacturing strategies that worked for the past 50 years will not be sufficient to win in a 2015 global economy.

Illinois manufacturers can compete and win IF they implement Next Generation Manufacturing strategies today:

Customer-Focused Innovation
Develops, makes and markets new customer solutions at a pace faster than the competition.

• Rapid and recurring deployment of commercial roll-outs/world-class speed-to-market
• Systemic innovation across the enterprise (both product/service and business processes and practices), including staff and partners
• Unique customer solutions creation driven by robust market intelligence.

Advanced Talent Management
Secures a competitive performance advantage by having superior systems in place to recruit, hire, develop and retain talent.

• Secures talent and skills from diverse sources and recognizes diversity as a business asset
• Continuously invests in training and education of employees and partners
• Pushes decision-making authority and accountability down through the organization to drive continuous improvement and employee engagement.

Systematic Process Improvement
Records annual productivity, quality and customer-satisfaction gains that exceed the competition.

• Continuously measures performance against world-class benchmarks
• Builds an enterprise-wide culture of a continuous improvement methodology
• Measures continuous improvement at every level and throughout the extended enterprise 
• Invests in technology and training to drive continuous improvement.

Extended Enterprise/Supply Chain Management
Manages a network of suppliers/partners that beats the competition by providing greater flexibility, faster response times and lower costs.

• Breaks apart and rebuilds value chains to create better products/services at lower cost and raises business capabilities
• Establishes a trusted network of partners and suppliers that can respond to opportunities faster than the competition
• Maintains open and ongoing communication across the extended enterprise
• Engages suppliers and partners in strategic planning, sharing customer and competitor information, and responding to new opportunities
• Has in place metrics and processes for improving extended enterprise performance.

“Sustainable” Product Development
Designs and implements waste and energy-use reductions at a level that provides superior cost performance and customer value.

• Accepts that free-market mechanisms are moving toward environmentally sound business practices and adapts to market realities
• Invests in “green” technologies, production methods and business processes that create cost savings and drive market share
• Invests in training and technology that reduces material and energy use.

Global Engagement
Secures business advantages by engaging global markets and talents better than the competition.

• Recognizes that globalization creates both threats and opportunities and creates offensive/defensive capabilities to respond to each
• Engages in multiple foreign markets for export, sourcing and partnership opportunities 
• Has staff and partnerships capable of understanding and operating in foreign markets
• Leverages partnerships/alliances for maximum market penetration, complementary business capabilities, business intelligence and opportunity identification.

Our vision for 2015 Illinois (and America) is to build a manufacturing sector that is more productive and innovative than the rest of the world. That vision will be accomplished by accelerating the adoption of Next Generation Manufacturing strategies.

President Obama has proposed a domestic agenda to spur innovation while boosting manufacturing. Now it’s time for the state of Illinois to do its part to provide manufacturers needed access to a broader range of capabilities in order to continue to grow, add jobs, develop new technologies and transition those technologies to the marketplace. iBi