Latest news with #10thAnnualStateofManufacturing&SupplyChainReport
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What Is The State Of Manufacturing & Supply Chain In 2025?
Fictiv's 2025 State of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Report This month, I'm excited to share the results of Fictiv's 10th Annual State of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Report. Every year, we survey hundreds of supply chain and manufacturing leaders across multiple industries to understand their perspectives, challenges, and predictions for 2025. I'm especially excited to dive into the broader supply chain results, particularly in a year marked by massive tariff and trade disruptions. Our first findings concern business uncertainty. With the shift in the U.S. President's trade policies, almost 100% say they're concerned that trade wars are likely to escalate in the next few years (clearly demonstrated by widespread global tariffs). Key Findings 96% of manufacturing leaders report they're concerned about the impact of the U.S. President's trade policies. 93% believe trade wars will likely escalate in the next few years, whereas 42% are now 'very concerned' —a 6-point increase over 2024. 91% note that global tensions are being considered in their company's long-term supply chain strategy—a 5-point increase over 2024. Growing global business uncertainty Looking at this chart, it's clear senior leaders are concerned about tariffs, particularly the impacts on costs and profitability, as well as global business. As a result, many are planning to increase manufacturing in the U.S. The next key finding is around accelerating supply chain disruptions. Across the board, executives are saying they need to accelerate how they manage their supply chain. Two-thirds or 68% said that onshoring is a key priority this year for their teams. Key Findings 68% of leaders prioritize onshoring as a key supply chain strategy in 2025, especially in industries needing complex parts at scale, like MedTech, clean energy, and EVs. 77% report a lack of resources (e.g., workforce, budget) severely limits their ability to manage their supply chains effectively (an increase over 2024). 52% of manufacturing leaders identify supplier quality, reliability, and compliance as significant challenges. Accelerating supply chain disruptions On the flip side, three-quarters, or 77%, say they lack the resources to effectively manage their supply chain as it is today. This is difficult given that leaders also say they want to onshore their supply chain. If supply chain resources are already limited, moving back to the U.S. will be a challenge. 50% are also saying that quality and reliability are significant challenges. Some are running well-performing supply chains, while another half are running inadequate supply chains. Our third major finding is around scaling production. In my opinion, this has been the most difficult it's ever been. What you see here is 91% say they're facing barriers to innovation. In other words, they're struggling to find high-quality supply chain partners to do low-volume builds. Key Findings 91% of manufacturing and supply chain leaders face barriers to product innovation and introduction, with nearly half struggling to source fast, high-quality solutions for low-volume builds. 86% report sourcing parts and materials takes time away from initiatives like new product innovation and introduction, making it increasingly difficult to move into and scale production. 90% of leaders consistently report that digital manufacturing platforms are an essential service for production (up from 86% in 2024). Scaling production more difficult than ever Secondly, almost 90% are saying that all the work required to source parts is taking away from innovation. In other words, you're launching a new product, and sourcing has become the bottleneck, the long pole on the tent. This makes driving innovation to build electric vehicles, rockets, and surgical equipment incredibly difficult—stalling the innovations of tomorrow. In the 10 years we've been doing this report, we've consistently seen this trend. Executives are looking to digitize supply chains. This continues to be a key focus area and it's even up from the 86% that we saw last year. So my takeaway is that for teams that are scaling new products, and moving into production, you have to think about this as another phase of development. You have development that happens by building prototype one. Getting it in the market is the next and most difficult step. Key Findings 95% report weather and extreme climate events are impacting their supply chain strategy in 2025. 91% now have sustainability initiatives and governance in place to help drive sustainability goals. 52% believe nearshoring and onshoring strategies are critical to supporting sustainability efforts. Sustainability takes hold The fourth finding centers around sustainability. This continues to be a major focus for our audience. As we know at the macro level, we've seen massive fires in California, floods and tsunamis globally, and hurricanes. These weather and extreme climate events are impacting supply chains around the world, and no industry is protected. It's heartening to see that 91% now have sustainability initiatives and some type of governance in place, an increase from previous years. ESG has been a clear focus area for many executives and supply chain teams. However, this year, with 91% saying they have actual governance in place to do a triple bottom line, that's really encouraging to me. We're seeing sustainability as a large driver and metric for consideration in supply chains. And lastly, nearshoring and onshoring are critical to supporting sustainability efforts. So nearshoring might not necessarily be a pure climate or sustainability play. There are other factors like economics, and geopolitical factors in play here. We thought this was an interesting takeaway. It's not just about reducing the carbon emissions by being closer to your customer, there are multiple considerations when nearshoring but excited to see this continue to be top of mind in our 10th Annual State of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Report. And you can't have a report on the state of manufacturing in 2025 without AI. AI is the top trend shaping their long-term strategy, whether it's the latest, greatest LLMs or looking at augmenting human tasks, AI is at the forefront of our customers' minds. Key Findings 87% of leaders report advanced levels of maturity with their company's AI implementations. 94% use AI for manufacturing and supply chain operations, such as inventory management and product design. 56% of Manufacturing and supply chain leaders identify AI as the leading trend shaping their long-term strategy, with economic headwinds following at 53%. AI advances Also, 87% report advanced levels of maturity in implementing AI. Almost 100% say their teams are getting better at using it for day-to-day tasks. I personally use it every single day, and I encourage all of our employees, partners, and customers to look at the ways that AI can help bring efficiencies to their work. 94% are saying that AI for manufacturing and supply chain operations is their main implementation, whether it's inventory management, product design, research, or supplier development. One of the best implementations that I saw was all around SCARS, so Corrective Action Reports and using it to help automate the process of managing supply chains. There are a lot of great applications and agentic products out there, and I would really encourage you to look at this to streamline your operations. If you don't do it, your competition will. I think that while AI is here and will cause a lot of disruption, I think there are multiple factors to consider. So make sure you're figuring out how to implement it, implement it well, and use it daily, but it's not necessarily the silver bullet to solve all supply chain challenges. Here are a few useful takeaways from the report for your consideration: To download the full report, please go here. You can also watch an in-depth webinar discussion with Fictiv's General Managers of China, India, Mexico, and the U.S.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Manufacturing, Supply Chain Leaders Concerned About Trump Trade Policies
Digital manufacturing platform Fictiv today announced the results of its "10th Annual State of Manufacturing & Supply Chain Report." The company surveyed 254 senior manufacturing and supply chain leaders to glean insight into mounting concerns regarding evolving U.S. trade policies, preventing supply chain disruptions and scaling innovation, AI and sustainability. Most Read on IEN: Lawsuit Targets Ford Mustang Mach-E's Unconventional Doors Ford Shows Off Treasure Trove of Rarely Seen Vehicles WWII Bomb Found By Earth-Moving Machine Causes Hours of Travel Chaos This 'Dune' Isn't Fiction. It's the Longest Conveyor Belt in the U.S. According to the report, some 96% of respondents have concerns over the impact that President Donald Trump's trade policies will have on supply chains. The chief among them is the potential toll tariffs will have on costs and profitability (57% of respondents), followed by the administration's renewed emphasis on bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. (53%). Manufacturing leaders are also fearful that tariffs will drive business uncertainty (48%), impact efforts to prioritize nearshoring (37%) and create a China+1 strategy (32%). Only 4% of professionals surveyed said they had no concerns about Trump's policies, and 93% think trade wars will likely escalate in the next few years. About 68% of leaders are prioritizing onshoring as a key supply chain strategy in 2025, especially in markets that require complex parts at scale, like medical technology, electric vehicles and clean energy. Still, 77% of manufacturing and supply chain pros say a lack of resources, namely labor and money, is severely limiting their ability to manage supply chains effectively. Sustainability remains top of mind as 95% of professionals say weather and extreme climate events are impacting their 2025 supply chain strategy. Some 91% have sustainability initiatives and the governance in place to drive those goals forward. Finally, the tech topic on top of everybody's minds, AI. Nearly 95% of industry pros say they use AI for manufacturing and supply chain operations, including inventory management and product design. More than half (56%) say AI is the leading trend shaping the company's 2025 strategy. Economic headwinds came in second at 53%. Increasing competition and labor costs/shortages tied for a distant third place at 41%. Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news.
