Comment & Analysis
British manufacturing continues to experience incredible pressure to remain competitive thanks to increasing globalisation, aggressive competition and a greater sophistication of the products requested by consumers to be designed and manufactured.
Combine these factors with disruptors like cloud, mobile computing, additive and subtractive manufacturing and you’re describing an environment that is becoming confusing to some of our smaller manufacturers.
If we are truly serious about enabling British manufacturing then the industry as a whole needs to roll its sleeves up and work together to deliver some pragmatic initiatives that genuinely make a difference to the typical manufacturer, who doesn’t have the resources of larger organisations.
That’s why Autodesk has developed The Future of British Manufacturing Initiative, a hands-on approach to enabling design and manufacturing companies to increase their productivity and innovation through what we call “repetitive advantage”. The initiative incorporates four elements that I’d encourage any owner/manager of a British design or manufacturing organisation to engage in.
First is the Future of Making Things (FoMT) online readiness assessment. After 20 minutes you will get instant feedback on how ready your business is for the FoMT. Of course this not a magic wand that solves your issues, but it’s a great place to start and will challenge your thinking a little. It’s totally confidential and I’d encourage as many design and manufacturing leaders in the UK to engage in the assessment.
There are then four regional FoMT events to show how businesses can practically start stepping into the future today. To achieve results manufacturers need to be aware of what’s possible and make a start. I’m excited to have our industry partners at these events so that participants will be able to get answers to key questions and connect with those companies that can help their business.
Autodesk is also planning a Fast Track programme open to any British design or manufacturing company that has completed the FoMT Readiness Assessment, to help introduce repetitive advantage into your business in a world where demands are high and resources are limited.<
Last but not least we plan to round the year off with a national FoMT event, showcasing some of the design and manufacturing businesses that are on their journey. We will share insights gained from the assessment and discuss just how ready Britain is for the FoMT.
So you’re probably asking yourself – why is Autodesk doing this?
Only one thing matters – and that’s the sustainable profitable growth of UK design & manufacturing.
We understand that design and manufacturing businesses make their money by following a process, which ultimately converts an enquiry for their products or services into cash. Anything that hampers this ability becomes an issue for the people in charge who in turn are running a business built on selling fixed value products, which isn’t sustainable.
Many organisations have initiatives in place to reduce costs, improve productivity, optimise processes, or simply innovate. But even with these, the speed at which new developments are entering the market is at an increasingly alarming rate.
The future belongs to companies that quickly figure out how to collaborate and personalise their products and services, flexibly design and manufacture them and ultimately step into the world of connected services. Autodesk wants to enable British designers and manufacturers by providing a truly agile product innovation platform that helps them do this continuously and profitably.
If that sounds like you then engage in the initiative today by:
- taking the assessment
- attending one of the events
Find out more.
The views of the writer do not necessarily represent the views of the Institution.