Manufacturing Digital’s Top 10 Manufacturing Moments in 2023

10. COP28: GMIS unites manufacturing sector for decarbonisation

At COP28, the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS) hosted an event at the UAE Pavilion, on 5th December, which was co-chaired by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). Leaders met to discuss decarbonising the manufacturing industry and lowering its carbon footprint.

9. Supply chain resilience

The manufacturing sector cannot function without a supply chain. Bindiya Vakil is the CEO of Resilinc and she spoke with Manufacturing Digital to explore supply chain resilience in 2023. 

“Widespread ESG risks in the supply chain are visibility and knowledge problems,” she said. “Organisations need full transparency into their entire supply chain to see where potential problems are.”

8. Sophos’ report explores ransomware’s impact on manufacturing

Sophos released its new survey report The State of Ransomware in Manufacturing and Production 2023. The results showed that in addition to supporting the supply chain, fighting ransomware must be a top priority for manufacturers, yet 73% of the manufacturers surveyed said they were using backups.

7. 2023 set to be the Year of Autonomous Sourcing, says Keelvar

Another report released in 2023 by Keelvar, an AI supply chain company, revealed that global conflict and labour disputes would be the cause of supply chain disruption across 2023. The report found that to navigate unpredictable conditions, sourcing professionals were revamping traditional processes.

6. Rackspace Technology & Microsoft’s cybersecurity survey

Rackspace Technology and Microsoft also released their 2023 Cybersecurity Research Report, which was conducted by Coleman Parkers Research.

Results showed that cybersecurity remained the top concern in the C-suites of manufacturers.

“AI is driving the need for more investment and governance in cybersecurity, as well as better collaboration between security teams and C-suites. Manufacturers have increased their cyber budgets significantly to address these challenges,” said Jeff DeVerter, Chief Technology Evangelist at Rackspace Technology. 

5. Deloitte’s Jason Bergstrom & Paul Wellener 2023 predictions

In its 2024 Manufacturing Outlook report, Tim Gaus, Principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, shared his thoughts on the next year exclusively with Manufacturing Digital. 

“In 2024, we foresee the boom of generative AI, the scaling of smart manufacturing technologies that were experimented with over the past few years – the metaverse, machine learning, vision analytics and others.”

In 2022, Paul Wellener, Vice Chair – US Industrial Products & Construction Leader, Deloitte LLP and Jason Bergstrom, the Go-to-Market leader for Deloitte’s Smart Manufacturing portfolio, The Smart Factory @ Wichita, and principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, shared their 2023 manufacturing predictions. 

4. Fictiv's ‘2023 State of Manufacturing Report’: AI & skills

Fictiv released its annual ‘State of Manufacturing’ report, which reviewed the impact of labour shortages, the role of AI and increasing skilled engineering talent in the sector. Fictiv surveyed more than 240 leaders across engineering, manufacturing and product development, to identify key trends and insights.

Findings included details on AI technology’s role, with 97% of these leaders saying that they expected AI to impact product development, as well as manufacturing. 

3. Manufacturing LIVE - The ultimate virtual event of 2023

Brought to you by BizClik, Manufacturing Digital LIVE was streamed to its global virtual audience on 6th December 2023. With innovators in the world of manufacturing paving the way for a more resilient, sustainable and efficient future, Manufacturing LIVE explored what the future holds for manufacturing, across six interactive panels, where subjects discussed included Factories of the Future, sustainability, digital manufacturing, technology and AI, as well as women in manufacturing.

2. Huawei and China Unicom drive 5G-Advanced production line

In December, the ‘factory of the future’ became a reality for Chinese car manufacturer, Great Wall Motor, with the deployment of a cutting-edge 5G-Advanced production line. Powered by Huawei and China Unicom, the flexible production line features ultra-high reliability and ultra-low latency and eliminates the need for wires.

Traditional factories rely on wired networks but these can be a point of failure – for robot arms, and other moving equipment – which cause an average of 60 hours of downtime a year. The new 5G-Advanced solution facilitates easier network deployment and can better support flexible manufacturing.

1. More women in STEM

Women make up just 37% of manufacturing workers globally. Many factors are responsible for this: girls being discouraged from STEM at a young age, the view of the sector as ‘for men’ and discrimination against the women who do make it in the sector. Currently, women are underrepresented in the manufacturing field. Despite making up over 57% of the labour force in America, women only hold 29% of manufacturing jobs. 

This year, we heard from many women who work across manufacturing, about what they are doing in the sector. 

“Women constitute manufacturing’s largest pool of untapped talent in the United States. Career options in this field are diverse for women, regardless of whether they hold a four-year degree or not,” said Aneesha Arora is the Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer at automation machinery manufacturer Hillenbrand.

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