Resilient supply chains are fundamental to our national security and economic prosperity. The pandemic-induced collapse of global supply chains has launched a national movement to strengthen domestic manufacturing. Long-term manufacturing growth depends upon U.S. competitiveness and reshoring. With carefully chosen process improvements, strategies and new technologies, manufacturers can increase capabilities, capacity and innovation, leading to new levels of efficiency and quality control. Building a competitive advantage will unlock more reshoring opportunities.
U.S. firms can gain a competitive advantage by investing in advanced manufacturing technologies and processes. Smart manufacturing, also known as Industry 4.0, encompasses coordinated physical and digital processes both in factories and across supply chains to optimize operations. On average, companies undertaking smart factory technologies have seen an increase in production output (10 percent), capacity utilization (11 percent), and labor productivity (12 percent). A survey of C-suite executives revealed that 60 percent say digital transformation will be their most critical growth driver in 2022. These “smart” opportunities can increase competitiveness to enable more reshoring.