January is a time for reflection on the year gone by along with planning for what is ahead. Manufacturing across the globe has had an interesting year, to say the least. Key manufacture locations such as Singapore and China have seen a slow down while India’s Prime Minster, Modi has been vocally pushing for more resources to put into infrastructure. So, what did 2014 look like for the industry?
According to the 485 manufacturers featured in the CBI Industrial Trends Survey, output was up for 32% of the businesses, out stripping figures on previous years. Two industries that have really benefited in 2014 are motor vehicles and books. Output for transport globally hit its highest in December while demand of printed books has significantly grown over Christmas.
So as engineering and manufacturing ends on a high note for the year, what can we do to ensure this steady growth continues in the UK and across the world? It depends heavily on future government policies, along with how businesses can be innovative. Here in the UK, policies are somewhat up in the air with the looming government election, but businesses will need to be critical and vocal to ensure that that the Great Britain does not lose ground. The UK will need to look at how we can be competitive globally and capitalise on our current supply chain throughout Europe. The question of China in 2015 still remains…
China has held the manufacturing crown for the last few years and is starting to see competition from other countries. For businesses in manufacturing and sourcing in China, this could be worrying, but not for us. We predict that 2015 will be the year that everything will change in China as overheads and wages increase, the industry, as a whole will need to look at how to keep costs down. Our new business model at KSF Global removes any unnecessary links in our supply chain and deals only with the technical experts on the production line. This method of working ensures we keep costs low without affecting standard of living by dealing. This is how we see manufacturing in China working in 2015!
Keen to hear how we are implementing change in engineering and manufacturing in China? Get in touch with me to discuss how our way of working can benefit you. Ben.wang@KSF-Global.com.