Remove Contract Manufacturing Remove Operations Remove Productivity Remove Technology
article thumbnail

Entrepreneurs Take On Manufacturing

Harvard Business Review

However, in recent years a parallel explosion of digital tools and services has taken place in the manufacturing realm as well, drawing in computer-assisted design and 3D printing equipment to open-source operating systems, the cloud, and the Internet of Things (IoT). metros like Austin, Pittsburgh, and the Bay Area.

article thumbnail

3 Kinds of Jobs That Will Thrive as Automation Advances

Harvard Business Review

As technology transforms our economy, one trend is getting more and more attention: the prospect that it will increasingly automate the work that we human beings do. While it’s true that technology is taking over routine tasks from many workers, it is also reshaping many supply and demand trends that drive our global markets.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

It’s OK to Move Down (Yes, Down) the Value Chain

Harvard Business Review

Leaders of many companies — in industries ranging from contract manufacturing, and software services to consulting and health care — tell us the same thing: “We want to move up the value chain.” make your own operations more efficient. create the opportunity to invent new operations.

article thumbnail

It’s Time for Companies to Be Strategic About Energy

Harvard Business Review

Last year, networking giant Cisco Systems worked with one of its contract manufacturers in Malaysia to deploy 1,500 energy and temperature sensors on its manufacturing equipment. It’s time to move energy into the C-suite so executives can manage this critical component of operational performance in a more strategic way.

Energy 8
article thumbnail

CEOs Need to Get Serious About Sales

Harvard Business Review

But winning CEOs demand analytics from their sales organization (much as they do from operations or strategy) to help understand everything from the effectiveness of sales campaigns to opportunity analysis to performance reviews. CEOs generally don't want changes to how their sales force operates for fear of killing the golden goose.

CEO 15
article thumbnail

Community Financing Breathes Life into a New U.S. Manufacturing Firm

Harvard Business Review

Even in this contentious election year, all sides agree on one issue: The loss of American manufacturing jobs over the past decade has been a disaster for the U.S. It would be unrealistic to imagine a return to low-value-add, low-skill, low-wage production in the commodity industries that employed millions of Americans a century ago.

Finance 10
article thumbnail

The Internet of Things Will Change Your Company, Not Just Your Products

Harvard Business Review

Here are some of the challenges that I’ve observed: Product management. Successful IoT plays require more than simply adding connectivity to a product and charging for service — something many companies don’t immediately understand. Operations. Building an IoT offering requires design thinking from the get-go.