2010: Year of Recovery for Manufacturers But Not Without Fundamental Changes

IndustryWeek (Bob Parker, IDC Manufacturing Insights) - This will be the year of 'optimization', not just 'management' but finding better ways to drive out waste and maximize productivity.

1. Companies will transform business models to better meet the needs of increasingly demanding customers.
2. IT Organizations will look for cost structures that are more variable as they assist in making technology a focal point of business strategies.
3. Manufacturing companies will begin the process of fundamentally rethinking their supply chain structures, evolving from a fixed-cost-driven supply network to a variable-cost-driven value network.
4. 'Dynamic Optimization' dominates capability investment to support redefining of the supply chain.
5. Manufacturers will look to better align innovation with business strategy.
6. Manufacturing companies will become more mature in their use of enterprise PLM applications.
7. Manufacturing companies will see factory assets as part of a fulfillment capabilities network.
8. Firms will create intelligent fulfillment capabilities networks.
9. Smart services and the need for persistent assets create the inflection point for RFID, sensors, and M2M.
10. Armed with metrics, manufacturers move from sustainability reporting to intelligence.

Also see 2009 Predictions