10 Predictions for Manufacturing in 2006

Table of Contents

• Table of Contents
• Manufacturing Insights Opinion
• In This Report
• Situation Overview
  • Growth
  • Innovation
  • Productivity
  • The Emergence of IT Economics
• Future Outlook
  • Prediction #1: The Innovation Imperative Will Require Technology Leadership
    • Organizational Structures Will Accommodate Shared Technology Competency Between Product Development and IT
    • SOA Constructs Will Go into Production, and the Creation of "Value Loop" Applications Will Emerge
  • Prediction #2: Both Agility and Effectiveness Will Be the Supply Chain Priorities in 2006
    • More Lean Sigma Projects Will Focus on Supply Chain Improvements
    • Manufacturers Will Invest in Creating Intelligent Decision Models and Collaborative Excellence
    • Some Assembly Required - Companies Will Start with Synchronizing Supply with Demand and Integrating Long-Term Planning with Short-Term Planning
  • Prediction #3: Customer and Product Analytics Will Be the Demand Management Priority
    • Demand Analytics Will Be a High-Growth Category for IT Spend
    • Accurate Product Information Will Be a Critical Component of the Transformation to a Demand-Activated Supply Chain
    • Use of More Timely Demand Information Will Signal the Beginning of a Transition from Distribution Channels to Consumption Channels in 2006
  • Prediction #4: Product Innovation Will Get a Life Cycle
    • The Value of PLM Tools Will Continue to Bubble Up as Individual Propositions
    • Lighthouse Companies Will Take a Broader View
    • The PLM Market Will Experience Strong Growth in 2006
  • Prediction #5: RFID Costs Will Continue to Fall, But Adoption Will Continue to Stall
    • Generation 2: The Pause That Refreshes
    • Business Cases Will Emerge for Higher-Valued Products in Closed-Loop Implementation Scenarios
    • Lighthouse Companies Will View RFID in the Context of a Data Acquisition Platform
  • Prediction #6: China Will Begin to Overheat
    • New Base Material and Component Capacity Will Create a Glut
    • Products Branded by Chinese Manufacturers Will Continue to Have an Impact in Certain Markets in North America and Western Europe
    • Certain Industry Segments Will Shift Some of Their Manufacturing to Eastern Europe, Latin America, and India
  • Prediction #7: Warranty and Quality Will Draw Management Attention
    • Warranty Costs Will Continue to Escalate
    • Technology Necessary to Enable Quality Performance Improvement Will Continue to Mature
    • Leading Companies Will Use Design for Serviceability to Generate Substantial Improvements
  • Prediction #8: Lean Sigma Will Need Software
    • Lean Sigma Will Be the Glue That Links Global Planning (Push) to Demand-Activated Operations (Pull)
    • Continuous Improvement Programs Will Come Under Common Governance with New IT Investment
    • The Market for Software That Automates Lean Processes Will Grow in Excess of 20% in 2006
  • Prediction #9: IT Spending Will Shift to Intelligent Decision Models
    • High-Performing Manufacturing Firms Will Allocate at Least 50% of New IT Investment to Creating Value Loop Applications
    • Priorities Will Center on Innovation, Growth, and Productivity
    • The Probability of Success for These Projects Will Be Higher When Business Unit Leadership Is Accountable for the Results
  • Prediction #10: Vendors Will Teach Customers to Fish
    • 2006 Will Be an Architectural Inflection Point
    • The Sense of Urgency to Upgrade ERP Backbones Will Wane
    • SHOMI Vendors Will Wage a War for Account Control on the Service Oriented Battlefield, But Will Struggle with a Profitable Business Model Even if They Win
• Essential Guidance
  • For Manufacturers
  • For Technology Vendors
• Learn More
  • Related Research
  • Synopsis