Welcome to the New Era of Manufacturing

April 18, 2022 | 3 min read

Paolo Avagliano, VP Delivery & Customer Success, Bright Machines

Manufacturers today are assessing every process and protocol that once made factories run efficiently to understand if they’re still providing value. While accelerated by the pandemic, we’ve reached this critical point largely because of Industry 4.0 technology that’s making it possible to change the production of products. That – combined with manufacturers now demanding more flexible solutions to navigate consumers buying patterns and build supply chain resiliency – is ushering in a new era of manufacturing that we’re welcoming with open arms. 

Five areas of change that are top of mind for manufacturers:  

• Supply chain disruptions: The pandemic, trade wars, and other global disruptions have leaders everywhere rethinking their global operations. A McKinsey survey showed that an overwhelming majority (92 percent) of survey respondents planned to improve resilience through physical changes to their supply-chain footprints and then did so within the year.  
• Reshoring and near-shoring: Ongoing supply chain issues have led to an increasing desire to reshore or near-shore production to avoid the pitfalls of global operations.
• Labor shortages: Recruiting and retaining top talent is a massive challenge for the industrial sector. To this, executives are embracing reskilling their current employees to ensure they have the skills required for the digital era.
• Sustainability pressures: Leaders adopt greener processes and energy alternatives to increase competitiveness, attract new customers, and strengthen their brand. Intelligent software assesses the areas of production that can be improved, whether right-sizing the use of materials or reducing waste. 
• Shifts in the B2B model: Intelligent automation solutions are easier to access, deploy, design, and maintain, causing a change in the traditional B2B model as end customers can now manage systems on their own.  

Our mission at Bright Machines is to change the speed, scalability, and sustainability of manufacturing by providing an intelligent platform for flexible automation. Bright Machines Microfactories combine software, machine learning, computer vision, and robotics that can be deployed up to twice as fast as existing assembly lines. This is especially important for manufacturers setting up new facilities as they reshore or near-shore to reduce the risk of a global supply chain. 

This era we’re in – where there’s a shift in the traditional mindset occurring, paired with innovative technologies – is breaking down limitations and opening new doors for manufacturers and their workforce. We’re excited, and we hope you are, too.  

Interested in learning more? Reach out to [email protected] to begin the conversation.

About the author

Paolo is a manufacturing and industrial automation executive specializing in strategy, planning, and control operations. Before joining Bright Machines, he was Head of Digital for Comau North America after serving as Head of Global Planning, Head of Supply Chain, and Head of Manufacturing. He’s also held consulting and management roles at Accenture and Cooper Standard. Paolo holds a master of science in formal methods from Universita’ degli Studi di Salerno and an MBA from Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

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