I read with interest an article on the MTI website (http://www.heattreat.net/news/mapi-brief-innovation-in-an-era-of-globalization/) - MAPI Brief: Innovation in an Era of Globalization (posted on 11/9/11). The article sites Apple as an example of a company that has bridged the gap of off-shore manufacturing with good old American innovation.
Here’s a brief excerpt of the article:
“In an era of globalization, when no country can be the lone source of all innovation and companies need to work with international partners to bring new products to markets, it becomes a question as to who benefits from innovation and who captures the most value. Several recent studies single out Apple’s popular iPod, iPad, and iPhone devices as examples of innovation in the electronics industry, and show that while Apple manufactures its products offshore and has a global roster of suppliers, it is able to capture the majority of the financial value and provide thousands of well-paying jobs for knowledge workers in the United States. The company accomplishes this by keeping the high-value functions such as product design, software development, and marketing in the U.S. and building an ecosystem for the products to raise entry barriers for competitors. As long as U.S. firms remain dynamic and innovative, and take risks, they should continue to capture a large share of the value created from globalization, not only for American investors but also for workers with advanced skill sets.”
If you have lived through the last decade working in the manufacturing industry, witnessing its collapse, lay-offs, downsizing, going off-shore to reduce ‘costs’ (and on and on), then your reaction to ‘globalization’ may be like mine - it left me sick to my stomach. An end to something that was so pronounced and significant for this country and quite frankly, the world. Factories employing tens of thousands, good wages, and life long employment with a decent retirement. At the time, we had a semi-healthy economy and although not completely healthy, the cycles were bearable. All of that is gone now. Life and work are very different for so many people and seems so negative that we can easily digress into the ‘99%’ crowd of protestors mentality. All of us, like Apple, do have choices. And we can choose to do what Americans have always done well - innovate.
So, where does that leave heat treaters? We can learn from Apple. We can change our future. How? By keeping the creative “high-value functions such as product design” locally. By using innovative manufacturing execution software that increases productivity while giving management keen, real-time insight. And by working with strategic partners who share the innovative spirit WITH you, not in spite of you. Is it work? - you bet! Can you do it alone? - nope! That’s why you and I need other innovators, who are passionate individuals with the willingness to collaborate, the ability to listen, and the knowledge to execute.
There is obviously much to say and much more detail to go through than stated here, but it is a start. What are your thoughts or comments?