How to Navigate Current and Future Manufacturing Trends | Propulsion 2024

This panel offers a rare opportunity to learn about industry trends from two leaders who speak to hundreds of manufacturers each year. Salesforce’s Chief Enterprise Strategist Bruce Richardson and VP/GM of Manufacturing Solutions Tony Kratovil cover a range of critical topics, including the impact of advanced technologies such as AI, how companies are navigating global supply chain shifts, and the future of sustainable manufacturing. The panelists discuss how workforces are evolving in response to increasing automation and digital transformation.

Moderated by Propel’s VP of Product Marketing, Tom Shoemaker, this session explores advice and best practices that Bruce and Tony have learned directly from category leaders. 

Key Insights

TONY:

"Most leaders are terrified about the labor market right now. I think there are two aspects: One is a skills gap. The reality is we haven't been graduating the same number of engineers. We don't have field techs out there in the ecosystem. And second, the workforce is aging. We have a mass attrition coming, five years out. Labor drives a lot of things in the market, so labor costs are going to go up because of this."

"The shift in sustainability is it's gone from a board-level concern to more actionable. Now, companies have to put these metrics in their quotes".

BRUCE:

"What I love about Propel PLM and what the company has done is you go immediately from concept to volume and you start to think about the whole lifecycle. Then you add in demand and supply planning, end-to-end transportation visibility so you know when the parts are coming, the shipment status, things like that. There's an awful lot of opportunity for us to marry these worlds together in an end-to-end supply chain."

"A lot of discussions we're having are around risk and resilience. Just when you think you've figured out the supply chain, there's some big disruption that you didn't plan on. There's always something that you've got to be prepared for and respond to. Derisking your supply chain is key for maintaining your leadership in your market."

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