What's Next. Redesigning the Supply Chain in the New Era of Manufacturing.

The landscape

Today, supply chains are influenced in various ways by the global ecosystem of which they are a part. The challenges and risks faced by today’s manufacturing supply chains are numerous and diverse, and while not all of them are new or unexpected, a rapid succession of disruptive events concentrated within such a short period of time is unprecedented in recent history.
The COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and increasingly frequent extreme weather events are external shocks that have jeopardized the global economy and contributed to the acceleration of trends already visible in society and shaping our future.

Among the major megatrends shaping the current landscape, we can identify:

• The shift from globalization toward so-called “slowbalization,” that is, the slowing of the process of global economic integration
• The general rise in inflation rates
• The impact of protectionist policies on producers
• The consolidation of the concept of sustainability as the new status quo
• The evolution of consumer habits and behaviors
• Changes in the workforce

Although the manufacturing industry has shown incredible resilience and is now recovering rapidly, to maintain momentum, manufacturers must accelerate the pace of industrial transformation and design supply chains suited to an era of economic, geopolitical, and social upheaval.

Global economic trends

The end of hyper-globalization

Over the past fifteen years, global economic integration has faltered. While the global financial crisis triggered the process, the rise of nationalist policies and the COVID-19 pandemic have cemented it.

The Rise of Protectionism

China has been the primary target of protectionist measures due to its dominance in strategic sectors, ongoing supply chain disruptions, and underlying political tensions that have heightened the risks of dependence on Chinese suppliers.
The reason China is the primary target of protectionist measures is simple: the country holds a dominant position in strategic sectors such as semiconductors and the supply of all 16 strategically critical rare earth metals, which are necessary for the production of technological equipment.

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