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# Robotics, Manufacturing and the Future : What Comes Next?
**URL:** https://jimcarroll.com/2021/11/robotics-manufacturing-and-the-future-what-comes-next/
Date: 2021-11-19
Author: JimCarroll
Post Type: post
Summary: Hey, what’s the future of manufacturing, robotics and automation? I was interviewed by Jim Beretta in his popular Robot Industry Podcast – give it a listen! Notes Jim: I first heard Jim speak at the ATX Automation show in NYC a few years ago. Jim is a keynote speaker and his clients include Informa, Disney, […]
Categories: Leadership, Major trends, Manufacturing
Featured Image: https://jimcarroll.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/ManufacturingtheFuture.jpg
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Hey, what's the future of manufacturing, robotics and automation? I was interviewed by Jim Beretta in his popular Robot Industry Podcast - [give it a listen!](https://therobotindustrypodcast.com/podcast/manufacturing-the-future-with-futurist-jim-carroll/)
[](https://therobotindustrypodcast.com/podcast/manufacturing-the-future-with-futurist-jim-carroll/)
Notes Jim:
> I first heard Jim speak at the ATX Automation show in NYC a few years ago. Jim is a keynote speaker and his clients include Informa, Disney, World Bank, Mercedes Benz, NASA, and Pfizer.
I seem to be doing a few of these in the manufacturing space. The folks at Applied Software, a leading purveyor of manufacturing software, also invited me in to be the launch person for their new ***Forging Manufacturing*** podcast. We had so much to talk about that they turned it into two episodes! You can access it [here](https://forgingmanufacturing.com).
[](https://forgingmanufacturing.com)
I spend a lot of time providing trends oriented keynotes in the world of manufacturing, as detailed on the page [The Disruption, Transformation, and Reinvention of Manufacturing](https://manufacturing.jimcarroll.com)
I built the talk around the theme that is working for most of the keynotes I'm doing (via [virtual](https://virtual.jimcarroll.com)) or scheduled in-person for this fall :
- what did our industry look like before Covid - what were the key trends, the disruption, and the future?
- how did Covid shift the axis of our universe - both in a general way, as well as an industry-specific perspective
- what does this mean going forward, both generally and specifically
It was a great conversation. I also recorded it locally and did a quick edit to cut out the key sections - sans their questions - where I took on these three issues. It's a good, succinct summary of the future of manufacturing. Here's a playlist by which you can access these sections.
The video mostly fell into the summary that I wrote prior to going to air, with some minor modifications:
***Manufacturing - What we were talking about pre-Covid?***
- The rapid acceleration of new methodologies
- Additive/3d
- iiOT in the factory
- Rapid product prototyping and design
- Impact of crowdfunding/crowdsourcing on design/product
- The rapid emergence of new competitors
- Skills shortage; rapid acceleration of skills
- New material science
- Embedding intelligence/connectivity into a product
- Managing the new Amazon dominance
***How did Covid shift the axis of our universe?***
- A shift from just-in-time to just-in-case
- Supply chain volatility
- Price inflation
- The rapid adoption of new methodologies (i.e. 3d printing for swabs, masks)
- Robotics - emerging from the cage - distancing
- Acceleration of production visibility initiatives
- Rapid repurposing/reinvention of production
- Greater focus on cost management (rapid acceleration of cost)
- Faster alignment to external partnerships (pack and ship, etc)
- Faster acceleration of big trends (electric cars, autonomy, virtual)
***What Will We Be Talking About in Manufacturing Post-Covid?***
- Chief Resilience Officer
- Potential de-globalization strategies
- Redundancy and agility
- Banking / how to keep what we learned in Covid
- Accelerating robotics
- 6. New workforce decisions/challenges (hesitancy etc)
- A need for better supply chain insight
- Accelerating direct to consumer strategies
- Re-examination of logistics (shipping, airline)
- The new emphasis on security (ransom attacks et
---
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- Major trends
- Manufacturing
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