Decision Time for Manufacturing Industry ?

I came across a well written report by Booz & Co this week on the crossroads at which Manufacturing Industry finds itself in the US at the current time.  I have for a long time been a strong supporter of the view that a strong economy is built on the back of a strong manufacturing sector and there are some good insights in the report as to why these links are important.


The report also looks at the subtle shift that is taking place in manufacturing sectors over the decisions making criteria that are being used to decide where new manufacturing infrastructure will be located.  Labour cost have often been cited as the reason for moving an organisations manufacturing base but there are more and more organisations that are looking to the skills of the employee base as being the key driver due to the ever increasing technicality of the manufacturing equipment being used.  Associated with this, is the location of "clusters" of similar types of operations resulting in pockets of higher skilled labour and the back up of related service and supplier industries in the area.


Another driver that is increasing energy costs that result in a shift in the balance of "delivered" costs away from the influence of employee costs and becoming mush more influenced by the distance to market.  The final driver is taxation policy and regulation within the region. 


Overall, the report makes for very interesting reading and whilst focused upon US manufacturing, there are many overlapping issues for manufacturing industry globally.


Read the report here.


You may need to sign up to be a Booz & Co subscriber but they have some good publications and it is free to do so!

BPM are working on Seven Marathons Charity Fundraising Project

Beaufort Performance Management is delighted to announce its involvement in a major Charity Fundraising Project that is taking place this Autumn.  BPM is working in partnership with First Ascent to co-ordinate a charity fund-raising project for Kevin Parke.  Kevin work's as Procurement Director for a major beverage manufacturer and the project pulls together Kevin's enjoyment of marathon running along with features of his company's Corporate and Social Responsibility commitment to a healthy lifestyle as he attempts to run 7 marathons in one week.  To make the challenge more interesting, it will take place in each of the territories in which his company operate across Europe and USA.

The event is aiming to raise funds for the UK based children's anti-bullying charity Kidscape.  Kidscape is committed to keeping children safe from abuse and is the first charity in the UK established specifically to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse.  Kidscape believes that protecting children from harm is key.

Kidscape works UK-wide to provide individuals and organisations with practical skills and resources necessary to keep children safe from harm.  The Kidscape staff equip vulnerable children with practical, non-threatening knowledge and skills in how to keep themselves safe and reduce the likelihood of future harm.

Find out more about Kidscape on their webiste.

BPM's partner in this project is First Ascent.  First Ascent develop, support and encourage ambitious leaders, teams and organisations to achieve great success, generating bespoke solutions to help these clients achieve and exceed their goals.

Find out more about First Ascent here.

The Seven Marathons Project is due to take place at the end of September.  If you want to find out more about this project you can follow progress of the planning and the actual event itself on a specific Blog Site which can be found here.  


BPM would like to wish Kevin every success in his challenge.