Change Gets in the Way 

Change gets in the way as the fourth Industrial Revolution looms, change is happening 10 times faster and at 300 times the scale – that’s roughly 3,000 times the impact of the first one. To stay relevant, deliver growth to stakeholders, and be in a position to drive simplicity in an increasingly complex world, brands must work with companies they trust to drive innovation at the speed of digital. They must believe in their partner’s ability to be agile enough to move manufacturing workloads where and when it makes business sense and also leverage technology at a time when technology and engineering resources are scarce. And they must rely on their partner to master the art of supply chain orchestration to ensure satisfaction, even as instant gratification and personalized everything is becoming table stakes in the world. That’s no small feat.

As your trusted manufacturing solutions partner, Jabil has carefully studied the drivers of this change, and how to best empower you, and here’s what we found:

Accelerating Technological Change

Accelerating technological change is permeating every vector of organizational value chains. Disruptions are causing disintermediation and creating new business models, shutting some companies out of their markets completely while opening doors for others. Digital technologies are driving massive transformations. And there is no end in sight. In fact, 60 percent of companies surveyed by McKinsey & Company believe that up to half their income will come from technology-enabled innovation by 2020.

Data analysis is a science that companies are leveraging for competitive edge; companies pull data from everyone, everywhere and everything and apply powerful analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to turn that data into useful insights, actions and customer experiences.

At the same time, consumers devour new technology the second it becomes available at adoption rates never seen before, driving consumer expectations to an all-time high.

Meanwhile, barriers to market entry for emerging competitors are at their lowest point ever.

Technology is changing everything, really fast.

Geopolitical & Economic Shifts

Geopolitical & economic shifts are causing great uncertainty for OEMs as they strive to understand the impact of Brexit, tax and tariff reform, treaties, foreign currency, debt rates, resource scarcity, and climate change as well as other political and policy swings. Additionally, the world’s economies are being rewritten in front of our eyes, as the center of economic gravity shifts. Market watchers, company analysts, supply chain managers, and economists are tasked with around-the-clock “what if” scenarios to keep up with each twist and turn.

Explosive Demographic

Explosive demographic shifts add another layer of complexity because of the growing and aging population coupled with rapid urbanization. These two dynamics create mounting pressure on current infrastructure and talent pools, as well as healthcare and energy resources.  These factors are not helped by the ever-widening skills GAP in STEM fields.  All combined, these demographic pressures create a gap between what stakeholders expect and what companies can execute.