Digital Transformation
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The Leadership Blind Spots That Hold Back Manufacturing Transformation
- April 30, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Management
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After a few decades in the manufacturing industry, I’ve seen every kind of manufacturing transformation initiative imaginable. Some succeed spectacularly, and they deliver game-changing efficiency and growth. Others plant themselves on their faces, getting bogged down by delays, wasted investment, or resistance on the shop floor. What separates the winners from the failures? It’s rarely
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Manufacturing in 2030: Five Manufacturing Trends Leaders Can’t Afford to Ignore
- April 16, 2025
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Leadership, Manufacturing
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my time in leading manufacturing organizations, it’s that the industry never stands still. From the automation boom of the 20th century to lights-out warehouses and robotics to AI-driven factories, every decade has brought seismic shifts. Yet the changes in the next five years may be the most
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Advanced Strategies for Creating a Lean Manufacturing System
- July 24, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Manufacturing
You’re no doubt already familiar with lean manufacturing, as it’s now one of the most common manufacturing philosophies today. And even if you haven’t, you’ve heard about its core principles: reducing waste, improving efficiency, and maximizing your value to the customers. But lean is more than just eliminating waste or Jack Sprat’s wife’s dietary restrictions.
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Adopting a Smart Approach to Inventory Management
- April 3, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Business, Digital Transformation
Remember the old days of inventory management, when you had to walk up and down the aisles of the warehouse, carrying a clipboard and counting every single piece of inventory, comparing it to what you had on your printout? Everyone rejoiced when software companies came out with inventory management software, and they clamored to introduce
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Adopting Artificial Intelligence in Your Factory May Be Difficult
- February 7, 2024
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Manufacturing
Artificial intelligence is making the news everywhere, but it’s not as prevalent and overwhelming as you might think. And it’s not the do-or-die technology they’re trying to make it seem, which means manufacturing companies don’t have to rush to embrace it or face imminent failure. For one thing, AI has been around for many years.
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Adopt a change management strategy when going through a major undertaking
- September 6, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Leadership
Years ago, when I worked at Robroy, our company never had a proper warehouse management system — software that tracked our inventory and helped us know what we needed to order and what we had too much of. Our raw materials and our products would just sit on the floor and oftentimes got damaged. Not
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5 New Technologies that are Revolutionizing Digital Manufacturing
- August 30, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation
The digital revolution has created some amazing innovations, like self-driving cars and smartphones that are basically computers you can call people on. The digital revolution is also spilling over into the manufacturing world and giving it some serious upgrades. If you’re still operating an old-school factory — and there are many factories still firmly entrenched
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How Can Leaders Prepare for Changes in Modern Manufacturing?
- August 23, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Innovation, Manufacturing
The modern manufacturing industry is undergoing seismic shifts, especially in the last decade. But adapting to these shifts isn’t optional — it’s critical if you’re going to survive and succeed. So how do you navigate these changes without losing your way? How can a modern leader adapt to the changes in modern manufacturing? Do you
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What’s the Impact of Digital Manufacturing on Supply Chain Management?
- August 16, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation
Digital manufacturing has had a major impact on supply chain management, thanks to the growth and improvements in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. For example, more and more companies are turning to metal 3D printing in the automotive, oil and gas, biomedical, and defense manufacturing industries. We’re also seeing an increase in the number of
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Building a Sustainable Workforce: Strategies for Retaining Talent in Digital Manufacturing
- August 9, 2023
- Posted by: David Marshall
- Category: Digital Transformation, Manufacturing
When you’re recruiting in the digital manufacturing era, some of the strategies are the same as they were 50, 40, or even 30 years ago when manufacturing was a semi-skilled profession. It was easier to find people, but now, because digital manufacturing is a highly skilled position, the demand for workers is very high. There’s