Global manufacturing survey reports productivity improvements

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Manufacturing News, Source : The Manufacturer US
Published : 14 Jun 2005 16:05

A major new survey has revealed that manufacturers across the world are increasingly getting to grips with productivity and customer responsiveness.

TBM Consulting Group, the global business improvement leader for the manufacturing and service sectors, has announced the results of its third annual “Productivity Survey” conducted in five major manufacturing countries in the western hemisphere -- the US, UK, Germany, Mexico and Brazil. The survey was conducted in Q1 of 2005 in conjunction with The Manufacturer magazine in the U.S., Manufactura in Mexico and Produktion in Germany.

At least one-quarter of manufacturers in each nation report a 10%-20% gain in productivity in 2004 (US – 28%; UK – 25%; Germany – 42%; Brazil – 26%; Mexico – 46%). A further third of respondents reported productivity gains of 5%-10%.

Asked to account for the top sources of improved productivity, the overwhelming response was continuous process improvement / lean (US – 64%; UK – 46%; Germany – 34%; Brazil – 55%; Mexico – 59%). Workflow / procedure process improvement was the second most common source of productivity improvement, favored by around 20% in the US, UK, Brazil and Mexico, and by 45% in Germany.

The survey, which polled 790 executives from mid-sized to large firms, finds manufacturers have significantly boosted efforts in the last year to connect with customers and cater to evolving needs. A majority of manufacturers in the surveyed nations report “greater” or “much greater” efforts to connect with their customers in 2004 (US – 60%; UK – 61%; Germany – 78%; Brazil – 65%; Mexico – 55%).

A majority of manufacturers in every region reported increased efforts to become more agile during 2004 (US – 58%; UK – 62%; Germany – 51%; Brazil – 67%; Mexico – 55%) and “defining customer needs” was ranked as the leading catalyst for innovation in the value chain (US – 30%; U.K. – 32%; Germany – 44%; Brazil – 38%). Manufacturers have also made greater or much greater efforts in the past year to design new products to meet customer demands (US – 63%; UK – 59%; Germany – 58%; Brazil – 67%; Mexico – 68%).

“The study suggests manufacturers in highly industrialized countries are making greater efforts to become more responsive to the changing needs of their customers,” says Bill Schwartz, senior partner at TBM and managing director of TBM’s LeanSigma Institute. “Manufacturers increasingly understand that by continuously connecting to their markets, they can ‘sync-up’ with the voice of their customers and enjoy significant growth.”

More information about TBM Consulting Group can be found at www.tbmcg.com.

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