Five defining manufacturing trends for 2026

Discover the five trends in detail by downloading the report.

Toby Mankertz, Manufacturing Industry Director at Columbus, identifies the top shifts in the sector that manufacturers should be acting on in 2026. 

In the years ahead, factories will become even smarter. Processes will be re-engineered for efficiency. Roles will reshape around AI and automation as industry confronts new pressures and opportunities. 

In this article, Toby Mankertz, Manufacturing Industry Director at Columbus, outlines five manufacturing trends to watch in 2026.  

1. Augmented & connected workforce: Closing the skills gap 

The manufacturing skills shortage will have an impact on the future of the sector, as knowledge retires without equal reinforcement from new talent. Andy Clarke, Principal SCM Consultant & Manufacturing Expert at Columbus, asks: has manufacturing knowledge skipped a generation? He argues that technology can bridge the gap, but systems need to change.  

Here’s what to pay attention to this year: 

• Manufacturing must become a compelling rewarding career path: By combining intuitive systems, AI-driven insights, and immersive training tools, manufacturers can overcome the generational skills gap and build resilient, high-performing operations.  

• Look beyond technology: Manufacturers must rebuild talent through apprenticeships, cross-sector hiring and digital literacy programmes. 

• De-skill and simplify operations: Make business systems intuitive with interfaces that appeal to new workers. Transform them into creative workspaces. 

• Embed AI to fill lost knowledge: Embedding AI into business systems can help bridge the experience gap. Predictive maintenance tools can reduce downtime, and intelligent scheduling can optimise resource use. Asking simple questions like “Which production orders should I prioritise?” can help plug gaps and harness any lost knowledge. 

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/ 

“We need to widen the appeal of manufacturing as an enticing, challenging, and rewarding opportunity for the younger generation to pursue.” – Andy Clarke, Principal SCM Consultant & Manufacturing Expert, Columbus  

2.  Sustainable supply chains​:Gain more output with less waste 

Sustainability is becoming a critical business imperative in the manufacturing industry. Companies are increasingly focusing on increasing their ESG initiatives through energy-efficient processes, waste reduction, and the adoption of renewable energy sources.  

Sustainability is becoming the priority alongside cost, quality and time. Industry experts featured in Columbus’ lastest manufacturing report ‘C The Shift: Redefining Manufacturing’ say that sustainable manufacturing needs a new lens. The real frontier isn’t making more products with less energy. It’s redesigning systems so value isn’t lost in the first place. Factories already use IoT sensors and AI for predictive maintenance. But if productivity means only “more throughput”, total material and energy use will keep climbing. 

This shift is driven by both regulatory pressures and growing expectations from customers, suppliers, investors, and employees. If you haven’t already, 2026 is the time to be looking at how you can reduce your environmental impact. 

• Improve your waste management: By introducing recyclable materials within your production lines, you can not only better align with the values of climate conscious consumers but also meet wider net-zero targets. 

• Implement automated technology: Data-driven automation can help you optimise production lines, meaning you only use the exact material needed for each of your products. As well as less energy usage and waste materials, this technology can improve your cost efficiency. 

• Deploy digital tools for circularity: Sensors track product condition, feeding systems that decide whether items should be repaired, remanufactured or recycled. Selling performance instead of products creates incentive to extend life. 

• Start with waste, not capital projects: Most factories can achieve double-digit reductions in energy, water or materials in their first year through disciplined problem-solving and small changes. 

3. Cybersecurity in manufacturing: Staying secure in 2026

According to a report by Cowbell, supply chain cyberattacks surged by 431% between 2021 and 2023. This trend is expected to continue throughout this year. 

In 2025, manufacturing showed its vulnerability, accounting for 22% of cyberattacks. Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum reports that 54% of large organisations identify supply chain challenges as the biggest barrier to cyber resilience. 

As we enter a new era of digital transformation in manufacturing, integrated cloud-based systems are becoming the central nervous system for business operations. But with vast interconnectivity comes increased security risk. 

Here’s how manufacturers can strengthen their digital defences as threats increase: 

• Build security-first architecture: Embed secure-by-design principles into operations. Make cybersecurity a priority when implementing systems or integrating suppliers, not an afterthought. 

• Adopt Zero Trust: Assume every connection could be a threat. Verify identities, control access, monitor activity. If you can’t see it, you can’t secure it. 

• Secure the supply chain: Evaluate third-party cybersecurity. Set clear security standards for all digital and data connections. Visibility drops to nearly zero at the fourth tier. 

“Manufacturing is facing one of the most pivotal periods in its history. The next three to five years will reward organisations that build strong data foundations, re-examine their processes, invest in their people and adopt technology with clear purpose.”  

– Toby Mankertz, Manufacturing Industry Director, writing in Columbus’ latest report ‘C The Shift: Redefining Global Manufacturing’ 

4. AI agents: Automating manual work

AI will continue to be adopted by an increasing number of manufacturing organisations in 2026 to support greater efficiency. It can automate early-stage work, analyse incoming data, generate work orders and schedule tasks without human intervention. AI also supports staff by surfacing context and suggesting next steps, making expertise more scalable.  

For instance, in manufacturing sales processes AI can capture information from emails and documents, entering it into CRM in the right format. This enables better forecasting, smarter follow-ups and clearer business visibility. The result: less admin, more clarity and better experiences for teams and customers. 

Here’s how manufacturers can use AI agents to spend less time bogged down in systems: 

• Automate early-stage work: AI analyses the incoming messages or IoT signals, generates work orders and schedules tasks automatically. It can also flag missing information, helping reduce errors and speed up responses. 

• Make expertise scalable: AI tools support staff by surfacing context and suggesting next steps. They also help onboard new employees and ensure continuity when key people are unavailable. 

• Improve data quality without effort: AI captures information from emails and documents, entering it into systems in the right format. This enables better forecasting and confident engagement.  

5. Enabling decision intelligence: From metrics to purpose 

Manufacturers are collecting more data than ever. When properly managed, this data can be used to deliver unparalleled insights into performance, quality and efficiency. But integrated analytics are only as good as the information they rely on. 

Manufacturers who understand that effectiveness is driven by clear purpose, supported by metrics designed to optimise efficiency and minimise waste, gain a clear advantage. Purpose-driven manufacturers are more attractive to employees, have higher engagement, and achieve greater job satisfaction. 

By contrast, manufacturers that haven’t got defined production metrics linked to their business purpose tend to experience more production stoppages, higher levels of rework and defect correction, and lower productivity and quality. 

How to gain the advantage: 

• Define purpose from the customer’s viewpoint: Articulate purpose based on what customers need. Gather insights through research and analytics. Align internal activities and metrics to this purpose. 

• Analyse how value flows: Examine data to baseline what percentage of work is value-add versus failure demand. Differentiate between tasks that fulfil customer needs and extra effort caused by mistakes or inefficiencies. 

• Develop production measures tied to business purpose: Instead of isolated targets, implement measures that provide real-time feedback on value delivery end-to-end. Pilot new metrics on small scale, gather insights, refine before wider implementation. 

Why 2026 is the time to digitally transform 

The manufacturing sector is rapidly progressing and changing the way we do business, with more advanced technologies being created every year to drive efficiencies. These shifts are shaping the future of the industry and should be on every manufacturer’s radar this year. 

Toby Mankertz, Principal Business Transformation Advisor & Manufacturing Industry Director at Columbus 

Toby is a Microsoft certified Principal Consultant with more than 25 years of experience delivering successful engineering and IT projects globally, always with a focus on outcomes. Toby is highly experienced in end-to-end Business Transformation delivery, particularly for IT business systems. He also has 20+ years of experience using Lean, Six-sigma, Prince 2 and Agile methodologies. 

Reach out to Toby at [email protected].