Article | December 30, 2021
Risk management in manufacturing has always been a top priority for manufacturers to avoid any unfortunate incidents. As a result, it is possible to create a more secure work environment for employees by conducting risk assessments and implementing remedies.
“If you don’t invest in risk management, it doesn’t matter what business you’re in, it’s a risky business.”
– Gary Cohn, an American Business Leader.
As of 2019, the worldwide risk management market was valued at $7.39 billion, and it is expected to rise at a CAGR of 18.7% from 2020 to 2027, according to allied market research.
Why is Risk Assessment Critical in Manufacturing?
The manufacturing industry must have a credible risk assessment and management plan to defend itself from any breaches. Risk assessment helps firms understand the dangers they face and their implications if their systems are compromised. Hence, risk assessment is very critical in the manufacturing industry.
Five Risk Assessment Principles
Identify hazards/risks - Employers must examine their workers' health and safety risks. Therefore, an organization must regularly inspect its employee’s physical, mental, chemical, and biological threats.
Identify who may be hurt and in what way – Identifying the personnel both full-time and part-time at-risk. Employers must also examine threats to agency and contract personnel, visitors, clients, and other visitors.
Assess the risks and act accordingly - Employers must assess the likelihood of each danger causing injury. This will evaluate and lower the chance at the working space. Even with all safeguards, there is always some danger. Therefore, employers must assess if danger is still high, medium, or low risk.
Get the Risks Documented - Employers with five or more employees must record the critical findings of the risk assessment in writing. In addition, register any risks identified in the risk assessment and actions to minimize or eliminate risk.
This document confirms the evaluation and is used to examine working practices afterward. The risk assessment is a draft. It should be readable. It shouldn't be hidden away. The risk assessment must account for changes in working techniques, new machinery, or higher work objectives.
5 Manufacturing Risks to Consider in 2022
Accidents at Work
Even if official safety policies and programs are designed, followed, and enhanced, manufacturers may endure workplace accidents and injuries. Risk assessment for workplace accidents assists in mitigating the negative impact on both employees and the organization.
Environmental Mishaps
Manufacturers have distinct issues regarding fuel handling and hazardous waste disposal in facilities. Sudden leaks or spills may be extremely costly to clean up and result in fines from state and federal agencies. Risk assessments for such plant accidents assist businesses in mitigating financial losses.
Equipment Breakdowns
Essential machinery throughout the production process might fail at any time, incurring significant repair or replacement costs. Therefore, it's critical to recognize that business property insurance may not cover mechanical issues.
Risk assessment and prepayment solutions protect against equipment failures without interfering with typical company operations.
Supply Chain Disruption
Dependence on your supply chain may result in unintended consequences that are beyond your control. For example, if you experience downtime on the manufacturing line due to a supplier's failure to supply materials or parts, you risk losing revenue and profitability. If a disturbance to your supply chain poses a hazard, risk management can assist you in managing it more effectively by quickly identifying the risk and providing a suitable response.
Operation Temporarily Suspended
Depending on the severity of the weather event, a factory might be severely damaged or perhaps utterly wrecked. While major repairs or rebuilding are being undertaken, recouping lost income might be vital to the business's future profitability.
Risk assessment in this area enables your organization to budget for overhead expenditures such as rent, payroll, and tax responsibilities during the period of suspension of operations.
Final Words
Risk management is critical in manufacturing because it enables manufacturers to comprehend and anticipate scenarios and create a well-planned response that avoids unnecessary overhead costs or delays in delivering the production cycle's final result. Manufacturing risks are undoubtedly not limited to the risks listed above and may vary according to the nature of the business and regional environmental conditions. Therefore, create a well-defined strategy to overcome threats in your business and be productive at all times.
FAQ
How are manufacturing business risks classified?
In most cases, the business risk may be categorized into four types: strategic risk, regulatory compliance risks, operational compliance risks, and reputational risks.
Why should a manufacturer conduct a risk assessment?
Every manufacturing employment has risks for injury or illness. But risk evaluations can significantly minimize workplace injuries and illnesses. In addition, they assist companies in discovering strategies to reduce health and safety risks and enhance knowledge about dangers.
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Article | January 4, 2022
Lead generation for manufacturers has always been tough due to a lack of knowledge about new technology and trends that can help them generate more business leads. There are still a lot of small and mid-sized manufacturing companies that rely on antiquated manufacturer lead generation methods.
In this article, we'll discuss some proven methods for generating leads that can help you increase your company's sales and improve your overall return on investment.
"Don’t think of your lead as "LEADS." Instead, think of them as people who are frustrated because understanding and buying your product is too hard. Your job is to make it easy for them to learn about your product and get started. "
—Andy Pitre, VP of Product, HubSpot
So let's get started.
Factors That Must Be Aligned to Drive New Business Leads
Landing Pages
Landing pages are mini-websites embedded into your site. To deliver an experience that speaks directly to the user's intent, marketers use landing pages. Create unique landing pages for every industrial lead generation campaign.
Calls-To-Action
To generate quality leads, you need to have a strong call to action (CTA). CTAs are usually buttons that allow users to submit information, visit a landing page, or download an e-book or white paper.
Your CTA must be compelling. Give your prospects a reason to click and remove any barriers to the click. CTAs should be bold, high-contrast, and easily identifiable.
Forms
Without forms, it is impossible to collect leads. Therefore, visitors will be asked to fill out forms that collect their contact information in exchange for an offer.
Offers
Every lead contains a transaction. A company provides a valuable service in exchange for a prospect's contact information. You won't get many leads unless you provide value to your potential customers.
This offer comes in the form of an e-book, consultation, coupon code, or whitepaper. To generate more leads, make compelling offers.
Website
The above components can't exist if you don't have a website. If you want to emphasize your business, you need to generate quality leads. Why? Because most of today's B2B buyers are millennials, who are highly tech-savvy and increasingly conduct their supplier research online.
How to Generate Manufacturing Leads: 5 Effective Techniques
Create a Website That Converts
"The lead generation process starts by finding out where our target market ‘lives’ on the web."
– Wayne Davis
Your website should be a trusted source of quality leads. Unfortunately, many companies lose sight of this and develop websites that are cumbersome and difficult to browse, causing a rift between you and your potential customers.
Don't expect people to behave if your site doesn't encourage them to act. Your website should have clear "call to action" buttons and lead capture options that allow visitors to contact you in a simple and pleasant way.
Additionally, there are website optimization tools available, including PageSpeed Insights, Hotjar, Google Optimize, and WAVE. All of the above-mentioned website optimization tools provide complimentary services. So, this is the most accessible and most reliable approach to generating web leads.
Make Descriptive Infographics
Infographics are a great way to provide prospects with helpful information while motivating them to contact you. Most importantly, infographics establish your company as a thought leader and unconsciously identify you with industry authority.
According to recent surveys,
Nearly 41% of respondents indicated that infographics and illustrations are the most effective solutions for achieving their business objectives.
On social media, infographics receive three times the number of shares as other types of content.
Articles that included infographics received 72% more views than standard articles.
A great infographic has a great design. If your organization lacks an in-house graphics team, you can simply locate a freelance designer to create a stunning infographic for you.
Your infographics are ageless pieces of material that can be reused for smart marketing and lead generation manufacturing.
Here's an example of an infographic from Digital Marketing Philippines from 2019 that received over 1,600 shares and is jam-packed with data and text. In this way, you can see how the company may have gotten its leads from these 1600 shares, each of which is a potential customer.
Host an Event
According to Bizzabo,
86% of senior management (Senior Managers, Executives, and Board Members) believe that in-person events are critical to the success of their company.
The majority of B2B marketers (97%) believe in-person events have a significant impact on achieving business goals.
According to Marketing Charts,
68% of B2B marketers agree that in-person events aid in lead generation for manufacturers, while case studies help with lead conversion and acceleration.
Improve manufacturing lead generation through events that can occur both online and offline. Organize any kind of event to attract your target market while collecting contact information. Use live events to interact with consumers in real-time, answering questions, addressing objections, learning about your audience, and guiding prospects through the sales funnel. Consider webinars, workshops, seminars, meetups, and conferences.
Create a Value-Packed Newsletter
"Content is the fuel for your lead generation efforts."
– Dayna Rothman
According to the Content Marketing Institute,
31% of B2B marketers believe email newsletters are the most effective way to nurture leads.
81% of B2B marketers report that email newsletters are their most frequently used form of content marketing.
Create a must-read newsletter that invites interested prospects to engage and remain connected with your company. This enables you to stay top-of-mind with consumers and promote your products and services to move prospects along the sales funnel.
The newsletter can have new blog entries, product or service updates, special deals, upcoming events, and recommended reading from other thought leaders.
Incorporate SEO into Your Marketing Plan
According to Intergrowth,
61% of B2B marketers say SEO and organic traffic generate more leads than any other type of marketing.
Search engine leads convert at a rate of 14.6%, while outbound leads (cold calling, direct mail, etc.) convert at a rate of 1.7%.
Manufacturers are no exception when it comes to the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). As a result, you may generate many leads with the correct marketing approach and a profound grasp of SEO for manufacturers.
Final Words
When we consider the statistics explained earlier in this article, we can see the benefits of all of the techniques mentioned and how they can help you increase your lead generation and, as a result, your overall business ROI.
Thus, we can refer to the above-mentioned lead generation techniques as sales-driven strategies that will assist you at every lead generation and conversion stage. Improved lead generation for manufacturers enables businesses to reach a vast customer base and generate more high-quality leads.
FAQ
What is a high-quality lead in manufacturing?
Leads of high quality have an increased propensity to convert into paying consumers. The more qualified your leads are, the more likely they will buy your product or service.
What are the lead generation challenges?
Making accurate data, shaping conversations, and converting qualified leads into sales are some of the significant challenges in manufacturing lead generation.
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Article | February 22, 2022
The integration of cutting-edge technologies into the manufacturing industry has transformed the whole economy and accelerated the pace of all operations. Cloud computing for manufacturing is a type of technology that enables businesses to gain visibility, scalability, mobility, security, and improved collaboration, among other benefits. Seeing the benefits, many small and large players in the manufacturing business have embraced cloud computing.
“Cloud computing is not only the future of computing, but the present and the entire past of computing.”
– Larry Ellison, co-founder, executive chairman, CTO, and former CEO of Oracle Corporation.
According to IDC research, the manufacturing industry is the biggest player in cloud computing solutions, with an estimated spending of $19 billion. Additionally, Market Research Future projects that the cloud manufacturing market will reach a value of USD 121.72 billion by 2026. As a result, we may predict that manufacturing cloud computing has a long way to go in the industry.
In this article, we will look at some of the key cloud manufacturing applications and case studies of three US-based manufacturing businesses that used manufacturing cloud software ERP.
Applications for Manufacturing Cloud Computing
Effective Marketing
Cloud technology's comprehensive nature makes it an ideal solution for the challenges of marketing campaigns. Manufacturers leverage cloud-based applications to help them plan, execute, and manage marketing initiatives. Manufacturers can also look at production and sales data to see how well their campaign is working.
Product Planning and Development
Product planning and development are closely linked in manufacturing. Manufacturers can get their businesses ready for full production by integrating product planning and development information with supply chain data and communications. Comprehensive integration enables products to move a lot faster from notion to engineering, from prototype to small-scale production, and eventually to full-scale production and shipping.
Production and Stock Tracking
Once production begins, cloud technology may assist in the manufacturing and stock management of products. Businesses can use enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to match production levels to available inventory and sales. Pricing quotations, order intake, and client requests can all be managed using the ERP software. Using a standard product to keep an eye on these things reduces the time it takes to get an order.
Productivity Management
Manufacturers rarely maintain the same level of production throughout the year for all products. They can use cloud-based tools to keep track of when to modify production to meet changing market demands. These software solutions ensure that manufacturers have the necessary raw materials on hand by making communication easier across the supply chain. This helps them easily adjust their orders to accommodate future productivity levels.
Three Case Studies of Cloud Computing in Manufacturing
Ralco Industries Leveraged Cloud to Cut Its Inventory by 15%
Ralco Industries is a producer and supplier of automotive components that specializes in precision-welded assembly and prototypes. To overcome the challenges of their business growth, the industrialists moved to manufacturing software cloud ERP and saved some money in the process. There was a lot of inefficiency, quality issues, excessive expediting prices, and wasted time due to inaccurate inventory and many unconnected systems in the past. Moving to a single integrated cloud ERP software system helped Ralco cut inventory on hand by 15%, scrap by more than 60%. It helped Ralco save money on premium freight by more than 20% and save almost $100 on each purchase order that was processed.
Avon Gear Improved Inventory Accuracy and Grew by 20% Yearly
Avon Gear Company, a maker of precision-machined components and subassemblies for heavy industrial equipment, was looking for an ERP system that would integrate data across the organization. The company chose a cloud-based manufacturing ERP to manage and record production activity, inventory status changes, receiving, shipping, and other plant-floor data. Consequently, Avon Gear's inventory accuracy has increased, and the company's growth rate has gone up by an average of 20% each year.
Wolverine Improved First-pass Quality by 15-20% Using Cloud
An automobile brake system technology firm, Wolverine Advanced Materials, found that its manual methods were not sustainable, especially when it came to supporting fast development. To grow and embrace lean manufacturing, the firm chose cloud ERP, which enabled it to properly assess cost and profitability by part. Using manufacturing cloud software, ERP, the company's factory floor workers can see all client orders and conveniently categorize them by material so that they can better manage their schedules. This has resulted in increased production and cost savings for Wolverine. Also, overtime was cut by 60%, while first-pass quality increased by 15% to 20%.
Final Word
For manufacturers, cloud computing is a game changer. Manufacturing companies must deal with a lot of different sites and supply chains, which requires the use of large, complex database applications.
The Cloud computing for manufacturing is expediting industrial operations and overall business decisions in the manufacturing industry. Cloud computing enables industrial organizations to improve visibility across large fleets of facilities. It also contributes to standardization by synchronizing and supplying data for new forms of analytics. Supply chain management becomes more effective and product development gets easier with cloud computing. So, instead of debating whether to use cloud computing, take action and use cloud computing in your business.
FAQ
What is cloud computing in manufacturing industry?
Cloud computing refers to the on-demand provision of IT resources over the internet. Instead of buying, running, and maintaining physical data centers and servers, you can use a cloud service. This approach would help you get computing power, storage, and databases when you need them, rather than buying and running your own.
How does cloud computing help the manufacturing industry?
Cloud-based solutions are more rapidly deployed than traditional systems, which enables firms to stay current with new innovations. Also, they are easier to change and grow, and they have the potential to make resellers more likely to use them.
Why cloud computing vital to modern manufacturing?
Cloud computing impacts all aspects of manufacturing. It enables manufacturers to see and control all manufacturing data and take informed production decisions. This is the reason why it is vital to modern manufacturing.
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Article | April 29, 2022
Manufacturing sales occur when a manufacturer sells their finished goods, which are produced from raw materials or components. At the very least, that was an apt definition before industry 4.0, digitization, and consumerization.
Manufacturing sales nowadays must accomplish a great deal more. Smart manufacturing technologies accelerate innovation across all verticals, and manufacturers are making every effort to meet B2C expectations.
In this article, we'll look at five great ways to enhance manufacturing sales, so that manufacturers may get back on track with stalled sales deals.
5 Tips to Boost Your Manufacturing Sales
Develop an ‘inbound' Sales Mindset
Most salespeople have a reputation for being pushy. How frequently have you felt compelled to acquire something that wasn't appealing to you? If you answered yes, you've probably dealt with an outbound salesperson who was pushy, interruptive, and purely focused on selling. This happens when a manufacturer suffers from 'product-focused selling syndrome.'
In this case, the salesman places a stronger emphasis on the products than on the customer. Additionally, you risk showing the wrong product to the customer without knowing anything about the buyer.
If you do so, you are following an outdated method that needs to be replaced.
Here comes the truly unique concept of inbound manufacturing marketing. Inbound marketing outperforms outbound sales methods in terms of lead generation and has the potential to generate more productive leads.
Select a Customer Relationship Management Solution
Spreadsheets are backdated, and the world has gone digital. It would be best you adapt as time changes. It is possible to understand one's business requirements and choose the best CRM system that will help streamline processes and deliver results faster.
Regardless of your business size, the ideal CRM software may help you maintain a competitive edge by helping you to:
Track all customer interactions
Maintain control over sales and marketing activities
Ensure that existing clients have a positive experience
Increase product and service sales
Streamline communication between the sales and marketing departments
Acquire and retain new customers
Align Your Sales and Marketing Teams
According to a Forrester study, 43% of CEOs said that misalignment cost them revenue.
To increase sales, your marketing and sales teams must work in unison and collaboratively. Spend time developing interactions between these teams; it will ensure that your marketing team's efforts are actually assisting your sales team in closing business. Additionally, ensure that face-to-face time between teams is facilitated, and consider adding solutions that will assist your workers in working together and communicating more effectively.
The purpose of integrating your marketing and sales teams is to foster complete transparency and a shared knowledge of their respective goals and objectives. One team cannot function effectively without the other, and keeping this in mind would help everyone to grow the business.
Boost Your PR with Social Media
Manufacturers should invest in PR to build brand awareness and communicate stories. Social media can help broaden your PR reach. It's best to post press releases on your company's website and then share them on Twitter and Facebook. This will help your SEO and encourage others to share your material. Make sure your website page has a “share this” option for easy syndication.
Also, many manufacturing companies are not utilizing their company websites to their full potential. Using websites has a competitive advantage as it helps to enhance consumer loyalty and sales.
Make an Online Interactive Product Catalog
Having a PDF download of your product catalog is insufficient in today's digital age. Businesses want a catalog of products that customers can search for, explore, and analyze online.
Products should not be merely posted on a page, but should be integrated into a true product database, allowing for the electronic distribution of particular product listings to prospective buyers via a link or social media. This shortens the sales cycle and provides better support for your sales team as they present products. Demonstrations of products via video would be an extra bonus for any business transaction.
Final Word
Manufacturing sales are influenced and shaped by market conditions, industry-specific variables, manufacturing type, and distribution mix. Manufacturers may respond to these problems and develop agile and sustainable sales strategies for the future by leveraging digital sales solutions and industry 4.0 technologies.
Manufacturers can retain margins, increase customer happiness, and most crucially, grow revenue through digital manufacturing sales. A customer-centric approach prepares producers for the future of a commercialized B2B market.
FAQ
What are manufacturing sales?
Manufacturing sales are intended to provide raw materials that can be turned into finished products to meet market demand.
What are direct sales?
Direct sales do not involve any intermediaries. Manufacturers or producers sell directly to B2B customers. It's a good cost-cutting strategy because the producer retains complete control over marketing, sales, and shipping.
What are indirect sales?
Indirect sales allow manufacturers to quickly expand their sales networks, increase brand recognition, outsource sales operations costs, and reach new consumer groups or market sectors.
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