White papers
Published: 12 January 2023

A Global Rewiring: Redefining Global Value Chains for the Future

The global economy has entered a new mega-cycle characterized by value chain disruptions, resource competition, and climate change. Leading manufacturers are re-evaluating and fundamentally redesigning their operations strategies instead of making incremental adjustments. Global value chains will undergo a collective rewiring as manufacturers reconfigure their strategies.

The global economy has entered a new mega-cycle characterized by value chain disruptions, resource competition, and climate change. Leading manufacturers are re-evaluating and fundamentally redesigning their operations strategies instead of making incremental adjustments. Global value chains will undergo a collective rewiring as manufacturers reconfigure their strategies.

This white paper discusses five trends that will dominate this rewiring:

  • Manufacturers are moving towards multiple connected but highly localized value chains.These multi-local chains will rely on local suppliers and customers, served by manufacturing “in the region, for the region”.
  • Managing the resulting complexity and cost increases in multi-local value chains will require manufacturers to “be” digital by adopting data analytics and automation technology.
  • To make up for lost economies of scale, manufacturers are looking to achieve “economies of skill” by setting up specialist teams that are recruited globally, trained internally and deployed flexibly.
  • Sustainability will become an integral part of localized operations as manufacturers undergo this transition.
  • This will require careful trade-off management between performance, sustainability and resilience to drive value for the customer.
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