Sunday, May 21, 2006
The Great Lakes states are heavily dependent on manufacturing, and in Wisconsin last week, 600 manufacturing executives gathered to explore new business approaches. They learned about the best practices in lean manufacturing, supply chain management, export development and employee training.
The popular business press often reports an inaccurate picture of what is really happening in our manufacturing economy. Manufacturing is not dying. Old manufacutring business models are.
These business models relied heavily on stable production runs and relatively low labor costs. As global connections have increased over the last twenty years, manufacturing companies following static formulas for growth have seen their market shares erode.
New business models and manufacturing have continued to emerge. These new business models focus on agility, innovation and connection. Here is an article from California on how manufacturers there are redesigning their business models toward leaner, more networked production. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
New manufacturing business models
