How Australian firms can embrace lean manufacturing for improved competitiveness
The Covid-19 pandemic has created innumerable challenges for Australian business. However, it may also have created opportunities for some sectors, including the Australian manufacturing sector. Long beleaguered, this sector has the potential to compete more successfully if manufacturers can pivot successfully to new approaches and adapt quickly to changing market conditions, according to Konica Minolta. The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the risks Australia faces due to over-reliance on products from overseas. Australian manufacturers are making less and less of what Australians want and need, and the sector has been in decline since the 1970s. With political and market sentiment turning towards the value of Australian-made goods, now is an ideal time for manufacturing firms to reposition themselves, innovate, and take advantage of any targeted industry strategy embraced by the government. However, to do this, Australian firms will have to overcome one the biggest challenges of all; the relatively high cost of manufacturing in this country. Compared with Australia’s Asian neighbours, local manufacturers must contend with higher costs for energy, labour, and material. This makes it even more important for them to embrace lean manufacturing ideals and find ways to improve efficiencies throughout their processes. Matt Hunter, innovation product manager, Konica Minolta, said, “One of the key trends transforming manufacturing is the requirement for shorter product runs with faster turnaround. Customers are looking for the ability to customise and even individualise products at the same price-point as mass manufacturing. While this may seem impossible, new and emerging technologies are paving the way for this to become a reality.” 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, is a key technology that is helping manufacturers bring this dream to a reality. Useful in both prototyping and end-use parts, 3D printing can let manufacturers create products very quickly at a very low cost. When […]