Business

Australia needs to rely more on local innovation and supply chains for a secure future

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption across every industry. It has highlighted risks in the global supply chain and unveiled potential opportunities for Australian manufacturers to reinvigorate the industry and compete more effectively into the future. With so much innovation already occurring in Australia, it’s essential for business and the government to take a locally-focused approach to commercialisation in the future, according to Calix. Calix’s Managing Director, Phil Hodgson, said, “Covid-19 is highlighting the inherent risks of relying too heavily on an international supply chain. Interruptions due to pandemics, geopolitical tensions, or other reasons can affect businesses across the country. With such a heavy dependence on imports, Australia can’t continue to accept the risk that comes with having a hollowed-out manufacturing industry.” Australian manufacturing’s contribution to the economy peaked at just under 30 per cent of GDP in the late 1950s and early 1960s.1 It currently sits at around 5.8 per cent of GDP.2 This contraction could be reversed but to do so will take a concerted effort from government and industry alike. Many Australian organisations can innovate and conduct research and development here but are forced to move offshore when it comes to manufacturing. While Australia’s small economy might not allow local manufacturing to produce everything the country wants, it’s essential for Australian manufacturers to be able to produce everything the country needs. Phil Hodgson said, “Infrastructure, energy, food, and water are all basic pillars of society that local manufacturing should be able to support. The more the supply chain for these needs are offshored, the more risk society must bear. Supply chain interruptions could be catastrophic, in a very short space of time, if it means Australians can’t get essentials such as treated water and clean food. “However, most private and public sector organisations make purchasing decisions […]

Global shutdown could spark Australian manufacturing revival

The COVID-19 crisis has the potential to revive Australia’s manufacturing capabilities and reduce the nation’s reliance on global supply chains, according to leading industry players at the heart of Australia’s defence manufacturing sector. The University of South Australia this month formed a working group of defence primes, SMEs and government representatives to gain insights into the impact of COVID-19 on the local industry. The weekly meetings in Adelaide have so far included representatives from BAE Systems, Naval Group, Defence SA, South Australia Trade and Investment Minister David Ridgway and former Federal Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne, who is now an industry professor at UniSA. The COVID-19 pandemic comes at a time when Australia’s manufacturing sector is preparing to ramp up for the next major stages of its $90 billion continuous shipbuilding program in Adelaide. UniSA Defence Director Matt Opie is chairing the industry meetings and said maintaining cashflow had emerged as a key issue, particularly for the smaller defence manufacturing companies. “In South Australia we have hundreds of these defence SMEs and they are all now really starting to look at all discretionary spend and very much focusing on their immediate projects,” he said. “They are stretching the rubber band already but it will become their supply chains, their cashflow, their staffing that will all be stretched the longer it goes on.” Manufacturing has been deemed an essential service in Australia and has so far not been nearly as impacted as many other industries by the coronavirus. However, as almost all supply chains rely on imported components and materials, the pandemic is exposing Australia’s reliance on other nations, many of which have been far more seriously affected. Opie said the current situation was “a bit of a sanity check” for Australia’s sovereign industrial capability. He said major global defence primes […]

Communicating in a post-Covid world

By Jack Mallen-Cooper, Senior Consultant, Whyte Public Relations. Jack joined Whyte PR in 2012 as a media and communications graduate, and has since honed his skills in strategic planning, account management, and communicating to a highly technical, B2B, industrial audience. In the post-Covid era, as Australian industry is being rapidly reshaped (whether it wants to or not), the best communicators will come out on top. Under the guidance of Whyte PR Founder and Managing Director, Brent Whyte, Jack has embodied the company’s self-starting and results-driven attitude that focusses on providing visibility, publicity, and outstanding value for companies in Australasia, South Asia, Europe, America and across the globe. In the post-Covid era, as Australian industry is being rapidly reshaped (whether it wants to or not), the best communicators will come out on top. Companies that can communicate their benefits (particularly hygiene, safety and environmental ones, but others, too) will be the ones that will find they not only achieve greater client retention, but expand to take on new business, where others have gone quiet. So how should you communicate, to stand out from the crowd? And how do you build trust and credibility so that a new customer already knows you’re the real deal before they walk in the door (or join the Zoom meeting)? In our company’s local and global experience – extending for more than 25 years across a diverse base of B2B industries – times of change are times of opportunity. Top 3 post-Covid communication tips Don’t go quiet. The temptation may be to wait and see what happens before committing to any public communication – you don’t want to have to change this later. In reality, wouldn’t it be better to keep a constant line of communication open with your customers, and potential customers? If the situation […]

4 things government can do to help small business

So much for the v-shaped recovery. Australia is set to record its biggest quarterly fall in GDP in history this week. The federal government will extend its JobKeeper wage subsidy program by six months. About 1.75 million workers, including about 1 million Victorians, are expected to rely on it till March. But there’s more to be done, particularly to help the small and medium-sized businesses taking the brunt of the COVID-19 economic impacts. Small and medium enterprises employ about two-thirds of the workforce. They are crucial to the prosperity of local communities. A full third are pessimistic about making it through the next three months, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ most recent survey of COVID-19 business impacts. By comparison only 18% of large companies (those employing more than 200 employees) expect difficulties in meeting their financial obligations. Even at the best of times many small businesses struggle. Yet our research on 223 Australian business owners highlights failure (or success) isn’t just the result of individual entrepreneurs’ personal resources and capabilities. The local business environment plays a significant role. As Malcolm Gladwell puts it in his book Outliers: The Story of Success: The tallest oak in the forest is the tallest not just because it grew from the hardiest acorn, it is the tallest also because no other trees blocked its sunlight, the soil around it was deep and rich, no rabbit chewed through its bark as a sapling, and no lumberjack cut it down before it matured. The same is true for businesses. Even the most resourceful business owners struggle to get ahead when the environment stifles their efforts. This is a thorny problem for governments as they turn from emergency measures to chart longer-term recovery policies. There will, no doubt, be much debate over the usual areas – of subsidies and grants, tax breaks, red tape […]

What manufacturers can do to prepare for the upturn

By Rob Stummer, Asia Pacific CEO, SYSPRO This is an incredibly difficult time for everyone and manufacturing companies have had to lay off staff or shutdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. Coronavirus has already caused shifts and a reduction in “wants” goods and an increase in “needs” goods as this crisis evolves, and consumers batten down the hatches into a conservative mode, and some businesses have been agile enough to switch production quickly to high demand products like ventilators, masks, hand sanitiser or home consumables. As we stem the spread of the virus, what is certain is that there will be an upturn and demand will recover, we just don’t know when. When the inevitable recovery does happen though, the manufacturing companies that have maintained a level of business continuity and are ready to jump back into full production are the ones that will survive this Covid-19 crisis. The real question is how quickly will that demand come back and how will manufacturers be able to respond to their biggest challenge to date? Increasing operational efficiencies In an increasingly interconnected world, maintaining the efficiency of supply chains is of the utmost importance to the Australasian economy if we are to jump back into action once the constraints of the coronavirus crisis have reduced. The good news is technology is allowing manufacturers to minimise disruptions by using real-time reporting to manage their inventory to ensure there are no issues with under or oversupply of goods. A frictionless, real-time, data-driven and interconnected supply chain can only benefit the economy in the short and the long-term. Manufacturing businesses should be doing everything they can to survive this by preserving cash and by optimising their operational efficiencies using real-time process feedback. Their Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) will ensure that quality and efficiency are built into […]

Quantum devices successfully built for qubit control

Archer Materials Limited has successfully built the quantum devices required for initial qubit control measurements as part of a significant phase in its technology development related to the operation of the 12CQ room-temperature quantum computing qubit processor. Commenting on the Company’s 12CQ chip development, Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair said: “We commenced our technology development related to qubit control a few weeks ago and now the first devices have been built to perform the initial [qubit control] measurements related to Archer’s 12CQ chip operation. We have remained on track in our development since we first commenced the [12CQ chip] project in April 2019.” “Qubit control is explicitly our next big technological milestone. Over the coming months, Company shareholders will expect to see a series of results that will be released to ASX by Archer that relate to qubit control – a key requirement of quantum computing processors. When successful, the work would be major validation, at a relatively early-stage of the overall development of a quantum computing processor, of the commercial viability of the 12CQ chip”. The Archer team has built and begun testing prototype qubit control devices (“ESR devices”) in Sydney with collaborating institutes. The initial prototyped ESR device has the primary benefit of providing the magnetic ultra-sensitivity to establish quantitative measurements (i.e. characterisation) of the quantum information residing on very few qubit material components. The initial ESR device design is intended to allow for qubit control measurements only at low temperatures to maximise the Primary Benefit, with the associated operation temperatures unrelated to Archer’s qubits’ demonstrated potential to operate at room temperature. The ESR device assembly is unique and unoptimised, subject to changing functional configurations. Archer CEO Dr Mohammad Choucair concluded: “The control measurements on the qubit material related to the 12CQ chip fabrication are a world-first, in […]

Morrison warns against ‘solely transactional’ trade approach in address to US audience

Scott Morrison says the Covid-19 crisis has created new opportunities for “like-minded economies” to work together – but warned against “solely transactional” trade approaches undermining these relationships. In a Wednesday keynote speech to the US Aspen Security Forum, delivered virtually, Morrison says expanding the scope and scale of co-operation by like-minded economies must be done “thoughtfully”. “Security and trade policy approaches must be well integrated, not at odds with each other,” he says in the address, released ahead of delivery. Although Morrison is unspecific about which countries he has in mind on the trade front, his remarks will be read as a reference to the United States. President Trump’s America First policy, with its aggressive transactional approach and emphasis on “deals” has come with costs for a number of like-minded economies. Morrison says: “A solely transactional approach to trading relationships can undo some gains made in other parts of relationships with like-minded partners. Australia’s foreign policy is not simply transactional.” “As we build the network of like-minded economies, we need to build a greater sense of unity across all elements of our engagement. “That means taking a more pragmatic and rounded approach to our global and regional relationships,” he says. “The sense of unity necessary among like-minded partners can be undermined if positive political and security relationships are accompanied by abrasive or confrontational trade relationships. “We should avoid cases where we build closer strategic co-operation, only to see the cohesiveness of those relationships undermined by trade disputes.” Morrison says he is not suggesting seeking to constrain “the national instinct of our business people and exporters to compete in global markets”. Nor should we “turn a blind eye to unfair trading measures imposed by our friends”. Morrison’s speech continues his recent assertiveness about Australia’s foreign policy and defence stance. Saying that […]

Books: The Biggest Bluff: How I learned to pay attention, take control and master the odds

Is this the new Moneyball? Maria Konnikova had never actually played poker before and didn’t even know the rules when she approached Erik Seidel – Poker Hall of Fame inductee, winner of tens of millions of dollars in earnings – and asked him to be her mentor. She had faced a stretch of personal bad luck, and her reflections on the role of chance in her life had pointed her to poker as the ultimate master class in learning to distinguish what can be controlled and what can’t. Seidel was in, and soon Konnikova was down the rabbit hole with him, a journey that would lead her to the following year’s World Series of Poker. Then something extraordinary happened. Under Seidel’s guidance, Konnikova began to have many epiphanies about life that derived from her new pursuit, including how to better read not just her opponents but far more importantly herself. She found her way to making better decisions and to a place where she could accept luck for what it is, and what it isn’t. But she also began to win. She even learned to like Las Vegas. In the end, Konnikova is a student of human behaviour, and ultimately the point of her incredible adventure was to render it into a container for its invaluable lessons. The biggest bluff of all, she learned is that skill is enough. This is a book that will focus your mind and strengthen your hand.

Manufacturers must find new efficiencies

While Covid-19 has been disruptive across industries, the manufacturing industry is presented with an opportunity to come out the other side stronger than before. Manufacturers must re-examine their processes and even their entire business model to find new efficiencies and ways to compete with offshore firms. As the sector moves closer to Industry 4.0, it is essential for manufacturers to be aware of the technologies that are likely to shape strategies and priorities across the next five years, according to Epicor Software. Greg O’Loan, regional vice president, ANZ, Epicor Software Corporation, said, “Manufacturing is a sector ideally placed to benefit from emerging technologies. Industry 4.0 is a global concept that predicts the manufacturing sector will experience a fourth industrial revolution, this time based on digital technology. “With the right solutions in place, manufacturers will be able to make smarter decisions, optimise processes, deliver a better customer experience and, ultimately, outperform their overseas counterparts. To achieve this, decision-makers in manufacturing firms need to gain a thorough understanding of the solutions lining up to transform the industry in the next five years.” Epicor has identified the top four areas of technology that will drive digital transformation in the manufacturing sector: Artificial intelligence (AI) AI and data strategies are fundamental for all businesses, and organisations that do not already have a roadmap in place for AI could face an uphill battle to compete. Three-quarters of C-suite executives surveyed by Accenture said they believed if they did not scale AI in the next five years, they could go out of business entirely. (1) In manufacturing, AI can be used for everything from optimising production lines to automating defect checking, resulting in fewer costly defects and increasing overall productivity. Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G IoT solutions are continuing to gain rapid momentum in manufacturing […]

3M-Abrasives-Article-Shop-Talk-Webinar-Series-Thumbnail

3M launches webinar series on abrasives technology

The 3M Abrasives System Division are offering a webinar series to industry professionals providing unique insights into abrasive technology and best practices. This three-part ‘Shop Talk’ series commences Tuesday 21st July 2020 and focuses on how businesses can improve efficiencies by adopting innovativepractices and technologies while enhancing operational safety. 3M abrasive expert Nathan Bamford will guide attendees through a range of topics in the series, with the first session focusing on satin finishes on stainless steel, removing welds and deburring without risk of gouging or rounding corners. The webinar series has been developed to provide professionals with the opportunity to upskill and make smart choices for their businesses in the future. ‘At 3M we are aware of how big an impact COVID-19 has had on the industry locally, so we’re keen to share our knowledge on products and techniques to give local specialists and businesses an edge,’ said 3M Abrasives System Division Marketing Manager, Jonathan Small. ‘We hope that by engaging in our short, on-line learning sessions our customers can find solutions to current issues and learn improved methods to operate which may help with efficiencies and on-site safety in the future.’ To register for the 3M Abrasives Shop Talk Webinar series, please visit go.3m.com/ShopTalk_Webinar_AU 3M Abrasives Technology Webinar Series Session 1: Tuesday July 21st, 2020 12:00pm – 12:30pm EST Agenda ⦁ How to achieve a satin finish on stainless steel ⦁ How to remove a weld and take it to a number 4 finish ⦁ How to deburr without gouging or rounding of the corner plate Session 2: Tuesday August 25th, 2020 12:00pm – 12:30pm EST Agenda ⦁ How to save time on your mild steel processing projects ⦁ How to maximise the life of your belt ⦁ Safer alternatives to wire brushes Session 3: Tuesday September 22nd, 2020 […]

«‹ 47 48 49 50 ›»

News Ticker

Business