The rise of new digital and advanced manufacturing technologies referred to collectively as Industry 4.0 is unleashing new opportunities across supply chain and manufacturing operations consulting, affecting both the nature of available client solutions as well as delivery of consulting services.
Greater end-to-end visibility enabled through digital connectivity is blurring traditional distinctions between functional activities along the supply chain prompting many consulting providers to consolidate once separate supply chain and manufacturing practices. For example, McKinsey & Company is one of the latest firms to announce it is combining these two practices. Among smaller specialist providers, the trend is driving partnership and acquisition activity for firms to amass capabilities across the value chain. The recent mergers of Crimson & Co., the UK-based supply chain specialist with US-based Progress Group and France-based Argon Consulting, two firms with strong logistics heritage, illustrate this trend.
Greater integration unleashes new opportunities to improve efficiency and reduce costs. For example, lean production methods, once traditionally concentrated on specific pain-points within the four walls of the shop floor, now focus on unearthing opportunities to streamline activities and eliminate non-value added activities at the interfaces between interrelated functions, business units and supplier ecosystems.
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