Frank Henderson, CEO of Henderson Sewing, emphasises the need for sewn products manufacturers to digitalise and collaborate to remain competitive following the global pandemic.
There is a tremendous amount of speculation around what a post-pandemic world will look like … what changes and what normal will look like. What is, at this point, beyond speculation is that the post-pandemic supply chain and manufacturing ecosystem will be vastly different, according to Frank Henderson, CEO of Henderson Sewing Machine Co Inc.
Continuing, Henderson says that over the next five years, there will be an increased focus on the global manufacturing dynamic, with companies weighing more and more the geopolitical implications of a relationship with China and the Asian, low labour countries. “There will be strong intervention from the federal government to bring more jobs back to the US. There will be a push to manufacture more local for local … especially PPE products with less reliance on China when emergencies arise,” adds Henderson.
“While it’s too early to say what the ‘new normal’ will be for much of the country, it’s clear what the next evolution of global manufacturing and supply chains will be: jobs will be moving away from China and at least some of those relocated jobs will be in the US – near to the largest consumer market in the world; sustainable; rapidly changing market needs; short lead times … in days; digital; no excess inventory … and many more,” says Henderson.
Concluding, Henderson says: “This global pandemic has caused introspection economically, politically and culturally. We in America must digitise, design to manufacture a product, cooperate, collaborate, and partner up and down the vertically integrated supply chain and develop a new workforce to manufacture.”
