An online event is being held for the UK’s manufacturing and supply chain sector, to help industry pivot to the new normal even long after the Covid-19 pandemic ends.
It will be held at 10:00am on Wednesday 5 August and can be registered for here.
The event’s organisers, Premier Publishing said that demand, supply and workforce availability within the manufacturing sector has been affected globally and simultaneously.
Some companies that provide and deliver vital goods like personal care, paper and pharmaceutical are struggling to meet demand driven by panic buying.
Others are experiencing dramatic drops in demand and extreme pressure to cut operational costs. Every major manufacturer is now experiencing disruptions across their supply chains of parts and raw materials, driven by what may now become recurring volatility of supply from South Asia.
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Social distancing and employee safety measures put an additional level of pressure on manufacturers, as 40-50% of their workforce will be unavailable to perform their functions on-site.
While office employees and knowledge workers can work remotely, most factories lack the digital tools and infrastructure needed to support such activities.
The coronavirus pandemic presents a seminal moment for manufacturing in Ireland, and organisers Premier Publishing aim to use this online event to investigate long-term effects.
Manufacturing still requires people to be physically on-site.
With social distancing measures in place, an emergence of a “virtual shift” is expected: a team of specialists connected remotely and constantly online in order to guide and support the reduced “physical shift” of onsite personnel.
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Enabled by real time data, AI-based insights and a range of communication and collaboration tools, the virtual shift will help digitise and scale much-needed expertise across the organisation and enable the onsite workforce to become more focused, effective, and ultimately significantly more productive.
This event will attempt to help manufacturers understand which parts of the social, business and political environment will change in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and guide them in how to invest accordingly to prepare for the ‘new normal’.
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