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Here at the Dashboard we try to avoid overt public relations on behalf of Foley & Lardner LLP. However, sometimes our firm is the one making the news. Often, that news is of interest to the Automotive Industry. This is one of those times. Foley has recently launched its Legal Innovation HubSM for NextGen Manufacturers. This is a major firm-wide initiative that will take a comprehensive look at the changing manufacturing industry and span all of the firm's practices and industry teams.
Next-generation manufacturing involves a new wave of knowledge and innovation right here in the U.S., fully supported by the federal government which has committed over $1 billion to advanced U.S. manufacturing in the next three years. Businesses seizing these opportunities will thrive by fundamentally changing how they organize and operate. Their business models will be reinvented and global supply chain management will look completely different when this revolution is mature. The companies that are the first to adapt, grow and evolve will be the winners of this generation. Robotics, digitization, 3-D printing, and "smart parts" are just some of the technological advancements that will separate next-generation manufacturers from the soon to be dinosaurs of the past. Manufacturers who are the first to mine "Big Data" to to know exactly what their customers want – and employ the means to customize – will be leaders in production, distribution, and service.
Next generation manufacturing involves a wide array of issues that companies face. These include, continuous process improvement, customer-focused innovation, human capital acquisition, development and retention, enterprise-wide supply and distribution chain management and collaboration, sustainability, global engagement, reshoring of manufacturing operations and administration, facilities siting, reconfiguration and management, foreign direct investment, strategic acquisitions/divestitures, government and public affairs, big data, and of course, next-generation technologies.
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