Small and mid-sized manufacturing organizations are now looking for ways to achieve profitability and growth after experiencing two years of unprecedented disruption. According to the results of the 2022 Engineering Strategies for Small and Mid-Sized Companies Study by Lifecycle Insights, these organizations face unique challenges when it comes to future growth and hope to overcome them through digital improvements in their design and engineering departments.
This ebook presents the study findings from a global research project, revealing the challenges faced by organizations and their plans for the future. It also highlights the main drivers motivating manufacturing executives with less than $500 million in revenue to pursue design and engineering changes and offers recommendations for improving engineering and transitioning to a profitable future.
The past two years have forced many small and medium-sized businesses to forego profitability, but executives now want to return to basic methods of increasing margins. Product innovation can influence top-line growth and market share, but finding competent engineers to do the work is one of the most pressing concerns when it comes to product design. The survey results show that executives are aware of this challenge and are planning engineering improvement initiatives to mitigate threats and capitalize on growth opportunities.
The demand for smart, connected products, rising complexity, finding and retaining talent, and additive manufacturing are driving companies to pursue digital transformation initiatives. Additive manufacturing has fascinating design implications, and engineers who work in companies that use this technology face fewer geometric constraints than those who work in traditional machining processes. Having the right technology solutions on hand can assist organizations in addressing the numerous challenges they face in today’s market.