Manufacturing leaders identify six critical issues for industry in the year ahead

Frost & Sullivan's Manufacturing Leadership Council, Mountain View, Calif., the global business network for senior industrial executives, has established a new Critical Issues Agenda for manufacturing for 2014 to 2015.

The council has focused the new agenda on six critical issues:

1. Factories of the Future - The Internet of Things, 3-D printing, and digital manufacturing
2. The Innovative Enterprise – New product innovation, crowd sourcing, and customer-centric supply chain innovation
3. Manufacturing Advocacy – Partnerships between industry and education, as well as global manufacturing sector growth
4. Next-generation Leadership and the Changing Workforce – Leadership best practices, skills gap, and attracting tomorrow’s workforce.
5. Sustainability – Financial and competitive benefits of sustainability leadership, and emphasis on social and corporate responsibility
6. Transformative Technologies – Big Data and predictive analysis, Internet of Things, and cybersecurity

The council's annual Critical Issues Agenda is the result of a member-driven process that identifies the most urgent and important issues facing the global manufacturing industry in the year ahead. It is based on extensive consultation with more than 100 senior executive members of the Manufacturing Leadership Council and Board of Governors.

The agenda influences all major elements of the council's product and services portfolio over the next 12 months. For more information, visit click here.