Like all industries, the pandemic changed the world of design and manufacturing in 2020 as a result of the pandemic, and as a result many product development companies became more energetic. pivoting in new and innovative ways. Among the ongoing challenges of COVID-19 in 2021, this needs to be flexible for businesses of all sizes.
Cooperation among remote workers will be just as important next year. As product developers create innovative solutions to rapidly changing problems, lead times from concept to manufacturing must continue to decline in order to deliver products to market in time – before the changing situation changes. market again.
With all that in mind, here are my four favorite business forecasts for 2021:
Prediction # 1: The evolution of modern product development will continue to accelerate. Some sectors are poised for incredible growth, including medical devices and health care. Indeed, a recent report by Frost & Sullivan found that the adoption of digital technologies in hospitals at the time of the pandemic “offers significant growth opportunities for market participants. ”
For example, when a shortage of life – saving shower equipment arose last spring, a hardware startup Meter met that challenge. The startup quickly introduced more affordable aircraft engine for fast manufacturing in large numbers without reliance on specific parts. Turning to collaborative 3D design tools with cloud capability, Meter worked with a consortium of healthcare and technology partners to complete six design versions of the state-of-the-art Rise Emergency Ventilator in just three weeks. .
The panic of the global pandemic caused an abrupt rethinking of how their results could be used to meet changing demands. Feeding the lessons learned, companies will try to develop new process innovations and faster, less expensive methods to design products and bring them to market. Across industries, I expect new products and components to be used in the manufacturing of established products to improve quality, overall performance, and sustainability.
Prediction # 2: Digital customers will keep asking for things faster. Companies will continue to become more direct on messengers by engaging and responding to mobile consumer demands. Operators need to ensure that there is speed and flexibility to measure up to these higher expectations.
Instead of waiting for the end of the process, companies will allow users to share “in-process” design. They will also gather customer feedback and earlier alignment to allow for more flights and ultimately a smoother licensing process and more opportunities to properly align their product for its flights. market. Customers want accelerated timelines, with real-time digital updates on product quality in development, coupled with fast delivery.
Prediction # 3: With work-from-home (WFH) shifting to long-term response, cloud transformation will increase productivity. According to a recent study by MIT, around a third of employees traveling to work before the pandemic had switched to working from home by July 2020. As reported by Harvard Business Review (HBR) , numbers of businesses were rising, including Facebook and Twitter, allowing employees with jobs to allow them to work from home permanently.
Cloud computing has become a bright place for remote workers in 2020. People quickly switched to technologies like Zoom and Google Meet to do their work and stay connected. In the area of product development, we learned how to create global teams and deliver results, fast. Cloud solutions product development platforms enabled innovators and engineers to collaborate, communicate and manage design projects, some for life-saving products, in real time while working remotely.
Let’s take Masks.org as an example. This nonprofit was created by Boston’s medical, academic, and technological communities to address the dire shortage of medical personal protective equipment (PPE) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. PTC / Onshape, Google, Formlabs and other engineers collaborated on the project to design masks from snorkel gear for frontline workers within days. In fact, Mask.org has reworked more than 36,000 reusable, hygienic emergency face shields – in collaboration with innovators and product designers across the county – while working from home.
What does this mean? In 2021, WFH employees and their managers will demand more and will rely on improved cloud and SaaS technologies to stay connected, productive and virtually collaborative.
Prediction # 4: Artificial intelligence (AI) drives process innovation. AI will be used more and more in 2021. As Daniel Newman has suggested in Forbes, the timing is just right. AI is now increasingly integrated with chips from Intel, NVIDIA, and Qualcomm, as well as with cloud platforms from the likes of AWS, Azure, IBM, and Oracle.
The year 2021 will also feature the integration of artificial intelligence with robotics process automation (RPA), as well as automated resolution of IT issues through AI. Factory design will move from Gannt spreadsheets and tables to AI-driven factory work – and the list will continue to grow.
Undoubtedly, the challenges will be unique and unforeseen by 2021. But despite what is unknown, advanced companies can prepare themselves for a number of potential changes. Thinking optimistically ahead of the post-pandemic economy, businesses can continue to develop new and creative approaches to product design, manufacturing and delivery – no doubt bringing out some exciting things.
What do you think of 2021?
John McEleney is the Corporate Vice President of PTC. He is also a co-founder of Onshape, with over 30 years of experience in the mechanical design and software industry. Prior to Onshape, he was CEO of CloudSwitch, a cloud-based enterprise software company Verizon, and CEO of SolidWorks. John is also a director of Stratasys Inc., a public 3D printing company.