The Manufacturing Executive Joe Sullivan

For years, product development has meant designing a few things, and then manufacturing them in the thousands or millions.

But CEO of Nullpace, Dr. Masha Petrova, will tell you, we're quickly moving in a direction where we can design thousands of things and then manufacture just a few of them.

She'll dive into the ways design engineering technology is enabling manufacturers to replace time and money spent buying parts, assembling, testing and measuring with digital simulations.

Quite a few manufacturing leaders that I talk to – whether through interviews on this show or in marketing consultations that I conduct – are leading second or third-generation family-owned businesses.

They've built successful companies, but have struggled to let go of responsibilities, to delegate and to empower their people to play a role in shaping the company's future success.

As lean manufacturing consultant Matthew Rassi will remind us, what got you here won't necessarily get you there. In this conversation, Matthew talks about the intersection of servant leadership and lean manufacturing practices, and how together, they can help you build a loyal, engaged and self-directed workforce.

Where do new product ideas come from?

Do they stem from the needs of your customers and prospects? Or do they come from what you THINK your prospects and customers might need?

In today's conversation, Founder of AIM Institute, Dan Adams, will talk about how to drive new product blueprinting through real customer insights.

When I think about sustainability, MY mind goes straight to the environment. But when Managing Partner of Community Solar Authority, Dakota Malone, thinks about sustainability, the environment is one of four pillars that all work together.

In this conversation, Dakota breaks them down for you and explains why today's manufacturing leaders should care.

All the interactions that happen from first touch with a prospect through the signed purchase order, and in the future as your customer buys from you again and again, are part of the buyer experience.

And making every one of those touch points as painless and rewarding as possible should be all of our goals.

CEO and Co-Founder of GenAlpha Technologies, Kris Harrington, is digital commerce expert. And in this conversation, she'll share 10 ways to eliminate buyer friction (while simultaneously unburdening your customer service team) through a digital commerce environment.

When you make the investment in a sturdy digital backbone for running your manufacturing operation – your ERP, your QMS, your MES....

– You protect yourself from loss of tribal knowledge
– You create efficiencies through process documentation
– You set yourself up for smoother compliance audits
– And ultimately, you create an environment that can foster scalable growth

In this conversation, Co-Founder of ProShop ERP, Paul Van Metre, breaks it down.