Manufacturing - October 2022

The Manufacturing Team

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

HELEN ADAMS

CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER

SCOTT BIRCH

PRODUCTION DIRECTORS

GEORGIA ALLEN DANIELA KIANICKOVÁ

PRODUCTION MANAGERS

JANE ARNETA MARIA GONZALEZ

CHARLIE KING

CHIEF DESIGN OFFICER

MATT JOHNSON

CEATIVE TEAM OSCAR HATHAWAY SOPHIE-ANN PINNELL HECTOR PENROSE SAM HUBBARD

MIMI GUNN JUSTIN SMITH REBEKAH BIRLESON JORDAN WOOD DANILO CARDOOSO CALLUM HOOD

MARKETING MANAGER KAYLEIGH SHOOTER

VIDEO

KIERAN WAITE

DIGITAL

MARTA EUGEND

ERNEST DE NEVE THOMAS EASTERFORD

DREW HARDMAN

JIINGXI WANG

JOSEPH HANNA

PROJECT DIRECTORS CRAIG KILLINGBACK

MIKE SADR

MEDIA SALES DIRECTOR

JAMES WHITE

MANAGING DIRECTOR

LEWIS VAUGHAN

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

STACY NORMAN

CEO GLEN WHITE

The manufacturing industry keeps calm and carries on

In this issue, we look at how IBM is reducing e-waste and how Releaf’s smart food factories are sustaining the supply chain. iBASEt’s explores smart manufacturing and 3M details its environmental stewardship

Hello Manufacturing Digital readers,

I write to you in a state of national mourning. Queen Elizabeth II was born in 1926 and by the end of her long life, had witnessed an evolution across manufacturing. In her 70 years on the throne, Her Majesty saw the beginning and the end of Industry 3.0, which brought automation, electronics and the computer and the start of ioT and Big Data with Industry 4.0.

The Queen championed British manufacturing, although for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, manufacturing in the UK fell, as workers enjoyed two days off work for street parties. Nine-year-old Prince George of Wales is now second in line to the throne. Whatever he will see in his lifetime, Manufacturing Digital will be here to report, possibly by hologram.

Thank you Ma'am,

HELEN ADAMS

Helen.Adams@bizclikmedia.com

“ In her 70 years on the throne, Her Majesty saw the beginning and the end of Industry 3.0, which brought automation, electronics and the computer ”

Join us at PROCUREMENT & SUPPLYCHAIN LIVE LONDON

Showcase your values, products and services to your partners and customers at PROCUREMENT & SUPPLYCHAIN LIVE LONDON 2022.

Brought to you by BizClik, PROCUREMENT & SUPPLYCHAIN LIVE LONDON, the hybrid event held between 12th-13th October is broadcast live to the world and incorporates two zone areas of SupplyChain LIVE plus Procurement LIVE in to one event.

With a comprehensive content programme featuring senior industry leaders and expert analysts, this is an opportunity to put yourself and your brand in front of key industry decision makers.

From keynote addresses to lively roundtables, fireside discussions to topical presentations, Q&A sessions to 1-2-1 networking, the 2-day hybrid show is an essential deep dive into issues impacting the future of each industry today.

Global giants and innovative startups will all find the perfect platform with direct access to an engaged and active audience. You can’t afford to miss this opportunity.

See you on: 12 - 13 October 2022

BIG PICTURE

Digital crime by an anonymous hacker

United Kingdom

In insurance provider Hiscox’s annual Cyber Readiness Report, research has shown that over half of surveyed UK manufacturing companies have experienced a cyberattack in the last 12 months. The median financial cost of a cyberattack for the manufacturing industry is US$30,590.

THE BRIEF

“We Can't Underestimate The Power Of Being Digitally Determined”

EVAN SLOSS

EMEA Director, iBASEt

READ MORE

“At IBM Consulting, I look at how clients want to use new technology to solve their business problems”

BRUCE ANDERSON

Managing Partner, Global Electronics and Automotive, IBM Consulting

READ MORE

“The manufacturing sector should recognise the productivity and the dignity of people working within the food value chain”

UZOMA AYOGU CTO, Releaf

READ MORE

BY THE NUMBERS

According to the UN, 25,000 people die of hunger each day – something that more efficient food manufacturing equipment can fix

SMART MANUFACTURING AND DIGITAL DETERMINATION WITH IBASET

READ MORE

MANUFACTURING A LEGACY OF SAFETY, SUSTAINABILITY, AND SKILL

3M’s

Uzoma

READ MORE

RELEAF’S SMART FOOD FACTORIES & THE SUPPLY CHAIN

READ MORE

Evan Sloss, iBASEt’s EMEA Director, leads manufacturers as they build complex products, navigate survival of supply chain crises and become ‘digitally determined, not digitally distraught’

IBM is taking on e-waste and sustainable manufacturing

Bruce Anderson, Managing Partner at IBM, oversees global operations in automotives, aerospace and electronics. International Business Machines Corporation – known as IBM – was founded in 1911, New York. In 1985, the IBM Model 5150 arrived for a small and then-niche group of computing hobbyists. IBM has since branched out into consulting, so, last year, the company rebranded from IBM Global Business Services to IBM Consulting, feeling that, after the spinoff of Kyndryl – formerly IBM’s IT infrastructure business – rebranding to IBM Consulting was closer to the external brand representation it wanted to project.

“At IBM Consulting, I look at how clients want to use new technology to solve their business problems. I reverse that sentence and say, ‘What are the business problems that our clients are trying to solve?’. Then I look at how our view on technology can accelerate what they're attempting,” explains Anderson.

 ARDAGH GROUP

Ardagh Metal Packaging, owned by Ardagh Group, will build a £150mn manufacturing plant in Northern Ireland to support the Coca Cola & Diageo supply chains, creating 200 jobs in drinks manufacturing.



DEUTSCHE BAHN AND SIEMENS

After recent train strikes across the UK, many are calling for self-driving trains – such as those in Hamburg, created by Deutsche Bahn and Siemens, an initiative that decreases cars on the road.

 MINI

Deliveries at Mini have fallen by over a fifth in the second quarter of this year as a result of ongoing supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and challenges with the transition to electrification.

 JINKOSOLAR

Solar module manufacturing company JinkoSolar has had its production and supply chain disturbed by province-wide power rationing measures in Sichuan, in order to balance a power shortage in the region caused by a heatwave.

N N E R S L O S E R S

The world is lighting up with solar power. As many European countries seek to become independent from Russian gas, solar panels are quickly becoming a popular alternative. Although it could be argued that all living things are solar-powered, here is a timeline of solar panel manufacturing.

The photovoltaic effect is discovered

At the age of 19, physicist Edmond Becquerel was at work in his father’s laboratory when he first observed the photovoltaic effect— when an electric current is created after light exposure. Becquerel later became the Chairman of Physics at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers, in 1853.

1883

The first solar cell

American inventor Charles Fritts manufactured the first solar cell, using a coat of selenium and a thin layer of gold, while living in New York city. Fritt’s cell achieved an energy conversion rate of up to 2%; nowadays, most modern solar cells work at 20%.

1860s

Bell Labs first working silicon solar cell

Although a chemist by trade, Calvin S. Fuller invented the solar cell. While working at Bell Telephone Laboratories, he managed to diffuse boron into silicon to power the first ever working solar cell which was used in the space race in 1962. Fuller died at the age of 92, in 1994.

Apple’s Tim Cook is a trailblazer for American manufacturing

Name: Tim Cook

Job Title: CEO Company: Apple

Tim Cook was born in Alabama, in 1960s’ America. He studied Industrial Engineering at Auburn University and later earned an MBA from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar.

Before taking the stage at Apple, Cook worked as the Chief Operating Officer of the Reseller Division at Intelligent Electronics.

Cook then spent 12 years at IBM, including a role as Director of North American Fulfilment, where he championed manufacturing and distribution functions across North and Latin America.

Arriving at Apple

In 1998, Cook joined Apple as Senior Vice President for worldwide operations and, in 2007, was promoted to lead operations.

When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs stood down from his role due to pancreatic cancer, Cook was offered an incredible opportunity to step up. While many of his peers were considering retirement, Cook became CEO of Apple on 24th August 2011, at the age of 59.

Under Cook’s leadership, AirPods, the Apple Watch and Apple Music have become a part of everyday life for millions of people and Apple’s market cap is close to US$3trn.

Inspiring people to insist on their equality 2014 was a watershed moment for Cook, who came out as gay. As any CEO would, Cook wrote about his journey in a powerful op-ed in Bloomberg Businessweek,

“You can only do so many things great, and you should cast aside everything else”

where he explained that, although he had never denied his sexual orientation, he had refused to publicly acknowledge it. Cook explained that ,while many of his colleagues knew about his sexuality and supported him, he was still aware of the challenges minority groups faced.

"Being gay has made me more empathetic, which has led to a richer life,” Cook wrote. “It's been tough and uncomfortable at times, but it has given me the confidence to be myself, to follow my own path, and to rise above adversity and bigotry. It's also given me the skin of a rhinoceros – which comes in handy when you're the CEO of Apple.”

Despite being notoriously private, Cook recognised that he was able to live freely due the sacrifice of others. He added that he hoped his story could help those in the LGBT+ community.

“If hearing that the CEO of Apple is gay can help someone struggling or inspire people to insist on their equality, then it's worth the trade-off with my own privacy," Cook wrote.

American manufacturing

The global manufacturing sector has been rocked by the past two years, and many

CEOs are determined not to be caught out by supply chain disruption again. Due to growing tensions between China and the USA, some businesses are moving their manufacturing hubs out of China – a sector that accounted for 27% of the country’s GDP in 2021.

Apple is moving its production to China’s neighbour, Vietnam, and rival, India, in order to prepare for any future supply chain disruptions. Currently, Apple manufactures AirPods Pro, iPads and other small devices in Vietnam.

Cook praised the emerging market in May, when the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh, met with Cook at Apple Park to discuss trade.

But Cook is also bringing American manufacturing back home. Apple has invested US$45mn into a factory in Kentucky that makes scratch-resistant glass for the iPhone.

With a desire to forge new relationships with American manufacturers, Cook developed the company’s Advanced Manufacturing Fund. The US$1bn fund is designed to support over two million manufacturing jobs in the USA.

SIMON MICHIE, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY

OFFICER AT

SIMON MICHIE, CTO AT PULSANT, EXPLAINS WHY EDGE COMPUTING WILL TRANSFORM MANUFACTURING OPERATIONS, BUT SUCCESS WILL STILL DEPEND ON HAVING THE RIGHT INFRASTRUCTURE AND PARTNERSHIPS IN PLACE

Q. HI SIMON. TELL US, HOW WILL EDGE COMPUTING IMPACT THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR?

»

“The potential of edge computing to transform manufacturing is immense. The roll-out of high bandwidth 5G connectivity is steadily bringing industry 4.0 initiatives, the industrial internet of things (IIoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) within the reach of almost every manufacturing plant.

“It is not 5G on its own that will inaugurate this smart, new world of manufacturing – it also depends on a network of highly connected edge data centres at strategic locations.

“By processing data close to where manufacturing operations generate, IT enterprises can locate highly automated, AI-driven facilities almost wherever they wish. Being a long distance from big names in cloud computing is no longer a barrier to innovation because of high latency.”

“ MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES LOOKING TO EMBRACE THE EDGE SHOULD SEEK OUT SUCH HIGHLY CONNECTED EDGE INFRASTRUCTURE PLATFORMS

Q. HOW DOES THIS WORK WITH THE CLOUD?

» “Edge data centres provide low latency, but they’ve used high-speed fibre to ensure they can still transfer data at scale to the public cloud. This is important because not all data must be processed at the edge of the cloud. Manufacturers will still need to process certain types of data in the public cloud for cost reasons or because they need specific proprietary capabilities.”

Q. TELL US ABOUT THE CONVERGENCE OF IT AND OT.

» “Where they process data at the edge, manufacturers will open up a new world of advanced applications. But, at a more strategic level, edge computing will accelerate the convergence of information technology (IT) with operational technology (OT), bringing together systems that run machines, devices and processes with the world of

”

data and analytics. Once they have accomplished this bridge, manufacturing organisations will be able to use standard software and hardware to replace proprietary equipment, liberating them from long innovation cycles. “OT/IT convergence will transform efficiency using streaming sensor data from the factory floor to optimise power use, raw materials, and human time.

“The data will fuel artificial intelligence applications, robotics, predictive maintenance and prescriptive capabilities. Live data from logistics operations, warehouses and sales will ensure plants meet demand without cost overruns. Smart manufacturing systems in the cloud will remove the costly requirements of on-site control systems in cleanroom environments. Employees can use augmented reality headsets to resolve production line problems more quickly and more cheaply.”

Q. HOW ELSE CAN EDGE TECHNOLOGY ASSIST THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS?

» “Digital twin technologies –creating real-time virtual simulations of manufacturing processes with live data – will enable manufacturers to run scenarios to see where they can improve or adapt processes, giving them the confidence to make important decisions very quickly.

“Rapidly growing awareness of these transformational advantages is why market intelligence company IDC estimates discrete and process manufacturing companies will invest US$33.bn in edge architecture in 2022.

“It can, however, be difficult to see through the various configurations proposed for 5G and edge computing, which include small data centres close to phone masts or allied to radio access network base stations. We are already seeing, however, that private, localised 5G

networks are gaining popularity with large enterprises such as port operators, while telecommunications companies are fast collaborating with cloud-providers on businessoriented solutions.”

Q. TELL US MORE ABOUT EDGE DATA CENTRES AND HOW MANUFACTURERS CAN MAKE

USE OF THEM

» “Most advanced manufacturing applications will depend on data from sensors, which are relatively ‘dumb’ devices. The IoT gateways needed to process this data can only do so efficiently and cost-effectively in a fully mature edge data centre.

“Manufacturing enterprises looking to embrace the edge should seek out such highly connected edge infrastructure platforms. Edge data centres need to be in a spread of strategic locations with low-latency connections to diverse connectivity-

“ A MANUFACTURER WITH EDGE APPLICATIONS WILL FIND IT EXTREMELY CHALLENGING WITHOUT EDGE - ENABLED MANAGEMENT TOOLS”

providers and the main cloud hubs. This connectivity with the public cloud has to be flexible (with the ability to switch cloud connections) and resilient, with route diversity. Having the capacity for all that sensor data is utterly vital – not just for today, but for the future – as volumes expand and processing requirements change. For this reason, organisations also need edge providers to offer them effective, next-gen cloud tools to manage all their environments. It is inevitable that most manufacturers will continue to operate hybrid architectures, using on-premises environments as well as multiple clouds for various workloads, as appropriate.

“Yet this can easily become difficult to manage and rack up high costs, even before an organisation adopts edge computing.A manufacturer with edge applications that also needs to reconfigure its workloads or integrate new types of application will find it extremely challenging without edge-enabled management tools providing a single pane of glass on all environments.”

Q. ANY FINAL WORDS?

»

“Security is another consideration that is always raised whenever IoT technologies are under scrutiny. Many of these concerns are allayed by SD-WAN technology, which both optimises and monitors network traffic flows, automating many important tasks such as device configuration and patching. New security approaches are summed up in the acronym SASE, allied to zero-trust technologies that also shut the doors on hackers and cyber-criminals.

“There can surely be no debate that the future of manufacturing is at the edge. The time has come for the sector to overcome its lack of knowledge about the relationships between 5G and edge computing, seeking out providers with the insight and experience to know what works best. With the right edge infrastructure partner, manufacturing organisations can transform their operations and create new products, services and business models.”

MAKING SUPPLY CHAINS OF TOMORROW MORE TRANSPARENT , SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT

With 2.5 quintillion bytes of data produced every day, how is it that supply chain disruptions—particularly at Tier 2+ suppliers—are still going unreported? This is the question that Dr. Lisa Smith asked herself when embarking on her PhD research at the Technical University of Vienna. Fast-forward through years of research and development, and Prewave was born. A platform that uses AI to find, understand and categorise supply chain risks; we predict supply chain disruptions well in advance.

PREWAVE AT A GLANCE

y Predictive, real-time and historic monitoring

y

Access to millions of regional, local and international news and social media sources, as well as publiclyavailable databases, in 50+ languages

y 140+ risk categories

y A 360° supplier score

y Real-time, highly relevant reporting

y End-to-end supply chain risk platform

HOW DOES PREWAVE WORK?

Our process follows a logical succession of steps to achieve an unprecedented level of transparency across all supply chain tiers.

We begin with a list of your direct suppliers. With it, we map out your entire supply chain, down to the raw material. Yanfeng is one of the clients that has achieved complete supply chain visibility through this process.

Once every supplier has been identified, an in-depth screening process uncovers past incidents, establishing a risk score for each supplier. We then set up real-time monitoring for more than 140 risk categories. This allows clients like VW and BMW to stay in the know at all times—from rumours of pollution at a Tier 3 supplier to a labour strike at a shipping harbour.

Marco Pilippi

Prewave takes it one step further. Our data enables the monitoring of entire commodity markets. This allows clients, like the beverage giant AbinBev, to get an exact and to-the-minute overview of the entire production side of a commodity, and anticipate shortages and disruptions well ahead of time.

Beyond improving supply chains from an operational and sustainability standpoint, Prewave leverages its technology to offer a one-of-a-kind compliance solution for international supply chain legislation. Audi, BMW and Porsche employ this approach to achieve compliance with the German Supply Chain Act, as well as other international supply chain legislations.

A company that continues to evolve to meet the demands of the market, Prewave is committed to take the platform to the next level, creating a multi-tier supply chain risk solution that covers the full risk lifecycle.

BY

BOOK A DEMO

“Prewave enables us to find out about sustainability risks much earlier on, so we can respond more quickly.”

Head of Procurement Strategy, Audi

Budweiser Brewing Group is meeting goals on sustainability, with ambitious measures on water use, agriculture and renewable energy

Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) is the world’s largest brewer, both by volume and revenue. A truly global company with local brewing operations across 150 countries and 170,000 staff worldwide. Businesses don’t get much bigger, and neither do sustainability undertakings.

AB InBev was formed in 2008, when Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch joined with Stella Artois-maker Interbrew and Brazil’s AmBev.

Budweiser Brewing Group (BBG) UK&I remains a proud part of AB InBev globally. In the UK, BBG Budweiser Brewing Group employs 1,400 people in its three breweries in Magor, South Wales, Samlesbury, Lancashire and Enfield, North London and in its local headquarters in central London.

The organisation continues to grow, following acquisition of a number of US and international craft brewers, including Goose Island, Blue Point, and Camden Town Brewery and is innovating and growing the Beyond Beer category.

Helping to decarbonise customer supply chains

As a member of the Science Based Target Initiative and a signatory to the UN Global Compact and its sustainable development goals, EV Cargo has powered the introduction of sustainable initiatives for many of its key customers to help reduce carbon emissions associated with their distribution operations.

EV Cargo initiatives drive decarbonisation of AB InBev distribution

Debbie Oram, Account Director at EV Cargo, discusses its partnership with AB InBev, which is driving sustainable transport of the brewer’s products

The consumer goods industry is increasingly reliant on logistics and, with almost a third of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from transportation, this is a major area to be decarbonised to meet climate change targets.

Debbie Oram, Account Director at EV Cargo, explains the company’s focus on sustainability, the support for its partnership with AB InBev and how it has helped reduce carbon emissions associated with the brewer’s distribution operations. Oram oversees the

its work with partners. “Our sustainability strategy is driven from the top, with CEO Heath Zarin and the sustainability committee responsible for all sustainability practices,” says Oram.

EV Cargo is a signatory to the UN Global Compact and supports the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. It endorsed a global memo of understanding at COP26 to achieve 30% zero-emission new truck sales by 2030, increasing to 100% by 2040. It is participating in the UN’s Science Based Targets initiative for reducing emissions and committing to targets that will help limit global warming. EV Cargo is aiming to achieve carbon neutrality across Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, by implementing an ambitious decarbonisation roadmap. As a critical logistics partner of AB InBev, EV Cargo carries more than 65% of its current capacity across the UK.

“EV Cargo led the introduction of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel, a direct replacement for

account for AB InBev at EV Cargo, which covers logistics and warehousing solutions in the UK, global supply chain management and related technology solutions for the world’s leading brands.

EV Cargo promotes a sustainable future Sustainability has become embedded in the organisation’s overall operation and is driving

traditional diesel, at Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I, part of AB InBev. Distribution trucks at Budweiser’s Magor brewery in Wales switching to the replacement fuel delivered an immediate 92% reduction in CO2 emissions,” says Oram.

AB InBev’s global headline targets on sustainability were set as far back as 2017, and it aims to achieve these by 2025. Its goals in this area comprise four pillars: Packaging, CO2 Emissions, Water, and Agriculture

In 2021, following the COP26 United Nations Climate Change Conference, it set out a new goal: to become net-zero by 2040.

“We want to lead by example,” says Mauricio Coindreau, Head of Procurement and Sustainability for Budweiser Brewing Group (BBG), the UK arm of the business. “We're looking to become the first major brewer to have carbon neutral operations in all of our breweries in the UK in 2026.

We're looking at many different ways to achieve that commitment.”

One of those ways is through renewable electricity. In 2019 BBG signed the largest private solar power deal to build solar farms which now, in combination with the wind

turbine constructed near their Magor site, meaning all beers are brewed with 100% renewable electricity.

Its investments in renewables mean BBG produces more electricity than it needs, which has enabled it to donate to good causes.

BBG is also investing in new technologies, such as green hydrogen with plans to build a first of its kind green hydrogen plant to power brewing and logistics.

Already there is a comprehensive program of projects to reduce brewing emissions, including the world’s largest wort cooler at its brewery in Wales.

Packaging biggest sustainability challenge for Budweiser Brewing Group

Coindreau says the biggest sustainability challenge faced by BBG is its packaging, which accounts for almost 40% of its total CO2 emissions. In 2021 it went 100% plastic ring free and there are ongoing projects to minimise plastic in tertiary.

BIO

MAURICIO COINDREAU

TITLE: HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY & PROCUREMENT

INDUSTRY: MANUFACTURING

LOCATION: UNITED KINGDOM

Mauricio has 10 years of international experience in sustainability, entrepreneurship, consulting, e-commerce/retail, blockchain and procurement. He also has a successful track record in team leadership towards developing new products and services.

Mauricio joined ABInBev in July 2019 and in January 2021 was appointed the Head of Procurement & Sustainability for Budweiser Brewing Group. He holds an MBA in Business Administration and Management from London Business School and University of Hong Kong. Within Budweiser Brewing Group, he is responsible for all procurement operations across the Business Unit, which covers functions such as: packaging, raw materials, renewable electricity, transport and value creation. Mauricio also leads a team working across Budweiser Brewing Group’s multiple sustainability initiatives, including the 2025 Global Sustainability Goals set by ABInBev around Circular Packaging, Climate Action, Smart Agriculture and Water Stewardship.

“OUR BIGGEST SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGE IS AROUND PACKAGING”

Every year it is taking hundreds of tonnes of plastic out of circulation.

One of its targets is to have 100% of its packaging come from recyclable and reusable materials. But this is easier to achieve in some countries than it is in others, according to Coindreau.

“For example, in the UK, every time someone consumes a drink from a glass bottle, they chuck it in the bin and it goes into recycling,” he says. “But imagine if we could make this a returnable system, so that every bottle gets used maybe up to 30 times. That’s the most sustainable way to package beer, other than a keg. Another way is through renewable electricity so it is also investing in new technologies, such as green hydrogen.”

Such a system requires a high level of collaboration, because the majority of consumers need to be on board. Coindreau

says that this is why sustainable drink packaging is a challenge for the entire drinks industry.

“We need to convince retailers and other players in the drink industry to create a single approach, because consumers will respond best if it is easier for them to also participate, which it would be if there was just a single approach.”

“Beyond this, we are also exploring lots of innovations around packaging,” says Coindreau. “Last year for example, we introduced the world's lightest beer bottle, and also a low carbon can.”

‘Smart’ programmes around water and barley

For a brewer of such scale, the main raw ingredients that make up beer – grain and water – also present significant sustainability challenges, which is why the global business, AB InBev, has ‘smart’ sustainability programmes both for agriculture and water.

MAURICIO COINDREAU HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY & PROCUREMENT, BUDWEISER BREWING GROUP

The goal of its Smart Agriculture Programme is to ensure 100% of its grain farmers are skilled, connected, and financially empowered by 2025.

“Climate change is affecting many of the regions that we work in; we want to minimise those risks and build resistance through crop management,” explains Coindreau.

“We know that, from high-quality crops comes high-quality beer, and so we want to continue working with the same growers. We are taking a farmer-centric approach and supporting sustainable agriculture to help our farmers increase productivity and profitability, and also to efficiently use natural resources, such as soil and water, along the way. It's about giving them access to data, to technology, and supporting them throughout the process.”

Another strand to its Smart Agriculture Programme is to use locally grown crops – as BBG currently does in the UK, where in 2020, all its barley was locally came from British farms.

Water stewardship vital to AB InBev Beer’s primary ingredient is of course, water, and on this front, AB InBev’s Water Stewardship Programme is vital to its sustainability efforts, because a number of its operations are based in high-water-stress areas, where water availability and quality are issues.

“Water is not only a critical ingredient to beer, but it's also a critical ingredient to economies,” Coindreau says. “For humankind, water is one of the basics of wellbeing. Because of this, our challenge is to look beyond our operations and to increase water availability for all the communities with whom we operate.”

He continues: “Sometimes, this is about helping communities dig wells, or it can be about bringing piped water in from cities. But it is also about reducing the amount of water we use, per beer.”

On that note, in some countries, AB InBev uses roughly two litres of water for every litre of beer it produces. On average, just five years ago, this was as high as four litres.

“It's all about finding efficiencies,” says Coindreau.

Energy efficiency measures are a focus in another area of its business: logistics. The company has a mammoth fleet of delivery and service vehicles worldwide, and its use of electric vehicles – and vehicles using renewable fuel – is a key plank of its drive towards net zero carbon emissions.

Partnering with EV Cargo on sustainable transport

For example, the Budweiser Brewing Group building on previous route optimisation projects to reduce traffic and emissions, recently announced the launch of a sustainable transport initiative with a number of its industry partners, including EV Cargo, which offers solutions around international freight delivery, warehousing and distribution.

See environmental compliance differently

We enable UK businesses to make sustainable packaging decisions

Support achieving ESG goals

Preparing for Extended Producer Responsibility Packaging data collection and insights Modelling environmental costs

Learn more

In the climate crisis that we are facing, citizens, businesses, and governments, all have a critical role to play to mitigate climate change before it’s too late. Product manufacturers can be part of the solution by reducing the impact of their product lines and packaging on the environment.

Through and beyond environmental producer responsibilities existing across the world, manufacturers have the opportunity and the power to make a genuine impact by using business as a force for good, towards a circular economy.

•

By thinking reuse, repair, before recyclability

•

By thinking recycled content

At Ecosurety we support UK manufacturers to make sustainable packaging decisions and therefore contribute to achieving their sustainability goals.

We help businesses with their packaging data collection, creating dashboards for them to reveal insights triggering decision making, modelling environmental costs and facilitating supply chain engagement.

As a B Corp certified business, our purpose is to accelerate change towards an environmentally sustainable world, where we waste less resources and we recycle more.

If you share the same values and would like to discuss how your organisation can reduce the environmental impact of your products and packaging, please get in touch at:

•

By thinking packaging material switch and minimisation.

www.ecosurety.com

The initiative is designed to create modes of transport that can be powered by fuel made from hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), a biofuel that can be produced from a range of different vegetable and non-vegetable feedstocks, including used vegetable cooking oil, animal fat residue and ‘tall oil’, a by-product of wood-pulp manufacture

“We have a longstanding partnership with EV Cargo,” says Coindreau. “As a company, this helps you move past operational work and allows you to collaborate on strategic goals, such as finding efficiencies throughout the supply chain, such as with HVO. The next step is green hydrogen. If we're able to power our fleet with green hydrogen, which has no emissions, our supply chain in the UK will truly be sustainable, end-to-end.”

But Coindreau admits that a lack of charging infrastructure is “is a problem” with EVs and that “we’re not in complete control of this”.

He adds: “For example, with our solution for green hydrogen we will have filling stations inside our breweries, where trucks pick up the beer. But we also need to convince one of our retailers to add a strategic filling point en route, because this is the only way you can get the range needed.”

For shorter routes, he says, BBG will depend “heavily” on electric vehicles, where the need for infrastructure is greatest.

If the infrastructure is slow in materialising then BBG will fall back more heavily on HVO as a diesel replacement fuel, because this produces 92% fewer emissions than diesel.

Coindreau also says that AB InBev makes the choices that achieve the most sustainable outcomes taking into account all the features of the local environments.

“Electric vehicles will make sense in some countries but in others it might be that rail is the way to go, or green hydrogen.”

Key collaborations with Ecosurety & Howard Tenens

Across all its sustainability initiatives, Budweiser Brewing Group places great stock by collaboration with its partners, along similar lines to its work with EV Cargo on fleet sustainability.

Such a key partner is Ecosurety, a company that partners with food and drink brands to ensure sustainability compliance.

“We've been working with Ecosurety for over seven years,” says Coindreau. “They have become an extended part of our procurement and sustainability team.”

“After working together for so many years we've come to see them as an expert in so

many areas, such as eco taxes and packaging measures. They are a strategy partner that helps us get a better sense of the everchanging future.

“It also helps that they are certified by B Corp, which is a global non-profit network helping transform the global economy to benefit all people. So this gives us the assurance they are looking for a better future.

Another of BBG’s ABInBev’s key collaborative relationships is with logistics company Howard Tenens, with whom it has been working for three years.

Coindreau says: “They help us with some of our warehousing, both for materials and finished goods. We've always had a strong working relationship, whereby they're able to provide solutions for the ever-changing flow we're seeing in UK logistics.

“For example, when supply chains were being bottlenecked at ports, they were able to support us massively by bringing their warehouse throughflow to more than 250% of their initial capacity.”

The present is challenging enough around sustainability, but does Coindreau see happening on this front in the upcoming 18 months?

“I think we will see some really interesting solutions come into play,” he says. “Because when we set our 2025 goals in 2017, even though it was early in the game, we had a good sense of what was to come.”

“WEWANT TOMINIMISECHANGECLIMATERISKS

He adds: “Today, we need to be thinking about net zero at 2040, and it will be all about where we are going to find innovation and collaboration across the supply chain to solve global sustainability issues. Every year it funds and mentors entrepreneurs innovating in sustainability via its Accelerator competition. This year one of the winners was a small business working on washing and reusing packaging.

“I think this is a massive challenge for the industry and for the world as a whole. This is the biggest single issue that we will face in the near future. But we are all facing it together, and so we need to come together to find the solutions.”

He concludes: “We're thrilled with the progress we've made on our sustainability goals for 2025, and we’re very excited to continue our work towards a net zero target. Looking forward to a more sustainable future with more cheers”

WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

iBASEt is not a manufacturing company – yet, with the services it provides, the sector itself couldn’t function without it.

Leading discreet manufacturers in the simplification of the way they build and maintain complex products, iBASEt boasts solutions that make complex manufacturing easier for manufacturers to understand – from the factory floor to the final stop. iBASEt’s digitally integrated solutions help manufacturers work faster and smarter. Customers include Airbus, BAE Systems and Rolls Royce.

Evan Sloss, EMEA Director, arrived in the UK from the US in 1992 and started working in manufacturing product development.

“My accent's still American, but I've lived most of my life in the UK. In manufacturing, I was really surprised, because one of our VPs in America was saying, ‘Evan, you're going to need to buy some really good suits. They're very classy over there in the UK’ – I did that, and then quickly learned that not everybody spoke like James Bond in England.

But there were some unexpected cultural differences Sloss didn’t expect.

“What was funny was the factory itself – it was unlike anything I'd ever seen,” Sloss recalls. “It wasn't like our HQ was some cosmopolitan wonderland, but the factory was very modern. There wasn't a demarcation between the executives and the workers, because we all ate in the same cafeteria and things like that,

whereas here in the UK, there were executive dining rooms. To me, it was a whole new experience.”

Thankfully, when Sloss moved to iBASEt three years ago, he brought the spirit of modernisation with him.

EVAN SLOSS

IBASET’S EMEA DIRECTOR

Smart manufacturing at iBASEt Smart manufacturing, where manufacturing engineers use IoT sensor data to minimise downtime and maximise efficiency, is at the core of iBASEt’s work.

As part of this, the company looks closely at the byproduct of anything digital and uses it to make recommendations.

“Most people are unaware of how much data they have, or even where it is,” explains Sloss.

What iBASEt offers is the ability for manufacturers to understand their data and to manage it. Although having the means to access data helps businesses enormously, sometimes, there is just

Evan Sloss , iBASEt’s EMEA Director, on smart manufacturing, surviving supply chain crises and being ‘digitally determined, not digitally distraught’

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so much data that it’s impossible to comprehend or develop meaningful actions in response.

“Because there's so much data everywhere, most manufacturing companies won't know for days – or even a couple of weeks – whether they had an exceptionally bad day.”

iBASEt presents the data together in a way that it can be best understood and then share it with the executives.

EVAN SLOSS IBASET’S EMEA DIRECTOR

“If a company had a bad day last Tuesday, you have to think – what does that cost the company in concessions, in products being late or poor quality? It's not just financial, it's reputational.”

According to Sloss, the biggest thing that iBASEt is doing is helping manufacturers to understand and manage their data to answer that very simple question: ‘Are we having a good day?’

Naturally, smart manufacturing has evolved in the face of COVID-19 and subsequent myriad supply chain crises.

According to iBASEt, 67% of manufacturers implemented Industry 4.0 and smart factory technologies in response to COVID-19

“ You have to think, what does that cost the company in concessions? It's not just financial, it's reputational”

“A lot of the companies that I know in the US were already on this pathway of smart factories and they were very well prepared,” explains Sloss. “They did well. But, if you look at the report iBASEt did, about 67% of manufacturers only implemented Industry 4.0 and smart factory technologies in response to the pandemic, due to things like social distancing. One third of them were doing this for the first time.”

EVAN SLOSS IBASET’S EMEA DIRECTOR

From conversations with manufacturing executives about the data collected, Sloss determined that the pandemic created other benefits across the sector.

“Companies could use their data to actually improve their processes going

forward. Manufacturers looked at their processes and thought: ‘Why are we doing this? We're doing it because we always did it. Actually, we can improve what we're doing with this great technology here and we can take some steps.”

Now, manufacturers are effectively prepared should another pandemic erupt – or even a particularly virulent flu season – because one of the biggest headaches manufacturers have is people not being able to work.

“ I've noticed one face-to-face meeting equals about three video meetings – because, face-to-face, nobody's doing their emails”

Digitally determined

From Sloss’s perspective, there are still areas within UK manufacturing that have room for improvement.

“Most UK companies are digitally distraught,” he says. “Businesses do things because they have to. There's no, ‘We have KPIs. We have objectives, so we need to make these digital changes so that we can improve our business and hit these objectives’. That's not how we act, we're digitally distraught.”

Sloss believes that more digitally determined businesses are recognising where they need to improve certain aspects, especially in regards to digital technology.

“We can't underestimate the power of being digitally determined. It's a business transformation initiative and less expensive in the long run. More importantly, it enables companies to improve their earnings per share and add shareholder value,” Sloss says.

SUPPLY CHAIN IS THE AT THE HEART OF

PRODUCED BY: MIKE SADR WRITTEN BY: JESS GIBSON

ENGINE

Nutrabolt is a fast-growing, global active health and wellness company founded back in 2002 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, a city home to an eclectic range of live music and vintage clothes shops. Described as a grassroots organisation that has worked its way onto the global playing field, Nutrabolt shares a few things in common with its birthplace –namely, an endless abundance of energy and being endearingly “scrappy throughout”.

In the 20 years since its inception, Nutrabolt has not only firmly established itself as a major player in the active nutrition market, but the entrepreneurial and agile business has also continued to expand globally with a varied range of products, “focusing on the functional beverage segment for the last five years, which has been a huge success for our growing business”.

“It's very entrepreneurial here at Nutrabolt and moving quickly, like a startup,” states Brendan O’Toole, Vice President of Procurement at Nutrabolt. “But it's a 20-year-old company, so it also has some of those guardrails of establishment.”

The branding and distribution company has a portfolio that’s distributed across 150 countries, with a particular focus on the pre- and post-workout hydration and muscle strength market – and this is one of the factors that sets Nutrabolt apart from its contemporaries. It has, however,

As Nutrabolt’s VP of Procurement, Brendan O’Toole highlights the importance of sourcing and supply, reinvention, and staying agile in a volatile climate

Supply is the engine at the heart of Nutrabolt

experienced much of the same volatility and disruption that other global distribution companies have had to withstand over the past few years.

O’Toole, firmly ensconced in the thick of it, describes the current environment as “very volatile and very tumultuous”, particularly for a co-manufacturing company where “collaboration is key”. And there are no signs that this is going to let up any time soon, with geopolitical events and the economy causing significant stress on global supply chains for the foreseeable future.

“That's really where myself and my team come into play because we're a 100% co-manufacturing company; we don't do any of our own manufacturing here. So,

“I LOVE WHAT I DO, WHO I DO IT FOR AND WHO I DO IT WITH”

BRENDAN O’TOOLE VP OF PROCUREMENT, NUTRABOLT

really, it's our external partners that we have to stay extremely close to. It’s a lot of overcommunication, just waiting through the different challenges.”

From O’Toole’s perspective, the procurement and supply chain function of a business – particularly at Nutrabolt – is the engine that keeps the system running effectively and feeds into every aspect of the business, from legal and sales to finance.

From humble beginnings to global juggernaut

Nutrabolt began as a small, grassroots business out of central Texas. Tapping into a growing market related to exercise and wellness, Nutrabolt CEO Doss Cunningham started the company himself with an aim to help build – as the company website

BRENDAN O’TOOLE

TITLE: VP OF PROCUREMENT

INDUSTRY: HEALTH AND WELLNESS LOCATION: AUSTIN, TEXAS, US

Brendan O’Toole is an entrepreneurial supply chain executive with over 20 years of experience in a variety of industries including consumer packaged goods (CPG), health and wellness, real estate and land development, sports nutrition, in both startups and Fortune 200 companies.

In his current role with Nutrabolt, Brendan is responsible for E2E sourcing of all globally sourced materials, packaging components, and external manufacturing services for both business segments of active nutrition and functional beverages.

Previously at The Honest

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BRENDAN O’TOOLE VP OF PROCUREMENT, NUTRABOLT

mantra states – ‘strong bodies, clear minds, and a culture of respect and belonging’ within the active health sector. Cunningham has built the company into “a global juggernaut”, effectively “pulling himself up by the bootstraps” to fund it at the beginning.

“At the heart of it, we're a branding and distribution company,” says O’Toole. “Our primary focus is, and continues to be, ensuring that we’re the global leaders on

the pre-workout side, which is our branded product line called C4.”

Nutrabolt has three core brands that its products fit under, each marketed to different groups and specialising in related pre- or post-workout supports: C4 Energy, Cellucor, and XTEND. The best element of these brands, aside from their differentiated price points to appeal to consumers of different financial capabilities, is the time and dedication that goes into developing each of the formulas, which are targeted at different aspects of the body but with the same overall desired outcome.

O’Toole explains further: “We have different iterations of that: C4 Sport, C4 Original, C4 Ultimate. It's really meant to be accessible throughout for different customer goals and life cycles through their performance journey. C4 Sport is meant to

“THE PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY FUNCTION REALLY IS THE ENGINE TO THE BUSINESS SALES”

be a more introductory product line that you can find almost anywhere – the Targets, the Walmarts, CVS. C4 Original is a step up there with a slightly different ingredient makeup, while C4 Ultimate contains more caffeine and more clinically studied ingredients for certain outcomes.”

The art of procurement and strategic supply management

O’Toole’s role as Vice President of Procurement is an expansive one, which means a huge amount of responsibility sits on his shoulders day-to-day – though it is this, perhaps, that keeps him interested in the role.

“I love what I do, who I do it for and who I do it with,” O’Toole enthuses. “Knowing the importance of what we do day-to-day, it’s very motivating. What I do really is act as a liaison back and forth, both internally and externally, to our partners and through our business. So I get to wear many hats. It's never a boring day, and I love that – it fits my personality.”

“IT FEELS NEW EVERY DAY HERE. NUTRABOLT IS IN HYPER-GROWTH MODE. WE STRIVE TO BE INNOVATIVE AND ON THE LEADING EDGE OF WHAT WE DO IN OUR INDUSTRY HERE”

BRENDAN O’TOOLE VP OF PROCUREMENT, NUTRABOLT

NUTRABOLT’S KEY PARTNERSHIPS

As a 100% co-manufacturing company, Nutrabolt is close to its partners, which means that collaboration is key.

While it remains dedicated to historically loyal partner companies – such as Phoenix Formulations, Armada Nutrition, Prinova UK, all of whom have been partners of Nutrabolt through thick and thin – with positive collaboration and teamwork set to continue in the future, new issues necessitate a strategic partnership rethink.

The fallout of the pandemic combined with ongoing geopolitical, cost of living and climate concerns has led to Nutrabolt pivoting to include a new roster of partners, who are more suited to the immediate future of sourcing and supply.

JW Nutritional is an example of one of these newer partners. Hailing from Texas, just like Nutrabolt, JW is a young company with what O’Toole describes as “untapped potential” that has itself pivoted “to innovate in out-of-the-box ways”.

A gregarious character, O’Toole is well-suited to a role in procurement, which is all about forging relationships and problem-solving with partners as a cohesive team. “I'm responsible for all global sourcing efforts with regards to raw materials, packaging, and co-manufacturing relationships throughout our global network,” he asserts, somehow managing to fit his varied role into neat soundbites.

Despite this enthusiasm for his job and the varied elements that come together to make it up, O’Toole is the first to agree that it has been a difficult few years for everyone within the procurement and supply chain function.

“Everything is a challenge, right? I used to have to explain that my undergrad degree was supply chain management at Michigan State University, and no-one knew what

NUTRABOLT CULTURE: ‘WE HAVE THE BEST PEOPLE IN THE BUSINESS’

As a testament of the company’s purpose-led, value-focused team culture, Nutrabolt has been included on Great Place to Work and Fortune magazine’s list of Best Workplaces in Texas 2022. This achievement is all the more notable due to the fact that it’s based on employee feedback via the world’s largest ongoing annual workforce study.

that was; now, over the past two-to-three years, everyone knows what that is,” O’Toole says with a wry smile. “There’s really been a start, stop, start, stop rhythm to commerce. During COVID-19, everything completely shut down, and then, coming out of it, everything just shot back the other way. Now, we have macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges that continue to make business even harder.”

As a co-manufacturing company, the key to surviving and thriving in the face of such difficulty has been ensuring constant communication and collaboration with sourcing and supply partners; luckily, O’Toole is determined to continue building and strengthening partner relationships for the

benefit of the business and customers. But another core element has been willingness to adapt and reinvent.

“To give an example, there are certain raw materials in our products; our product ingredient makeup is highly clinically studied and there are ingredients that come from all over the world. If you have 30 of those ingredients in a product and one has a major constraint, you can't make that product."

A cost-effective solution was identified to resolve this ingredient issue, though it required careful planning to ensure the formulation was not just similarly effective, but safe for consumption, too. Time had to be taken to ensure that the ingredients used

BRENDAN O’TOOLE VP OF PROCUREMENT, NUTRABOLT

worked well together and had no adverse effects, as well as to account for different sourcing locations.

He continues: "It's really been an oscillation of keeping eyes on all the different ingredients, packaging components, the labour side, domestically and abroad, with COVID callouts, stimulus checks and getting people to go back to work. It was a continuous circular issue wheel, if you will, day-by-day.

“My group and I oversee all of that. Through the pandemic and even now, when we're designing products up front, we really have to take a step back and look at the ingredient makeup and the packaging. Here's where we want to produce it, closest to the customer.

We have to really look at all the lead times at an aggregate level, the constraints throughout – if we have 15, 20 ingredients in one, but one is single-sourced from Italy and it has a lead time of 20 weeks, we have to account for that. That all plays into our speed-to-market and is part of our procurement process.”

Other ways that the company has stayed afloat have been liaising with potential vendors, seeking cost-effective solutions in the locality and being open to change. Together, these solutions have helped Nutrabolt’s procurement and supply chain function to demonstrate “resilience through insurmountable changes”, retaining some aspects of the team in place while growing others after the pandemic

This is particularly important because, as O’Toole passionately believes, “a team that embodies understanding is the crux of a good partner”.

“OVER THE NEXT 12-18 MONTHS, THE AIM IS TO CONTINUE TO SCALE AND GROW OUR BUSINESS WITH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS – ON BOTH THE NUTRITION AND FUNCTIONAL BEVERAGE SIDE”

Investing in automated technology and systems, and shifting suppliers

Another key to surviving such a difficult few years has been the act of strategically investing in new tools and systems for routine admin tasks. “We've launched new tools, demand planning software or ERP systems, business intelligence and reporting to really try to automate routine administrative tasks, allowing for us to focus more on our partners and the relationship with those partners, which is what matters most.”

O’Toole continues: “We had to start redesigning our supplier sourcing strategies to create opportunities for localised suppliers, allowing for flex manufacturing capacity through simplified contractual addendums.”

“What we don't want to do is get hung up on contract details or get ‘deal fatigue’ and make it too hard to do business with some of these partners. We want everyone involved to be protected, but are trying to have some simplified addendums so we can continue to move quickly with these partners to garner the manufacturing and supply capacity that we need.”

In an age of unprecedented global strife, many sales, branding and distribution companies have found themselves unexpectedly impacted. As such, sourcing strategies are being reconsidered by many, if not all, global businesses – and Nutrabolt is no exception.

“We're looking and choosing to nearshore where possible. Indigenously, a lot of our ingredients that go into our products come from global sources, including China. With their repeated lockdowns, COVID surges, the port struggles and other geopolitical factors, we've had to look at other countries and, more imminently and myopically, why not in the States?”

Looking to the future of Nutrabolt

Focus is something that O’Toole believes all businesses will crumble without. As such, he cites Nutrabolt’s operational pillars as the core focus for the business, now and into the future:

• To ensure continued global business growth “through a high-quality and built-forscale network of co-manufacturing partners”

• To provide an omnichannel supply chain service that is “transparent to our customer, repeatable and cost optimised”

• To “drive internal operational efficiency with a focus on continuous improvement and simplicity”

“If you don't have the basic foundation in place or are trying to be too orchestrative, it’s just a recipe for failure,” he explains, setting down the company’s outlook. Though his sector is experiencing a tumultuous time, O’Toole is excited for the future at Nutrabolt.

“Over the next 12-18 months, the aim is to continue to scale and grow our business with strategic partnerships – on both the nutrition and functional beverage side. The domestic part of our business has always been the key to our sustainability and growth, but we're really seeing opportunities globally, as well, in different markets. We’re continuing to robustly fortify and create strong relationships here in the US, but these are also starting to occur in other markets, so this is a huge focus of our business going forward,” O’Toole concludes.

“WE'VE LAUNCHED NEW TOOLS, DEMAND PLANNING SOFTWARE OR ERP SYSTEMS, BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE AND REPORTING TO REALLY TRY TO AUTOMATE ROUTINE ADMINISTRATIVE TASKS”

BRENDAN O’TOOLE VP OF PROCUREMENT, NUTRABOLT

MANUFACTURING SUSTAINABILITY,

WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

Effective, efficient, safe and sustainable – that’s how Michael Vale, Group President of 3M’s Safety and Industrial Business Group, describes the diversified technology company.

Founded in 1902 in St. Paul, Minnesota, 3M is a global company that manufactures a whole host of products, from adhesives and insulation to medical supplies and electronics. In fact, you may even have heard of some of their most wellknown products, including Scotch and Post-it.

Each day, 3M’s 90,000 employees strive to ‘do work that matters’, using science to create a positive impact.

A chemist by training, Vale obtained his bachelor's degree and a PhD in chemistry prior to joining the company 30 years ago. Since joining the company, Vale has seen a great deal of transformation, rather than seeing this as a transformation of what work is conducted, he instead sees it as transforming how work gets done.

“When I sit down and think about what 3M is and what our purpose is, we’re still all about unlocking the power of people, ideas and science to reimagine what's possible for society, communities and individuals. I look at how that relates to the safety and industrial fields.”

Michael Vale , Group President for 3M’s safety & industrial business, explores diversity & environmental stewardship in manufacturing

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GROUP PRESIDENT FOR 3M’S SAFETY & INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS

Vale sees improving the world as an extension of what has been 3M's 120-year-legacy: utilising science and innovation in safety and healthcare.

Workplace safety is at the core of Vale’s department, where 3M manufactures items ranging from industrial abrasives to materials for construction and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Supply chain challenges and innovation in the manufacturing process

Vale has seen the manufacturing industry evolve enormously since he started at 3M. There has been a change in focus, with quality and productivity prioritised over simple profitability, and a move to just-intime manufacturing amid the advent of automation – not to mention the various obstacles plaguing supply chains.

“Given the last two years of global supply chain disruptions, there has been more of a shift towards reshoring and adapting to a regional focus, in addition to the growing importance of sustainability.”

In the future, Vale anticipates a rise in the use of automation and how it can enhance

safety in the workforce, increase productivity and much more.

“OT is just an extension of an extension; this is the trend around automation. The sector will be using digital technology to connect materials and robotics, to make itself stronger and to get more connected in real time,” explains Vale.

MICHAEL VALE

Yet the modern age is fraught with new challenges to navigate. For Vale, it’s finding balance in innovation.

“People are looking for stability, so I believe there's this tension between having enough edge to lead the way on the path forward and to self disrupt for the betterment of communities and society. Managing that is probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned. How to manage that balance of innovation, resilience and disruption in the face of a world that is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous, where change is happening faster.

“

AS COVID - 19 CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, WE MUST RESPOND TO WHATEVER COMES NEXT”

MICHAEL VALE GROUP PRESIDENT FOR 3M’S SAFETY & INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS

“For some of this innovation, we're building at scale; it's a balance of driving the core strategies that have helped 3M to be competitive and lead the market presence for over a century, while also recognising the evolution that's occurring around us.”

Whether it's digital, the climate, sustainability, diversity or workforce upskilling and trade development, Vale knows that everything keeps evolving – and that he has to keep up with it.

Sustainability and diversity in manufacturing

A leaders in sustainable practices, Vale reveals that 3M’s investment plans include US$1bn to achieve

improved water quality, reduced water and plastic use, and to make carbon neutrality by 2050 a feasible reality. The company is also ahead of schedule in approaching its goal of 50% renewable energy use in its operations by 2025.

3M is driving innovation to decarbonise the manufacturing industry and open up a greater platform for climate solutions, while decreasing its own

70%

of Americans think digital skills are going to help them in their career

environmental footprint. Part of this will also feature the company accelerating its water stewardship and minimising its use of plastics.

“We'll manage the company in a very disciplined fashion. But we won't lose sight of our long term imperatives on continuing to drive competitiveness, as well as a deeper focus on environmental stewardship.”

3M also seeks to include diversity and inclusion in the workplace and in its community work. The company is committed to encouraging STEM education, with the 3M Manufacturing and Academic Partnerships (MAP) programme geared towards getting people interested in sciencebased careers.

“We’re laying out the groundwork of continuing to engage our communities in STEM, on teacher training, on supporting access to science in schools, on providing grants and on working with skilled trade

associations who can continue to develop those workforces.”

In broader society, given the increasing role that science and innovation play in advancing the well being of communities around the world, 3M is fortunate to be in a position where they can take the lead.

MICHAEL VALE GROUP PRESIDENT FOR 3M’S SAFETY & INDUSTRIAL BUSINESS

“ WE’RE ALL ABOUT UNLOCKING THE POWER OF PEOPLE, IDEAS AND SCIENCE TO REIMAGINE WHAT'S POSSIBLE”

AD FEATURE WRITTEN BY: SEAN ASHCROFT PRODUCED BY: GLEN WHITE

After 40 years with Colgate-Palmolive, the company’s Chief Supply Chain Officer Mike Corbo drew on his deep knowledge to face global disruption and uncertainty

When Colgate-Palmolive Chief Supply Chain Officer Mike Corbo first joined the company, the world was a very different place.

If you wanted to fill your car, a gallon of petrol cost 34 pence in the UK and $1.31 in the US. Still in the US, Ronald Reagan had been in the Oval Office for just a year, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller was fresh off the press.

We’re talking 1982. This was the year Corbo left Lafayette College in Pennsylvania andwith the ink on his chemical engineering degree barely dry - secured himself a job with ColgatePalmolive (Colgate).

In the intervening four decades, Corbo has worked his way around the world, excelling in a host of manufacturing and supply chain roles.

“One of the things that attracted me to Colgate is that it was hiring people to work in plant operations, and operations really interested me,” says Corbo. “I never really intended to follow chemical engineering.”

After a six-month training programme, Corbo was sent out onto the factory floor as a foreman. For the first 14 years of his career, he “worked in locations around the US”, before he finally got the opportunity to fulfil his ambition to travel, taking up a position as Manufacturing Director in the Philippines.

“I always wanted to work outside of the US,” he says. “I just had that desire to learn.”

“We've dramatically increased female representation in manufacturing operations”

MIKE CORBO CHIEF SUPPLY CHAIN OFFICER, COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

Corbo headed Colgate manufacturing in regions worldwide

There followed a similar role in Malaysia. Before Corbo worked in Colgate’s divisional teams, starting in central Europe and Russia, and then heading back to the company’s Asia Division.

“The one I had the most fun in terms of learning was as Head of Supply Chain for Latin America,” he says. “It’s the biggest division in Colgate and covers almost all of our product categories.”

Corbo believes his long years in manufacturing provided “an incredible foundation for what was to come.”

He says: “I was learning how people produced things, day in and day out, and how they achieved the required consistency and discipline to do it right and do it well.

Company founded

Number of employees

Colgate sells its products in more than 200 countries and territories Colgate is found in more homes than any other brand

“What people want in a supply chain is consistency and reliability, and that’s what manufacturing is about. The definition of quality is making the same thing over and over, with low variability.”

Corbo is now a veteran of the supply chain, including manufacturing, and says the past two years have been the most challenging period he has experienced since joining the company.

He says: “We had lots of contingency plans, and they were very helpful, but they were at their limit when countries shut down, lanes shut down, and materials couldn't be procured.”

On a personal level, Corbo says his team has risen to the challenge.

“I'm very lucky to have an excellent team,” he says.”We communicated more

“Change always starts with educating people”

MIKE CORBO CHIEF SUPPLY CHAIN OFFICER, COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

than we ever did before. Our channels of communication have improved dramatically, and I think that has helped get us through this.”

The pandemic taught us supply chains were fragile

As for operational lessons learned since the pandemic struck, Corbo says that one stands out above all others: “If we take one thing from the past two years of disruptions, it has to be that running supply chains at lowest cost leaves them fragile. We need to build resilience into them, as a matter of priority.”

The pandemic disruptions that so tested the stamina of Corbo’s team – and the resilience of the company’s supply chain – show little sign of abating, and the biggest single challenge of his role remains “the magnitude and the frequency of disruptions”.

He adds: “Whether it's a government intervention, a business intervention or a rising commodity price, the shocks come frequently and without warning, and how quickly we can rebound and continue to keep supply running is really our daily challenge.”

MIKE CORBO

TITLE: CHIEF SUPPLY CHAIN OFFICER

INDUSTRY: CONSUMER GOODS LOCATION: NEW YORK, USA

Mike Corbo is Chief Supply Chain Officer for Colgate-Palmolive Company, where the global supply chain is recognised as a key driver of growth, profitability, and corporate strategy, powering Colgate-Palmolive’s purpose as a caring, innovative growth company that’s reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets and our planet by producing and delivering health and hygiene products to millions of people across the globe. Mike is responsible for the Global End-toEnd Supply Chain, which includes Engineering, Manufacturing, Procurement, Customer Service & Logistics and Sustainability & EHS. Additionally, Mike is a member of both the Corporate Information Technology and Global Analytics Steering Committees.

Throughout his four decades of leadership at Colgate, Mike has worked in key Manufacturing and Supply Chain positions in Latin America, North America, Asia and Central Europe/Russia.

Mike joined Colgate in 1982 as an Industrial Engineer. He was elected Corporate Officer in 2012. He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering from Lafayette College.

To counteract disruption and uncertainty, Colgate has engaged on an enterprise-wide digital transformation, to give it visibility across its supply chain.

“Data gives you visibility over what you're doing, where you're headed, and where the potential pinch points are going to be,” explains Corbo.

Pacing toward visibility

So does Colgate currently enjoy end-toend supply chain visibility, or is it something the company is still working towards?

“I would say in certain supply chains, we do have end-to-end visibility, but not all,” Corbo says. “From manufacturing to commercial hubs and to retailers, we have visibility. But we're still working on the different tiers of suppliers.”

Colgate is hardly alone here; it’s a generally held truth that the closer to the source of raw materials one gets, the

harder it becomes to maintain a handle on things such as ESG compliance and Scope 3 emissions.

Yet Colgate is working positively towards this goal, and collaboration with suppliers is an important factor in how it will get there.

“We segment suppliers to align with our company goals, including efficiency, innovation and sustainability. All require close partnerships on risk mitigation, new formulations, network agility and digital engagement,” says Corbo.

He continues: “We audit suppliers, work with them on new compliance areas, and we ask them to provide documentation to certify their performance against an evolving regulatory landscape. With rules changing globally all the time, that makes it challenging, and we have prioritised supplier connectivity in our digital roadmap. It's a lot of work and a lot of resources to define and convert the data.”

Colgate Palmolive's Mike Corbo BizClik Video

Sustainable supply chains ‘take time, effort and focus’

In terms of Colgate’s internal journey towards net zero, Corbo says the company is “continually looking at reducing waste, and has been for a long time”. The key, he stresses, is measuring waste.

“We measure many things -- how much electricity and water we use and how much waste we generate, and then we come up with innovative ways to reduce usage.”

He adds: “I'm very proud of the fact that we've taken on a zero-waste-to-landfills initiative in our manufacturing operation. We have it certified externally and we are on pace to have all 45 plants certified.”

The certification is from Green Business Certification TRUE Zero Waste , a zerowaste certification programme designed to measure, improve and recognise zero waste performance. Colgate has more TRUE Zero Waste certified facilities than any other company.

“You’d be surprised at how we achieved this,” says Corbo. “It sounds kind of silly but we started pretty much by doing dumpster dives - literally rifling through what we were putting in the waste stream.”

“We began to separate it all and started asking questions. Why is this or that not in the product? Why isn't this being recycled? What exactly is our waste stream? This is where you have to start. It takes years and it takes focus. But money and resources we were throwing out in materials doesn't get thrown out anymore. It gets reused, repurposed, or put back into the product.”

Building a diverse, best-in-class, people-centric supply chain Colgate strives to create a workplace where everyone is empowered to be their authentic selves. Within Colgate’s supply chain, Corbo

says the company has “been spending a lot of time and focus on diversity for many years”.

He adds: “In the supply chain, we've increased female representation, especially in manufacturing operations. The first thing we did was recruit a lot of great interns, many of whom were women. Then we exposed them to plant operations, to show that manufacturing could reflect state-ofthe-art and automated facilities.”

MIKE CORBO CHIEF SUPPLY CHAIN OFFICER, COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

“The main supply chain challenges are the magnitude and the frequency of disruptions”

MIKE CORBO CHIEF SUPPLY CHAIN OFFICER, COLGATE-PALMOLIVE

For Corbo, educating recruits and new hires in this way is the secret to making progress.

“It always starts with educating people,” he says. “That way, they get excited and want to work there. Also, in a manufacturing operation you can see the fruit of your work. It's right there in the cases being loaded on trucks and the product that you made. So it's a very rewarding job.”

“The drive for talent in the workplace is incredible now, and to retain people

“Running supply chains at lowest cost leaves them fragile. We need to build resilience as a matter of priority”

across the industry is challenging, and we have to do it with a focus on diversity and inclusion.”

Colgate – powered by purpose

It’s been an eventful 40 years for Mike Corbo, but what of the years still to come? How does he see these panning out for Colgate and his supply chain team?

“We are focused on reimagining a healthier future for all people, their pets,

and our planet,” he says. “That is our purpose. We are a health company – we provide products to improve the health of people and our pets. In the supply chain, we contribute to this purpose because we make the products that provide those health benefits, empowering brighter, healthier futures for all.”

Releaf’s smart food & the supply chain

WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

Releaf CTO UZOMA AYOGU discusses the global food chain, smart food factories and recognising the productivity of the people in your supply chain

food factories chain

In 2022, the global food market’s revenue hit US$8.66tn – and that number is expected to grow each year by 6.72%.

Yet, according to the UN, 25,000 people still die of hunger each day, while 10% of the world's population is undernourished. Continuous conflicts disturb the supply chain, making it difficult to export fresh produce and sending prices up, while climate change impacts harvests with irregular floods and droughts.

But hungry humans become quick problem solvers. Uzoma Ayogu is the CTO and co-founder of Releaf, a food supply chain technology social venture founded in 2017 and based in Uyo, Nigeria. Its mission is to industrialise food processing by moving food production from traditional centralised processes to decentralised ones, through the use of smart food factories and by bringing power to the farmers with efficient manufacturing equipment, health insurance and dignity.

“We're placing food processing much closer to farmers, so we can increase the throughput of farmers and the quality of food, while also decreasing the cost of food for consumers, both on the factory side and, eventually, on the consumer side.”

As CTO, Ayogu handles all the hardware and software development for Releaf.

“What we like to say is that Ikenna, the CEO, raises the money, and I get to spend it to drive results! I use our results to hire more people.”

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UZOMA AYOGU CTO, RELEAF

Tech-enabled solutions and smart food factories

Releaf utilises various tech-enabled solutions in its work. One of these is Kraken – which is not related to the sea monster, but rather to the verb ‘cracking’.

There are four million palm oil smallholder farmers whose work is set back by slow processing systems.

“Kraken is our first hardware product,” says Ayogu. “Oil palm is are our first value chain. Today, smallholder farmers in the oil palm value chain are cracking palm nuts in a very manual way. Literally, some people still use rocks, so we've developed a de-sheller that's 200x more productive. It can ensure about 8% better quality for the end product.”

Oil from palm nuts is used in cooking, biofuel and even beauty products. With Kraken, Releaf is essentially developing a factory that it can place in the best position for these farming clusters to take on the role most efficiently. But that's only one part of Releaf’s business. Ayogu wants to be able

to develop the right technology for this decentralised layer of food production. But, says Ayogu, while it's one thing to develop the right technology, it’s just as important to know where to put it – this is where geospatial technology comes in. Releaf is currently working on a new software solution that uses geospatial data and machine learning models to find out where the most oil palm trees are located and what the expected yield is going to be.

What's different about Releaf versus other geospatial companies is that, because it is already operating in the value chain, it can have strong bottoms-up data and is able to make its models far more efficient and reliable – which can also be achieved through building a strong relationship with farmers.

“Our mission is to industrialise food processing, yes, but with a farmer-centric mindset,” says Ayogu. “So, if your farmers are very happy, you're able to minimise these expenses. We can grow our market share quickly while also developing this community.”

“We want Releaf to help Nigeria to become the breadbasket of the world with processed products”

Feedback from farmers and the supply chain

The response from leading food manufacturers across Africa has been encouraging.

“Our customers are happy because we're reliable,” says Ayogu. “We communicate well and our quality is excellent, it's been cited. We’ve had US$75m in bookings for this year! The demand is absolutely there, and we're excited about what we're doing.”

When Releaf started its health insurance programme, the farmers weren’t familiar with the concept of paying upfront for something that they might not even get value from. A lot of people were sceptical, so they subsidised it at first-week pay when they signed people up.

UZOMA AYOGU CTO, RELEAF

“In the first quarter, about three people used it,” says Ayogu. “It was just focused on malaria and typhoid coverage because they’re primarily what people are getting sick with.”

Now, farmers contact the Releaf call centre when they want to let the company know that they have crops available.

“Sometimes, they'll call us to talk about problems they're having in their lives. For us, that's another level of affinity,” says Ayogu. “Releaf is not just someone who buys crops. Releaf is a farmer's best friend and that emotional connection with the brand we're building is, I think, the most powerful longterm road for us.”

A key part of its strategy is to be seen as the company that has access to the farmers, without having to own the land for the farms.

“Releaf is getting creative about how the manufacturing sector can recognise the productivity and the dignity of people working within the food value chain,” says Ayogu.

Nigeria became the 6th most populous nation in 2020, with 216m people, and the food supply crisis is hitting closer to the Nigerian farmers Releaf works with.

Ayogu’s prediction for the global food supply chain is that, with the help of Releaf and other food manufacturers, Nigeria can rise up and export its product across a growing human population.

“When Nigeria becomes the third most populous nation in the world, we want to switch the paradigm,” says Ayogu. “We want Releaf to help Nigeria to become the breadbasket of the world with processed products.”

While Releaf sadly accepts that food supply chains are going to continue to struggle, Ayogu knows that the answers do exist.

“The manufacturing sector should recognise the productivity and the dignity of people working within the food value chain”

Releaf has had

in bookings for this year

IBM IS TAKING ON E-WASTE AND SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING

Bruce Anderson is Managing Partner of Global Manufacturing for IBM Consulting. Here, he details IBM’s sustainability initiatives & reducing e-waste

WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

BruceAnderson is Managing Partner at IBM, where he oversees global operations across automotives, aerospace and electronics for IBM Consulting. In his role, he also provides leadership for delivering business and technology solutions across these three industries.

“My team needs to have that forwardlooking point of view of what our clients are going to want and need,” says Anderson. “Not only from a consulting perspective, but in the future from a lot of our technology products as well.”

International Business Machines Corporation – known as IBM – was founded in 1911, as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in New York. Many decades earlier, Charles Babbage had designed the first successful automatic calculator and years later, the first commercially successful computer, the Altair, was sold. IBM’s first products arrived right in the middle of these events.

In 1981, the IBM Model 5150 arrived for small business owners. IBM also created the fondly remembered, but now long defunct floppy disk and the chess-playing system Deep Blue.

In 1992, IBM branched out into consulting. The company remains headquartered in New York and has a revenue of US$57.4bn .

AND FACTURING

Manufacturing is a lucrative target for cybercrime. As a large industry with valuable data and a growing IoT attack surface, your data is of direct value to hackers.

TO HAPPEN AT THE END OF A PRODUCT'S LIFE”

Last year, the company rebranded from IBM Global Business Services to IBM Consulting, feeling that, after the spinoff of Kyndryl – formerly IBM’s managed infrastructure business – rebranding to IBM Consulting served as an opportunity to re-examine the services IBM offers and focus on the problems it solves best for its clients.

What led Anderson to the role of Managing Partner at IBM Consulting was his clear focus on the client set.

“I came to IBM 26 years ago,” he says. “We were building out the consulting side of IBM, but always with industrial sector clients. Early in my career, I got focused on this client set.”

As his career progressed, Anderson started to gain specialisations in the topics

clients were working on in manufacturing, as well as the linkages into finance.

“At IBM Consulting, I look at how clients want to use new technology to solve their business problems. I reverse that sentence and say, ‘What are the business problems that our clients are trying to solve?’. Then I look at how our view on technology can accelerate what they're attempting,” explains Anderson. “Obviously, we're very excited about what's been going on with quantum.”

Quantum computing is a nascent technology, which uses quantum mechanics to fix problems beyond the reach of classical systems – and Anderson knows already how he is going to use it.

BRUCE ANDERSON MANAGING PARTNER OF GLOBAL MANUFACTURING, IBM CONSULTING

“ YOU CAN SAY THAT THAT SOUNDS VERY ALTRUISTIC BUT I THINK IT'S ALSO JUST GOOD BUSINESS”

BRUCE ANDERSON MANAGING PARTNER OF GLOBAL MANUFACTURING, IBM CONSULTING

“If you take a look at some of our most complicated problems in supply chain and in manufacturing, they're optimisation problems. Longrunning optimisations don't do well on classical systems, so you start to introduce quantum computing into that. You have all sorts of possibilities for more optimal answers in a manufacturing context,” he says. “Everybody has their hands in manufacturing.”

Anderson spends a lot of time in the electronics industry, where he sees some of the most complex manufacturing in the world – and where Quantum can help.

“During COVID-19, there were a lot of disruptions in manufacturing, so now we are seeing enterprises making changes to where they're going to locate their

manufacturing and also looking at more advanced manufacturing techniques.”

E-waste and sustainability

As a part of its sustainability initiative, IBM is unlocking innovative and scalable solutions across all of the industries it is involved in, from manufacturing to food production.

“When you talk about sustainability, you've got to talk about both ends,” says Anderson.

“What is it that you're creating? Was it an environmentally responsible process? What is going to happen at the end of its life?”

E-waste represents 2% of America's landfill waste, but it equals 70% of overall toxic waste. Globally, up to 50m metric tonnes of e-waste is disposed of annually. IBM is looking at the lifecycle of its products to reduce the volume of e-waste, with data from its annual ESG report showing the goal

of limiting products sent to landfill to 3%, through reusing and recycling products.

In 2021, IBM reused, resold or recycled 97.7% of its end-of-life products, sending 2% to waste-to-energy plants and a final 0.3% to landfill. Anderson hopes more manufacturers will follow.

“I think that, as sustainability gets more in the consumer's mind, all manufacturers will respond to these issues. Right now, the

world seems to be focused on reporting ‘How good or bad are we? Who is worse than us in the same product category?’ – I call it peeling the onion: grab all the data, peel the onion, take a look at what's rotten and go fix it.”

Diversity at IBM

IBM has always been able to see the talent inside potential employees. The company’s first employee with a disability was hired in 1914, decades before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was installed to support such workers. The company joined The Valuable 500 in 2020, a global business collective designed to advocate for disability inclusion in business.

“At IBM, diversity and inclusion are foundational principles of our culture,” says Carla Grant Pickens, Vice President and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer at IBM. “By fostering conscious inclusion and

AT IBM CONSULTING, I LOOK AT HOW CLIENTS WANT TO USE NEW TECHNOLOGY TO SOLVE THEIR BUSINESS PROBLEMS”

BRUCE ANDERSON

active allyship, every IBM employee can make a positive impact on society while bringing their authentic selves to work. Innovation and creativity can thrive when differences are embraced and diverse experiences are at the table.”

“I just think that accommodating all types of talent, however it presents itself, is something IBM's been a leader in for a long time,” says Anderson. “I think you can say that sounds very altruistic, but I think it's also just good business as well.”

There's a lot of talent out there that doesn't always show up in an expected way, and IBM has been very efficient at figuring out how to find it. Over the next 12 months, the consulting company is looking to draw in new, skilled employees and help their clients prepare for future supply chain disturbances.

“I believe that the world feels like it's got its arms around these disruptions,” says Anderson. “But there's more than one, right?”

The COVID-19 period caused huge supply chain disruption and havoc to the manufacturing environment, followed by Russia’s war against Ukraine and the political tensions between the US and China.

“I think what's going to happen is enterprises, whether or not they are specific to manufacturing, are going to get better at dealing with disruption,” says Anderson. “You won't find them caught saying, ‘We never thought of that scenario’. When you actually bring the data in, analyse it and say, ‘If this scenario happens, this is what we do’ – have your plan backed up by facts.”

Anderson believes that this will play very well into what manufacturing consultants in broader corporate functions can do to help their clients in the next year.

Phone manufacturers

WRITTEN BY: HELEN ADAMS

While mobile phones were only released in the mid-1980s, they've soon morphed into something that most can’t imagine living without. Amid a plethora of choice, phone manufacturers now compete for consumer attention by offering a variety of models with modern, state-of-the-art features at price points suited to different consumer groups.

Recently, though, the mobile market has been described as oversaturated. Seemingly unsinkable phone brands are frantically plundering a cache of ingenuity to coax consumers back – with some reviving reworked models for a nostalgic vibe and the rest climbing the technology ladder for cutting-edge features.

Here are our Top 10 phone manufacturers dominating the market and dreaming up innovations.

Apple, Samsung, Google, Sony, Motorola, Huawei, OnePlus, Nokia, Blackberry and LG - here are our Top 10 phone manufacturers

10LG Founded in 1958

LG Electronics Inc. (LG) was founded in 1958, South Korea. In 2020, the company sold 23 million phones, totalling 2% of the worldwide mobile phone market.

Last year, however, LG announced that it would close its mobile business unit, due to a combination of increased competitiveness from the rest of the mobile phone sector and a desire to concentrate on manufacturing EV components, smart homes and other connected devices.

Nevertheless, LG will continue to support the millions of loyal LG customers with software updates.

Once the purveyor of the most in-demand mobile phone, BlackBerry announced its comeback with the creation of a 5G smartphone, exciting QWERTY keyboard texters around the world. But, with smartphone stalwarts dominating the market, the 5G project was cancelled and the Canadian manufacturer said it would no longer be manufacturing phones, instead focusing on security.

The iconic noughties device is now set to get a movie biopic, covering its meteoric rise to tech glory and its smashed-screen freefall.

Blackberry Founded in 1984

Nokia

Founded in 1865

Nokia was founded in 1865, Espoo, Finland. Its technology is designed to keep the world together, with affordability a core business value to ensure this.

The company has recently brought back one of its most recognisable phones from the ‘90s for the smartphone age: the Nokia 8210 4G returns in 2022, but with an MP3 player and camera for the modern needs of the customer. Fans of retro devices will also be able to enjoy cult-favourite mobile game Snake.

OnePlus Founded in 2013

In 2013, the smartphone industry had seemingly stalled. In China, two former Oppo employees had an idea: to redefine the way Android smartphones were built and create one that would have a broad appeal.

The smartphone brand was launched in 2014, combining fast, quality software with expert design to build a superior user experience for loyal Android fans.

Eight years later – in 2021 –the company sold 10 million smartphones globally.

Ensuring the agility and resilience of your business and supply chain starts with identifying the risks.

Download our report to start your resilience planning today.

Because Insight Beats Hindsight

Huawei

Founded in 1987

Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Huawei was founded in 1987 with a clear aim to focus on customer needs, but political concerns regarding security have rocked the manufacturer in recent years.

These concerns caused Huawei to be banned in several Western nations; meanwhile, Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou was put on house arrest in her Vancouver home, fighting extradition to the US amid production losses from COVID19 lockdowns. This year, Huawei’s revenue dipped by 5.9% as a result.

Motorola will forever be remembered as the manufacturer that brought the world the flip phone with the iconic ad line, “Hello, Moto”, but also for its part in the space race. In 1969, Motorola manufactured the backpack antenna used by Neil Armstrong, letting the whole world hear about his famous steps.

Motorola’s phone manufacturing now concentrates on an efficient display, long battery life, 5G support and a camera that captures everything. But, evolving the traditional flip phone for the modern age, the company has just launched a foldable smartphone in China.

Motorola Founded in 1928

Founded in 1998

Sony Founded in 1946

With its arsenal of electronics –including televisions, headphones and cameras – some people are unaware that Sony even manufactures phones. Outside of this, Sony also has stakes in film, music, biotechnology and electric vehicles (following a recent partnership with Honda).

The Japanese tech titan came out with the Sony Xperia in 2008, releasing new, updated models regularly to keep up with customer expectations. But smartphone competition is causing sales to slump year on year: over the past two years, sales have dropped by 3.6 million units.

There are 5.6 billion Google searches every day. Since 1998, the search engine has been answering questions, but, in 2010, it also started answering phone calls with the Google Nexus. The All-Google phone, Nexus One, arrived in 2016 – an Android smartphone manufactured to offer clean software, an unbeatable camera, and limitless cloud storage for Google Photos. Other Google apps were also featured, including Maps, Gmail, YouTube and more.

The Nexus One is designed to work with Google Assistant, a virtual assistant software.

Google

Samsung

Founded in 1938

Samsung was founded in 1938, Daegu, South Korea. It started as a grocery shop, but after the Korean War, expanded into industrial products to revive the ravaged economy, with Samsung Electronics later established in 1969. Now, Samsung is responsible for 20% of all exports from South Korea, from watches to household appliances to phones. The tallest building, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, also owes its success to Samsung's construction division, which helped funding to reach 828mn.

Samsung Electronics hatched its own brand of smartphone in the 2000s, and the Samsung Galaxy series quickly became one of the best-selling smartphones in the world. In 2019, Samsung introduced the foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold.

The company now employs 267,000 people from 80 different countries, with manufacturing facilities in South Korea, as well as Vietnam, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia. In 2021, the company had a revenue of approximately US$244bn.

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Apple to shift Ipad and Macbook production to Vietnam | VTV World

Apple

Founded in 1976

With 7 billion humans on the planet, over 1 billion iPhones have been sold – many of them to the same customer, as faithful fans of the iconic brand wait in line to buy the latest iteration.

RBC Capital Markets conducted a survey of smartphone users, asking if they would stick with the brand they had when they brought their next phone. 83.4% of iPhone users said yes, with only 64.2% of Samsung owners saying the same.

iPhone manufacturing takes place in Asia, where workforces work for far less pay than they would in the West. China has 12 of these factories, as well as boasting the most iPhone users, followed by the USA.

Committed to diversity within the business and its consumer base, Apple works with top manufacturers to build hearing aids designed for the iPhone, in addition to the iPad and iPod.