VOX POPS EXPERT VIEWS
Lee-Bath Nelson
Co-founder and VP business
LEO Lane
2020 has accelerated
processes that were
already underway,
including the move to
digital supply chains and
additive manufacturing
(AM aka 3D printing),
remote work, cloud
services/SaaS, and secure
knowledge sharing. The pandemic
has taught us that supply chains are only as
good as their weakest link and highlighted the
advantages of a nimble, robust, digital supply
chain with secured virtual inventory.
This is a great opportunity for AM with a
parallel lane of repeatability, consistency,
security, and tracking to step up and o er
an on-demand enhancement to prevent
manufacturing lines from being idle because
of supply chain failures. AM can be used dayto
day (e.g., for tooling, jigs, and fi xtures as
well as manufacturing equipment spare parts)
or only be switched on in times of failure to
provide emergency parts.
In an anecdotal poll during a webinar, over
60% of manufacturing managers in attendance
said they experienced supply chain failures
during COVID-19 that caused a, potentially
“The pandemic has taught us
that supply chains are only as
good as their weakest link”
prolonged, manufacturing failure. We can no
longer say these failures are one-o s; they
will occur again and therefore in the future,
manufacturing will have solutions in place to
circumvent and even prevent such failures.
At LEO Lane, we focus on the security,
repeatability, and tracking of AM and digital
supply chains through our SaaS solution.
SaaS is another already established trend that
has gotten an extra push in 2020, well ahead
of previous expectations and is likely to be
used ubiquitously in the manufacturing of the
future.
James Kemp
Managing director
Pentadel Project Management
In 2020 we have seen the explosion of the
direct-to-consumer (D2C) model in the UK.
While we can see how this is disrupting the
retail sector, we may not be fully be aware of
how it is also impacting manufacturing and
supply chains now and in the future.
The UK has the most advanced e-commerce
market in Europe, with COVID-19 increasing
and accelerating this demand further in 2020.
During lockdown and beyond, many more
people began to shop directly from the safety
of their own homes and this in turn has seen
consumer trust grow in the D2C model.
This year we have worked with a number
of dynamic start-ups and disruptors across
sectors as diverse as pet care, pharmaceuticals,
fl oristry to help design, set up and deliver their
D2C operations.
What is interesting is that many of these
D2C newcomers want to control and manage
their own manufacturing and distribution from
the outset and are getting the investment to
do so. This has triggered a
new type of manufacturing
facility; one that is
a hybrid between
manufacturing,
assembly and
distribution, all under
one roof.
These D2C
newcomers have a
brilliant fulfi lment model
and are really fi rst and
foremost tech companies
that happen to manufacture and distribute
products. Their advanced technology helps
them to engage and appeal to consumers
online and through apps and to run fulfi lment,
manufacturing and logistics operations,
such as order placement, stock control and
bespoke orders, to almost 100% e ciency and
precision.
We believe that D2C will continue
to advance and diversify in 2021 and
beyond, which will certainly shake up the
manufacturing and supply chain sectors
further.
“The UK has the most advanced
e-commerce market in Europe,
and COVID will accelerate it”
www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk 13
/www.manufacturingmanagement.co.uk