From the Blog

#Do #Manufacturers #Need #Social #Media?

Do manufacturers need social media? This being a manufacturing blog, we may approach this question with just a little bias, but we did come across an interesting blog post on the Cisco Systems website (and not only because we agree with it!). Social media has become an important marketing for many small and medium sized businesses as well as large corporations.  But what about manufacturers?  Cisco System’s looks at the question in a podcast and blog post by freelancer Kerry Doyle.   In  “Manufacturing Snapshot: Does Social Media Matter?” Doyle looks at a recent survey by the Manufacturing Leadership Council that show that 13% of manufacturing executives plan to digitize their design/production processes, and “social media tools represent an important component.” By 2023, according to the Council, “that percentage will rise to more than half (53%).” Doyle reports that manufacturers are beginning to use social media tools for their workforce, using this medium in a manner somewhat different than other businesses. He writes,  “Aircraft manufacturer, Airbus, offers partners and dealers a range of interactive procurement portals. These platform-based resources enable suppliers to describe their capabilities to Airbus buyers in addition to exchanging requirements and proposals online during the bid process.” Doyle also points to Industrial Mold and Machine in Twinsburg, OH, a company that produces molds for plastic bottle manufacturers, as an indicator of how manufactuers are starting to use social media.  The company provides an iPad-accessible Social Media Platform for production-line quality control, design access and problem solving. Doyle then poses the question, “at what point does it become a pursuit with diminishing returns?” Some view it as optimistic to think that social media could be adopted into the way manufacturing businesses are operated given that manufacturing involves “assembly line specifications, designs, chemical/physical property data and production timelines.” So is there a future for social media in manufacturing?  Doyle thinks so, pointing to research by IDC that predicts that 80%  of the information & communications technology industry growth will be driven by “mobility, Cloud, Big Data and social media technologies.” For manufacturing,” Doyle write,” such projections reveal where the next wave of innovation will come from. They consider social media-based solutions as critical tools for integrating data and content with people and systems.” What do you think?  Leave a comment below. To see the full article, go here.   Used with the permission of http://thenetwork.cisco.com/.  

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