A recent story in Computerworld covers the impact that the March 11 earthquake in Japan and subsequent tsunami are having on the manufacturing of computer chips. Certainly this is secondary to the tremendous loss of life. But economists are now mulling over what this means for the global supply chain and manufacturing overall.
TIME correspondent, Michael Schuman in a recent blog post asks: “Will the impact of Japan’s quake on manufacturing be temporary, or will it lead to a complete re-think of the way in which products are made today?”
Only time will tell, and it’s not just a colossal natural disaster shaking up the system. Manufacturing today is by definition global. And globalization propels new market trends and gives rise to new business challenges. Hyper-competition demands faster and shorter product life-cycles than ever before, so rapid decision-making and access to experts is critical. Value/supply chains are global and cultural communication issues cannot get in the way of business.
Employees, partners and customers all working together with telepresence can be a tremendous competitive advantage in this new world to help overcome these challenges. For example, Avago Technologies is a global leader in design and supply of analogue, mixed-signal and optoelectronic components with more than 40,000 customers and 3,500 employees located around the world. Enterprise Infrastructure Director, Andy Nallappan said: “With a globally dispersed employee and customer base, we are seeing tangible benefits from video, such as increased business efficiency and productivity, improved team collaboration and significant reduction in travel time and costs.”
And we’re all staying tuned for success stories to start flowing out of Japan.
To see how the education world has worked together using telepresence to be a true agent for positive change, check out our recent blog: Working Together in Education: Broadening Curricula and Increasing Access to Foster Innovation. You can also read about Working Together in Healthcare: Addressing the Disparities in Access and Quality of Care.
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