QLD has built a name for itself as a lighthouse of advanced manufacturing and now is the time to dig deeper according to Chief Entrepreneur Leanne Kemp

It might seem indulgent but now is the time for QLD businesses to be digging deeper into this key area according to Chief Entrepreneur Leanne Kemp

AS Global Chair for Advanced Manufacturing at the World Economic Forum, I was pleased that Queensland was recognised as a “lighthouse” in advanced manufacturing in January 2020.

The WEF acknowledged what many of us locally already know: that Queensland is a leader when it comes to creating, adopting and sharing technology and systems processes that lead to strong, dynamic value chains.

The WEF noted that Queensland had a particularly collaborative advanced manufacturing culture where innovation is a shared process built out across companies and industries.

I often speak about the transition from supply chains to value chains; the change from merely being a cog in the machine, to creating a point of value along the journey from raw material to consumer.

Entrepreneur Leanne Kemp says we can and should lead businesses and leverage innovation to explore new practices that will become the standard way of working of tomorrow.

Queensland is now internationally recognised as adopting leading examples of technology and systems processes in advanced manufacturing across not just supply chains but also value chains. And as we transition to this new model, we are also moving wholly towards Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies which will minimise disruption and be used to accelerate production capacity.

We have seen how COVID19 has affected our supply chains exposing fragility and vulnerabilities hitherto in the background.

The response of some companies to the current disruption has been to add domestic suppliers to their mix, or to give those they already use a bigger share of their businesses.

In some cases, companies have experimented with local 3D printing to replace certain components in shortage because the lockdown has compromised their supply chain.

COVID19 has not so much changed the global delivery models but accelerated the impetus for us to ensure resiliency by building back better.

Queensland is poised as a leader in this field.

EGR auto parts manufacturer usually makes parts and accessories for cars but has now pivoted to make face shields for medical staff fighting coronavirus. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

We can and should lead businesses and leverage innovation in operating models to explore new practices that will become the standard way of working of tomorrow.

Consider the example of climate change.

We have somewhat sidelined this as an issue while we face down the threat of a pandemic. But we cannot deny that on the other side of COVID19, climate change awaits us as the biggest challenge of our century and an enormous risk to the future of manufacturing and production.

We can become true leaders defining new strategies to build resilience and agility in a post-COVID19 world where supply chain security and carbon footprint reduction become entwined as outcomes from the same systemic change.

Could Queensland lead industry practices to accelerate action toward carbon neutrality in manufacturing while also ensuring secure, local supply chains?

Could Queensland be an experimental sandbox working environment actively exploring and discussing collaborations required to advance carbon footprint reduction targets?

Of course, my answer is a resounding yes!

As a lighthouse, we have already demonstrated leadership of thought and practice. Now is the time to identify key actions to help businesses and countries achieve carbon neutrality in manufacturing and reach, in Queensland’s case, a 50 per cent renewables target by 2030 and zero net emissions by 2050.

Undertaking this kind of analysis in the midst of the current crisis may seem like an indulgence, but it allows businesses to reassess the risks and opportunities and adapt plans accordingly.

While dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and its economic impact is rightly the priority, climate change could easily end up being our next COVID a decade hence if we don’t begin to take the need to begin the energy transition more seriously.