Manufacturers Provide Added Value as Domestic Suppliers
The response to the COVID-19 pandemic has shown there is a clear ROI in manufacturing PPE in the U.S., economically and for society as a whole. The manufacturing community’s response to the pandemic also has provided a proof of concept that domestic suppliers can provide reliance and added value for items of critical importance to the health of the nation. It may prove to be a tipping point for reshoring.
Manufacturers prior to the pandemic already were dealing with risks of cost-driven outsourcing — such as poor quality, theft of IP, shipping delays and a lack of control. The onslaught of disruptions in the global supply chain has provided opportunities, and the Manufacturing USA network’s public-private investment model has shown how it can perform as a catalyst in spurring economic recovery.
Emerging technologies converged with this urgent demand for PPE to create new possibilities for domestic manufacturing, helping boost public health, strengthen our economy and ensure national security. The pandemic-related projects involved many of the institutes and included:
- Digitizing and streamlining production requirements and instructions for PPE, helping ensure public health and safety
- Compliance testing and quality control
- Product lifecycle management
- An online repository to connect suppliers with customers
The Manufacturing USA network institutions are providing pathways for manufacturers to add more value as domestic suppliers and lower their total cost of ownership. Ultimately this will empower manufacturers to align their supply chain management more closely with their business success.
News
Opportunities
America Makes is proud to announce a new directed project call focusing on Methods for AM Cross-Platform Consistency (AM-CPC) with a $250K funding opportunity provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). One award is anticipated.
The AM...
NIST invites AFFOA, AIM Photonics, America Makes, ARM, BioFabUSA, BioMADE, CESMII, CyManII, IACMI, LIFT, MxD, NextFlex, PowerAmerica, RAPID, & REMADE Manufacturing USA institutes to propose high-impact projects designed to fund awards for research, development, and testbeds to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
Please note that...
The High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) Program, managed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), has issued a special solicitation seeking industry partners to collaborate with the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) national laboratories on projects to improve manufacturing processes.
This special solicitation invites...
External News
I have to say that I’m flabbergasted. In fact, I don’t think it would be unfair to say that rarely has my flabber been quite so gasted. The reason for my current state of high-gast is that I just received some frabjous intelligence with respect to enhancing our manufacturing capabilities here in the USA.
One of the things that’s made me...
As another productive year comes to a close, it’s always nice to take a moment to look back on everything our hard-working staff members have accomplished and celebrate the wins. From semiconductors to quantum computing (and post-quantum encryption) to artificial intelligence, this year has seen NIST accomplish some major milestones.
CHIPS Act
In...
Fossil energy stakeholders have a new reason to worry. During the last weeks of the Trump administration, the US Department of Defense announced that it had lent some of its financial muscle to BioMADE, a sprawling program aimed at accelerating the growth of a domestic bioeconomy. One of the first shoes to drop is a a dandelion-based rubber...
For decades, young adults believed that the ticket to success was a college degree. As a result, interest in the skilled trades declined. We are now paying the price for that shift with a shortage of skilled workers at a time when they are more critical than ever.
While the need for these workers is widespread, American manufacturing in particular...
Today, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council, Brian Deese, along with Deputy NEC Director Fazili and Deputy OMB Director Miller, convened the sixteen directors of the nation’s Manufacturing USA Innovation Institute for the first time at the White House since the network’s founding in 2012. Deputy and Under...
Manufacturing is the backbone of America, powering our economy and building our middle class. Over the past year and a half, we have been making “Buy American” a reality, not just a slogan, and bringing jobs and companies home. This year’s National Manufacturing Day comes in the midst of an American manufacturing boom, as we celebrate the strength...
During the pandemic, the food processing industry was slammed. Supply chain issues slowed production. Runs on products resulted in empty shelves, and social distancing stretched the labor force impossibly thin. The meat processing industry was hit particularly hard by social distancing constraints and dangerous outbreaks. You could just about hear...
Loomia Technologies is partnering with Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) to develop highly tactile, heated handwear that could be applicable to both commercial/recreational and military customers.
For this collaborative project, Loomia will provide technology to be used in a heated glove insert, while AFFOA will lead customer discovery...
In 2021, Smart Manufacturing started asking the leaders transforming manufacturing what effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on their business. Not only do the stories continue to amaze, we’re also seeing some of the trickle down effects of COVID-19 emerge in their answers.
Two respondents said reshoring—bringing manufacturing back to the...
Some of the images from the first weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic are indelible: doctors and nurses wearing garbage bags instead of gowns and reusing the same protective mask for days at a time; homemade plastic face shields replacing professional-grade models; live coverage of deliveries of personal protective equipment to hard-hit hospitals. The...