Navigating change in tech isn’t just about tools.
Research & development drives new technology, and new technology development fuels the lifeblood of technology, industrial and consumer companies. Without product development there is no “new!” As an essential technology industry, electronics showcases how amazing, productive and cost-effective new technologies get developed, refined and launched so all industries can leverage and integrate these advancements into their versions of “new.”
For decades, companies have honed the R&D and product development process to be incredibly quick, robust and cost-effective. They have achieved this via globalization, allowing them to leverage their global footprint and specific expertise to react quickly to changing market needs or expedite the timeline for entirely new technologies. Teams collaborate among facilities in North America, Asia and Europe, creating a common and highly successful approach that companies use across various end-products and markets.
While we have spent decades refining and perfecting the product development paradigm, recent global political events may twist, stretch and ultimately undermine this highly successful approach. With current events and global rhetoric challenging the tried-and-true business and product development paradigm, what should we do?
A combination of creativity, flexibility and patience serves as the best strategy as we usher in the new normal, whatever it may be. We need creativity to think outside the traditional box, flexibility to keep that box moving forward, and patience to recognize that it’s a journey.
So, what type of creativity might be applied? Just as Covid-19 ushered in widespread utilization of emerging communication technologies such as Zoom and Teams, existing and emerging technologies most likely will be harnessed quicker and more effectively than anyone may have imagined even a short year ago. AI (artificial intelligence) will likely serve as the cornerstone of how the new normal is addressed. AI can significantly reduce the need for building prototypes to prove a hypothesis or validate a concept.
The importance of this is clear when considering how product comes to market today. Typically, multiple facilities across the globe coordinate on a single product, wherein one location produces the first stage of the product, then ships the in-process item to a second location – often in a different country. That second site utilizes processes the first location lacks and then ships the item back for final completion. To reduce costs and potential delays that tariffs may cause, AI may provide a solution.
AI will not be the sole solution, however. Rethinking the role of each stakeholder in any R&D or product development effort requires dexterity and a deep dive into what capabilities each location truly has versus what it claims to have. Clearly, in a world of tariffs, the fewer times a company ships an item, the more strategic advantage it gains.
Flexibility is needed, especially in times when the political agenda has ripple effects on industry more akin to a roller coaster ride than a well-conceived economic strategy. In uncertain and turbulent times, everyone needs to be able to pivot quickly and seamlessly in whichever direction the wind blows. After decades of stable political policy, of course, this may be uncomfortable for many. Flexibility is needed going forward to navigate today’s extremely dynamic environment. Shifting the location of R&D, prototype production, and even volume manufacturing will require extreme dexterity and flexibility.
More importantly, separating the technological goal from the personal political view may require even more flexibility. Times of the past and present appear more similar when using a flexible mind. Achieving successes of the past in the global environment of the present requires focused flexibility.
Patience is something our industry has always needed, in droves! Supply chain costs are in constant flux, human talent is a challenge to find, and profitability can be elusive. We, as an industry, understand patience on one level. When the winds of change are driven by politics instead of economics, however, some may be out of their element. That said, understanding that patience, even if for non-sensical reasons, is more important in times of change than ever.
Most importantly, patience is a universal virtue. Regardless of where you are located on the globe, in times of change, especially when the change occurs for illogical reasons, having patience is truly a virtue!
In technology, changing times require creativity and flexibility. In a changing world, it also requires patience.
Peter Bigelow has more than 30 years’ experience as a PCB executive, most recently as president of FTG Circuits Haverhill; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
