Today at the Manufacturing Indaba, it was announced that Factory of the Year is to expand to South Africa, proudly supported by leading global management consultancy firm, A.T. Kearney, the Manufacturing Circle, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Manufacturing Indaba.
As a vital contributor to economic growth and job creation, Factory of the Year aims to support South Africa’s drive to reinvigorate and develop the local manufacturing sector. The highly-anticipated two-day Indaba provided the ideal platform to launch the toughest manufacturing benchmarking competition worldwide, in the presence of some of the industry’s most respected players.
The winning team will be awarded the title “Factory of the Year” and will benefit from access to global benchmarks. The central theme of this year’s Indaba is the Fourth Industrial Revolution, focusing on the importance of digital technologies to the continued advancement of manufacturing industries globally. Theo Sibiya, Managing Director of A.T. Kearney South Africa, said: “With the increase of global competition, challenging local conditions and the increasing adoption of technologies, it raises the bar for excellence in manufacturing. Factory of the Year aims to identify factories that have a deep understanding of how they have, and can, improve due to rigorous benchmarking against local and global players”.
Philippa Rodseth, Executive Director of the Manufacturing Circle said, “Not only does Factory of the Year aim to inject excitement into the manufacturing sector, it will also provide participants with actionable insights that can lead to significant competitive improvements and I encourage participation from all manufacturers”.
The competition is open to all types of manufacturers and measures six dimensions, which include customer satisfaction, quality, value creation, economics, agility and innovation. Winners of the Factory of the Year competition will be selected by an independent jury and announced at the 2019 Manufacturing Indaba. The overall winner will be awarded a floating trophy in honour of being South Africa’s 2018 Factory of the Year.
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