Advancing manufacturing

by Jim Walker, CEO - QMI Solutions

QMI Solutions has a history of aligning itself with world leaders and experts on manufacturing. This is how we are able to transfer proven practices and technology for the benefit of local industry - the primary reason for the establishment of QMI Solutions.

Most recently, we have been fortunate enough to work with Professor Goran Roos, a leading thinker on manufacturing and a world-renown academic and strategic advisor to industry around the world. It was great to see Professor Roos as one of our keynote speakers on “The future of Australian Manufacturing” at our Manufacturing Skills Conference held in May.

 

In 2008, Australia moved from being a low cost environment to a high cost environment and is ranked the third most expensive country in which to conduct business. Professor Roos says because the shift to a high cost environment has occurred relatively quickly, many support businesses and systems have not been able to make the change required to compete successfully.

 

Compounding this, over the past decade, Australia has experienced a flattening trend in productivity. Although the Australian economy has experienced average annual GDP growth rates ahead of many other developed economies, ours dropped over the past decade and is only now showing signs of relative improvement. Sometime around 2002, Australian productivity went from growing substantially faster to growing substantially slower than the OECD average. Added to this, Australia’s innovation performance over the past eight years slipped from 5th to 15th according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index.

 

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