Webinar replay: As tariff war whipsaws world economy, ‘uncertainty is the new certainty'
With our group of manufacturing brands, Smart Industry’s sister brand IndustryWeek on May 7 led the first of a series of webinars on the brewing trade war ignited by U.S. President Donald Trump’s back-and-forth threats and active tariffs on other world economic powers such as China and the impact on manufacturers from the resulting chaos.
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The theme of the hourlong May 7 session, led by Editor-in-Chief Robert Schoenberger, emerged as “uncertainty is the new certainty,” and that manufacturers should plan on shifting supply chains and strive to build as much flexibility into their operations and sourcing of materials as possible.
But webinar guests—Rebecca Homkes, lecturer at London Business School Executive Education and author of "Survive, Reset, Thrive: Leading Breakthrough Growth Strategy in Volatile Times," Chuck Orzechowski, CEO of the Chief Operating Officer Business Forum, and Chris Azur, who is president of Wheeling, West Virginia-based Warwood Tool—also agreed there is opportunity for companies that can navigate the turbulence.
See also: How predictive AI can help manufacturers forecast demand for their products
“There’s no leader on this call who would say that they’ve run their business through certain times,” Homkes said during the session. “I think we're in an industry that's always had a period of change.”
Azur and Orzechowski also emphasized that the tariff turmoil and resulting cash uncertainty and cost increases were no excuse to slow investment in new technology and digital transformation.
Those improvements, all three guests agreed, would only build operational efficiency and flexibility into any manufacturing endeavor. Azur predicted a surge in such investments, his own company included, in such tech as sensors and software in the Trump tariff economy.
See also: Leveraging real-time production data: Q&A with Adam Mullen
Check out IndustryWeek's take on the webinar and be sure to register and watch a replay of the May 7 program, which is the first in a series of four sponsored by U.S. Bank.
Also don’t forget to register for the next program in the series, “Bringing Manufacturing Back to the U.S., What Will it Cost?,” which is scheduled for June 4 at noon Eastern Time in the U.S.
