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Report reveals Canadian manufacturers taking a positive view of their prospects for 2018
Vancouver, BC – January 18, 2018 – SYSPRO, a global provider of industry-built ERP software, announced today its sponsorship of the 2018 Manufacturers’ Outlook report. The annual report surveys leading Canadian manufacturing executives about their opinions and insights into the future of Canadian manufacturing, and their business intentions for the coming year. The report, commissioned by PLANT Magazine—a leading publication advancing Canadian manufacturing, was developed in partnership with Grant Thornton LLP and Machines Italia, in conjunction with the Italian Trade Commission.
The report highlights the top results from a national survey, conducted by RK Insights, a leading global full-service market research firm, of 495 Canadian manufacturing owners and senior executives. Results from the study were tabulated and discussed at a live industry roundtable that consisted of industry subject matter experts including analysts, manufacturers and service providers, in October 2017.
Several key findings from the 2018 report include:
- 44% of senior company executives are optimistic about the coming year, although most (50%) qualify their optimism with caution.
- American protectionism is worrying 92% of executives, followed by rising global protectionism (90%), US President Donald Trump’s impact on nation-to-nation relationships (88%) and the NAFTA renegotiation (88%).
- More than half of the senior executives are expecting orders and sales to increase (averaging 12% and 13%); but costs will also increase by 6%. Pricing will stay the same for 48% but 43% expect increases of 5%. Thirty-nine per cent see profits rising 8%.
- Controlling costs tops the list of challenges for 66% of respondents, followed by pressures on prices (53%) and improving productivity (49%), which moved up from sixth spot in the 2017 survey results.
- Optimism is evident by their top choices for investment over the next three years: 79% will spend on machinery, equipment and technology, and 68% will invest in training.
- Only 36% make use of automatic data access, analysis and review to measure and monitor productivity; 46% do it manually; 18% don’t measure; and 59% do not plan on a digital production transformation involving Industry 4.0 and the IIoT over the next 12 months.
- The top three most used advanced technologies are CAD/CAE/CAM (60%), custom manufacturing (57%) and automation (42%).
- More than half of the executives (54%) see innovation as very important to their business strategies with the most focus on products (66%), processes (65%) and technologies (51%).
“The Outlook survey shows manufacturers are optimistic about the year ahead, but they are concerned about how protectionist measures and other US policies will affect their businesses,” said Joe Terrett, editor of PLANT magazine. “Nonetheless, they’re demonstrating their confidence with plans to make significant investments in machinery, equipment and technology.”
“Canadian manufacturers have a real opportunity to embrace disruptive change in this global economy,” said James Weir, Vice President of Sales for SYSPRO Canada. “The results indicate that more than half of those surveyed are manually measuring and monitoring their productivity levels, or not at all. Investing wisely in automation (and innovation) should not be a scary notion for companies, but rather a strategic business approach that is embraced. Companies that do so are more likely to increase production volume, reduce costs, and improve the quality of delivering goods to meet customer demand.”
About SYSPRO
SYSPRO is a global, independent provider of industry-built ERP software designed to simplify business complexity for manufacturers and distributors. Focused on delivering optimized performance and complete business visibility, the SYSPRO solution is highly scalable, and can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud, or accessed via a mobile device. SYSPRO’s strengths lie in a simplified approach to technology, expertise in a range of industries, and a commitment to future-proofing customer and partner success.
SYSPRO has more than 15,000 licensed companies in over 60 countries across six continents.
For more information on SYSPRO Canada visit: https://ca.syspro.com/ or contact SYSPRO Canada’s Head Office at Toll Free: +1 (888) 259-6666.
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Media Contact:
Melanie Aizer
SYSPRO Canada
1.888.259.6666 Ext: 5228
melanie.aizer@ca.syspro.com
