Don’t be put off by the latest manufacturing jargon – embrace it instead by taking our two-minute survey.

How well do you understand the latest manufacturing jargon? It can often prove to be confounding – so we’ve put together a handy quick-fire survey to see how ‘on the pulse’ you are with these new buzzwords to appear in manufacturing. Choose your answer to these manufacturing jargon questions carefully!

‘Digital Transformation’ is…

A drive to transform all aspects of our lives for the better, whether in the home, in the workplace or on the commute via the use of social media.                                                                                                           

A mission to understand how new technologies are causing huge changes in customer experiences. It’s a mission to evolve company practises to best use and exploit such disruptive tech.

A research project being undertaken by Massachusetts Institute of Technology to ‘mind map’ our personalities and upload the results into the cloud to share with the world.

The answer is…

‘Social Collaboration’ is…

Encouraging the use of social technologies to allow professionals to engage on a deeper level with their peers, as well as widening their access to applicable business information.

Working together out-of-business hours to create fresh thinking and processes within a more relaxed atmosphere, which can then be fed back and deployed in official company hours.

Throwing business cards on to the board room table and then pairing off with whomever picks up your card for a one-on-one brainstorming session. The aim? To create new out-of-the-box strategies on the fly.

The answer is…

‘Servitisation’ is…

Taking the ‘fast-serving product deployment’ ethos found in the fast food sector and applying it, where possible, to the manufacturing process. It creates core products more quickly and efficiently.

A shift from simply selling traditional products to creating a more customer-aligned offering. This is achieved by using your products as a platform to sell entire service solutions from.

Downsizing employee numbers by replacing them with automated (in some cases, robotic-based units) to create the ultimate ‘servers’ for your company.

The answer is…

‘Harvestisation’ is…

The use of digital services to ‘harvest’ new contacts and leads from the online space via social media outlets, for use within the manufacturing/commerce space.              

Pulling together and optimising your product range within the ERP space. The process is designed to increase productivity and efficiency.                                                           

Taking over smaller rivals within a short period of time, thereby creating a larger company that is then capable of buying out previously bigger competitors.

The answer is…

Enough manufacturing jargon! Download our free pragmatic eGuide Why Spreadsheets Stop Small Manufacturers Growing