This time every year I finish reading Electronics Sourcing North America’s ECIA TOP 50 Americas Authorized Distributors Report and wonder two things to myself. Firstly, how closely does the report match my own experience and expectations? Secondly—mostly for fun—I wonder what the following year’s big news will be? I can safely say, 12 months ago, a reset of global tariffs was not on my list of options.
If I run an appraisal of past years in the form of a quick SWOT analysis, the list of threats that came to fruition is truly mind blowing. It includes the dot.com bubble, global financial crisis, multiple natural disasters, a global pandemic, war in Europe, tariffs, port closures and the odd container vessel blocking key shipping channels.
These are all events one would place in the ‘threats’ quadrant but never imagine would happen. Yet, they did and continue to do so. Now add in the ‘weaknesses’ quadrant and it’s amazing anything gets made at all.
Yet, every day, against all the odds, the global manufacturing industry is hard at work, pulling people out of poverty, improving living standards the world over, introducing lifesaving technologies and pushing humanity on to better things.
So, what makes all this possible? People, that’s what. Hardworking, ingenious, problem solving, thought provoking, down-to-earth people who—when faced with the ‘threats quadrant’—knuckle down, design a solution and crack on.
Just such people are featured in this magazine, from cover-to- cover, so read on to hear about their thoughts on the future.
