Tariffs, shifting demand, geopolitical uncertainty — it’s a lot to manage for any small or mid-sized shop. When the landscape keeps changing, where should job shop leaders focus? That question came up at AMT’s MTForecast Conference, when I heard Cara Walton from Wipfli, present a sharp, data-informed session on how job shops can prioritize for agility. Wipfli works with more than 7,300 manufacturing, retail, and distribution clients and employs more than 250 industry-focused professionals. Walton, a director at the firm, advises shop owners to focus on three areas: sales and marketing, operational efficiency, and leadership. Sales & Marketing Sales & Marketing Walton recommends starting with your sales forecast, built on three key pillars. Historical sales data: Review your customer history by industry, product line, or specific plant. What patterns emerge? Customer forecast: Compare projections to your historical data. If a part or account is low margin, consider renegotiating or reassessing the relationship. Market intelligence: Use third-party services to round out your perspective. AMT’s Benchmarking Surveys and Reports, events such as the annual MTForecast Conference, and AMT’s quarterly economic updates (see Events schedule). Wipfli’s quarterly Manufacturing Pulse Study* and annual benchmarking study provide the economic outlook in major manufacturing segments, financial performance, and business key performance indicators (KPIs). With a forecast firmly in hand, start scenario planning. “Plan for what you don’t know by creating possible scenarios,” says Walton. “For example, if your sales are weighted heavily toward the automotive market, what happens if 30% of the battery electric vehicle-related revenue disappears from the market? What happens if your biggest customer decides to focus more on supplier transparency because of challenges in the supply chain? If they want to cut your share of the business from 75% to only 50% or 33% of their business, what would you do?” Reflecting on the disruptions of COVID-19, Walton is certain of one thing. “While I don’t know exactly what will happen, history tells us more major disruptions are sure to happen. Business owners must take this impending unknown seriously,” she says. Operational Efficiency If demand and revenue have slowed down or you’re not attracting the right customers, it may be a suitable time to look inward and start asking questions about your operations, such as: How are you planning your capacity? What is the utilization rate of your machines, or overall efficiency of your facility? Are you creating a culture of continuous improvement during slow times? Are you maintaining improvement during busy times? Are you tracking KPIs and other metrics, such as operational efficiency, hit rate, turnover, or cost of goods sold? “You have to look at the input costs to your business both as a discrete dollar value and a percentage of revenue to better understand where your costs may be bubbling up, but you must also look at what you can control within the four walls of your facility to improve efficiency,” says Walton. Another caution is the tendency to eliminate investments when times are challenging. “For instance, machine monitoring doesn’t have to be that expensive, and you need to know your true utilization rate to improve,” says Walton. “Displays where you look at different metrics might be a couple of iPads in different areas, so you can see metrics on different sets of machines.” Software is another relatively low-cost way to invest. Also examine employment. Don’t immediately put the brakes on investment when business is uncertain. First, focus on what your current resources are delivering and evaluate their workload allocation to determine if a strategic hire may be necessary. A cost-benefit analysis on hiring someone may reveal that it’s worth the outlay. Leadership Leadership sets the tone, especially during disruption. “It could be about tariffs, a defense department program, bankruptcies, or plant openings and closings,” says Walton. “What’s important is that you lead and manage your people and business. Show your team how you will focus on what you can control until you know the real implications of change and what, if anything, you could do to react to it. It’s easy to get caught up in the noise of a negative message or daunting narrative, but your job as a manufacturing leader is to make parts profitably, lead with a sense of knowledge and purpose, and set a tone of calm in your business,” says Walton. Setting a tone of calm when things are tumultuous comes from training and experience. For manufacturing leadership training, Walton recommends Thayer Leadership. For written resources, consider Tradition Meets Transformation; the book provides manufacturing case studies about managing challenging situations as well as information about training second- and third-generation leaders. Looking ahead For the latest economic forecast tailored to manufacturing technology, plan to attend AMT’s 2025 MTForecast Conference, Oct. 15-17, 2025, in Schaumburg, Ill. For the latest Harbor IQ Manufacturing Pulse Study or for manufacturing business consulting, contact Cara Walton at Cara.Walton@wipfli.com. She is based in Detroit and consults with domestic and international clients, particularly in Canada. *In May 2024, Wipfli acquired certain assets of Harbour Results, Inc. and added its benchmarking, strategic development, operations improvement and assessment services to the firm’s existing capabilities.
In a volatile market, manufacturers can steady their course by strengthening customer outreach, streamlining operations, and leading with clarity through unpredictable conditions.
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