The State of US Manufacturing and Its Role in Innovation: a Conversation with Ben Armstrong and Jim Morgan

WLEI - Lean Enterprise Institute's Podcast

In this episode of the WLEI podcast, we speak with Ben Armstrong, Executive Director of MIT's Industrial Performance Center, and Jim Morgan, Senior Advisor at the Lean Enterprise Institute. They share perspectives from Ben's extensive research on the history and future of US manufacturing and Jim's first-hand knowledge of developing new products and production processes.

In our discussion, we explore:

• The rise and decline of America's manufacturing expertise and how the decoupling of design and production has impacted innovation.
• Challenges currently facing small and medium manufacturers, and what investments they should consider.
• The role of industrial policy and government support in spurring new growth in US manufacturing.
• Emerging technologies like AI and how they could transform manufacturing operations going forward.

This podcast was delivered to subscribers of The Design Brief, LEI’s newsletter devoted to improving organizations’ innovation capability. It is the second of four in a series on process development entitled “Making Things Well.”

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