Buzzword: High Value Manufacturing

Today, high value manufacturing is self-evident in Sweden and the term is relatively rarely used. But in conjunction with the global transformation today within the industry, linked to climate, sustainability and with digitization as a supporting tool, all companies need to deliver “right by me” (high value) in every part of the value chain. But, what does high value really mean and how do you deliver it?

The buzzword came up in the early 2000s and gave new light to the principles and ideas that encouraged this more traditional sector to start doing business in a more holistic way. This could mean, for example, looking at several parameters when designing products, such as time to market, sustainability, cultural and societal trends. What was once considered solely production now also includes research, product development and design, support and provision of value-added services.

Swedish industry has been undergoing major changes since the nearby concept of lean was introduced, first by large companies such as Scania, then on a wider perspective such as, for example, “Produktionslyftet” was initiated by Teknikföretagen and IF Metall in 2006. Experience shows that an insightful investment in production development throughout the company can produce very good results in the short term, but is even more important in the long term.
Technology is the fastest and most popular way of manufacturing to become ”high value”, for example, efficient production processors and equipment, diversifying products and services, revolutionizing distribution and quickly adapting to ever-changing global trends and customer needs. A good example of this is the Volvo Cars car pool Sunfleet.