Keeping up with global trends

Mycronic develops and delivers production equipment to the electronics industry, a market that is influenced by both global and regional, as well as technology-specific, trends. These are trends that are complex, move quickly, and influence one another. To help our customers stay competitive, profitable and relevant over time, Mycronic is constantly monitoring global trends.

“Trends are important because they influence how we do business today and tomorrow,” says Niklas Edling, Senior VP Corporate Development at Mycronic. “We want to make sure our customers are always ahead of the curve, ready to adapt and thrive in the future of electronics – which is why we monitor global trends.”

Let’s take a look at four global megatrends that comprehensively impact the market dynamic of the global electronics industry.

Regionalization

The global electronics industry, which comprises more than 3 percent of the total global economy, continues to undergo revolutionary changes. The market is regionalizing, which comprehensively impacts value chains in the industry and thereby imposes new demands on presence, flexibility and delivery capacity.

China and other countries in Asia are investing heavily in domestic production capacity. This reshoring of supply chains encompasses the entire value chain, from component manufacturers to equipment suppliers and electronics manufacturers.

In practice, this means increased regionalization of the market, with a number of separate value chains spanning different geographical areas, such as Asia, Western Europe and North America. Intensification of trade conflicts, regional political interests and the strategic ambitions of both China and the USA are accelerating this regionalization. At the same time, the Covid-19 pandemic has clarified the vulnerability of global value chains, which has contributed to further increasing the pace of change.

Digitalization

Digitalization makes it possible for electronics manufacturers to create fully connected production environments. To increase efficiency, manufacturer focus is shifting from hardware to also encompass software that optimizes the production process. The sophisticated production systems of tomorrow will be equipped with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) and decision-making software. In combination with plantwide software solutions, it will also be possible to link together individual systems and entire manufacturing processes. Together with the trend toward increased automation, digital plants will become almost self-operating.

Automation

In several market segments, it is crucial that automation be taken to the next level to further increase efficiency and improve quality. The trend in the field of automation is toward bringing all the steps of production in electronics manufacturing together into an automated totality with plant robots and drones that both increase efficiency and decrease the space needed for production. Today, manufacturers can integrate the complex supply of materials to and from production, and also automate the transition to final assembly and storage of electronics. This facilitates faster, more cost-efficient electronics manufacturing with increased quality and precision.

Sustainability

The demand for a more sustainable electronics industry is growing. With a constantly increasing level of technological content and high demand for new products, all links in the value chain are important for transitioning to a more sustainable electronics industry. Suppliers of production equipment for manufacturing electronics can promote the development of equipment that facilitates a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions from customers’ manufacturing processes, for example through reduced energy consumption or reduced use of certain materials and chemicals. Developers and suppliers of production equipment can also promote a more circular approach in the electronics industry through intensified focus.

Keeping our customers at the forefront of the electronics industry

Keeping our customers at the forefront of the electronics industry

In a world where the market dynamic of the global electronics industry is undergoing revolutionary changes, constantly monitoring global trends is crucial to keep our customers at the forefront of the electronics industry. Anticipating our customers’ conditions and needs is the foundation of our purposeful innovation process.  

“When it comes to megatrends it’s important to dig deep, look around corners and find insights we can both apply and share with our customers to help them stay more competitive. Software is rapidly becoming a key enabler of factory-wide connectivity. For example, being compatible with communication standards and adopting smarter full-line automation solutions or material flow technology can have a radical impact on productivity, opening the door for true Industry 4.0”, says Niklas Edling.