Whether it’s trade wars, AI, shifting consumer desires, weight-loss drugs or a plucky German sausage, disruptions are unpredictable by nature. To be resilient, you need to be agile and prepared for anything. In other words, you need to be like the tardigrade and go with the flow … Read all about it in our regular round-up of manufacturing-related news.
Resilience Is Not Futile – Especially When You’re Cute
If manufacturing needed a spirit animal, a strong case can be made for the mighty—and microscopic—tardigrades.
“Milnesium tardigradum is only 0.5mm long and has survived all five great extinction events—plus it’s cute,” according to ‘“Lego And Tardigrades”: When Humans Finally Destroy The World, What Will Remain?’.
These so-called “moss piglets” are messengers of hope and resilience. “Tardigrades can endure radioactivity, most cancers, extreme cold, scorching heat, zero gravity, being shot from a gun and being trapped in a freezer for—wait for it—30 years.” (It does sound like just another day on the production line, doesn’t it?)
“The secret to its resilience is its ability to suspend its metabolism and halt the ageing process. Tardigrades evolved in water, and require a film of water around their bodies to enable them to survive. If they are exposed to freezing or drying, they enter a desiccated state called a tun. In this state, they can survive for many years—instantly reviving when they encounter water.”
In other words, it’s a beast that truly goes with the flow…
Greasing The Wheels Of Industry: ‘The Power Bar of The Skilled Factory Worker’
And for VW, when times get tough, the company turns to sausage…
According to ‘Volkswagen Enjoys Surprise Bestseller Amid Financial Woes: The VW Currywurst’, an iconic sausage-based snack is being bought in record numbers in Lower Saxony. It even has its own original part number: 199 398 500 A.
“Currywurst—sliced sausage slathered in tomato sauce and sprinkled with curry powder and sometimes paprika—is one of Germany’s favorite dishes. The car manufacturer sold 8.5m of their own brand last year, a rise of 200,000 on 2023.”
“The VW currywurst—which is available in the company’s 30 canteens and work site kiosks as well as local supermarkets near to its factories—is prepared according to a secret recipe known only to a handful of employees.”
“The company avoided the wurst-case scenario: facing down hangry union workers.”
Introduced in 1973 to feed hungry workers, this storied sausage was pulled off the menu in 2021 to promote healthier eating habits. This caused an outcry, including from former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, who famously hailed currywurst as the “power bar of the skilled factory worker.”
Management quickly apologized and reinstated the sausage. Thereby the company avoided the wurst-case scenario: facing down hangry union workers.
A Frothy Lesson On Innovation And Splitting The G
Speaking of consumer trends that may be unfathomable to some people: Guinness is having a moment.
Of course, it has a moment every year in the form of a massive sales bump on St. Patrick’s Day—a 13-million-pint spike, to be exact. But this year, people spoke in near-hysterical tones about the “Great Guinness Shortage”, with bar owners stockpiling and rationing their short supplies for the big day.
“In Britain in the second half of 2024 sales of beer by volume declined by 1%, according to CGA, a research firm; sales of Guinness, meanwhile, shot up by 21%,” according to ‘Why Everyone Is Harping On About Guinness’.
“But you can’t blame the youth for everything. Guinness is also to blame.”
Who’s to blame? Are the supply chain managers asleep at the job? No. The blame rests with the younger generation and their “mindful drinking”, “evolving palate”, and online shenanigans.
“Social media have played an important role in making Guinness a fashionable tipple, even among women. (Diageo says the number of female Guinness drinkers is up 50% year on year.) With its velvety, dark hue and creamy foam, the drink has a distinct visual identity, which makes it instantly recognizable. Fans have devised a pub game called “Splitting the g”, which has become a trend online. (The goal is to sip enough stout so that the liquid lines up with the horizontal line on the “G” of the logo printed on the glass.)”
But you can’t blame the youth for everything. Guinness is also to blame. They’ve always spent a lot on innovative marketing and are now getting their return on investment. “During the pandemic, Guinness released an ultrasonic device that allows drinkers to pour something akin to a pub-quality pint from a can at home. Recognizing the trend towards abstemiousness, Guinness released a 0% stout in 2021, which has proved popular. More than two-and-a-half centuries after Arthur Guinness set up shop in Dublin, such innovations are keeping the brewery in the black.”
In other words, we can call Guinness: ‘The Tardigrade of Velvety Beverages’.
What Happens When More Of Us Can Regulate Our Impulses?
“While Silicon Valley obsesses over AI, a weight-loss drug is quietly becoming the biggest economic disruptor since the internet,” according to ‘The $100 Trillion Disruption: The Unforeseen Economic Earthquake’. “Here’s why your job, investments, and future depend on understanding it.”
“If you told someone in 1850 that air conditioning would reshape the global economy, they’d think you were crazy. But it made the American South habitable year-round, revolutionized manufacturing in hot climates, and enabled computing by keeping servers cool. The most significant changes arise from the most surprising sources.”
And many believe “GLP-1 drugs are our air conditioner moment”.
“We’re discussing the first medication that effectively regulates human impulse control.”
“Our economy is built on impulses. These include midnight snacks, impulse purchases, extra drinks, and the ‘treat yourself’ mentality driving trillion-dollar industries.
Mmmm, snacks.
“But what happens when a weekly injection regulates those impulses?”
“Analysts predict that by 2030, 30% of American adults will be on these medications, changing consumption patterns for 78 million people. But those projections, impressive as they seem, fail to capture the full picture like 1995 internet forecasts.”
Already, the NFL is redesigning its stadiums with 40% fewer concession spots and more “experience zones.” Many major casinos in Vegas are now replacing their restaurant and bar spaces with spas and medical tourism facilities.
“The historian in me knows every major economic transformation has been messy, complicated, and unstoppable.”
As for the advertising industry: “For decades, the advertising model was simple: Trigger an emotional response, create an impulse, convert it into a purchase. This foundation supports the $400 billion global advertising industry.”
But now: “Madison Avenue is quietly panicking. One major agency (which asked not to be named) estimates that 50% of their current advertising strategies will be obsolete by 2027.”
“The optimist in me sees the potential: A healthier, more productive society with lower healthcare costs, less crime, and higher economic output. The $612 billion annual savings could transform American society.”
“The realist in me sees the challenges: 8.5 million jobs at risk, widening inequality, and a two-tier society divided not by education or wealth, but by behavioral control.”
“The historian in me knows every major economic transformation has been messy, complicated, and unstoppable.”
The agile and resilient tardigrade in me hopes VW executives are not relying on scaling their sausage business for their long-term survival.
Read the previous edition of Manufacturing – The News: ‘How Do You Deal With A Wacky World?’.
