As 2025 quickly approaches, manufacturers – especially smaller ones – are struggling to remain competitive in the face of emerging challenges like globalization, re-shoring and economic uncertainty. While trying to keep pace with competition in the evolving landscape, manufacturers must embrace new strategies that drive innovation, optimize processes, and prioritize sustainability, like the “Shift Left” approach.
Traditionally, manufacturing processes have been siloed. The product moves from design, to engineering, to production, to quality control, and each department has limited visibility into other parts of the manufacturing process. This often results in problems surfacing late in the process, leading to costly product design fixes, increased waste, delayed time-to-market, and missed opportunities for innovation.
According to Hexagon and Forrester’s Advanced Manufacturing Report, 72 percent of manufacturers are concerned with the lack of synergy between design and engineering (D&E) and manufacturing.
A “Shift Left” philosophy disrupts this traditional approach to manufacturing, instead emphasizing consistent data sharing and a holistic view of the entire product lifecycle. By bringing data and insights from later manufacturing stages like quality inspection upstream to the early-stage processes, manufacturers can identify and address potential issues early in the design phase. This proactive approach unlocks a multitude of benefits, including:
- Enhanced Innovation: “Shift Left” fosters a more collaborative environment where design teams can leverage insights from other stages of manufacturing and vice versa. This cross-functional communication sparks a continuous feedback loop, enabling teams to identify opportunities for improvement and develop more innovative product solutions.
- Improved Product Quality: Early detection of potential problems in the design phase allows engineers to quickly make adjustments. This minimizes the risk of defects not being identified until later stages, ultimately leading to higher-quality products. It also ultimately supports reduced waste – which translates into cost savings and sustainability benefits.
- Reduced Time-to-Market: Streamlined workflows and efficient decision-making facilitated by early problem identification accelerate the product development cycle. This enables manufacturers to get their products to market faster. With 81 percent of manufacturers seeing the potential of making better decisions earlier in the product lifecycle, a “Shift Left” philosophy is key to meeting those goals.
Data-Driven Decision Making: The Power of Early Analytics
At the heart of “Shift Left” lies the power of data. Advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and simulation technology play a critical role in enabling data-driven decisions from the earliest stages of product development.
- Advanced Analytics. By leveraging historical data and real-time insights from various touch points across the value chain, manufacturers can identify trends, predict potential issues and optimize design choices.
- AI. AI algorithms can analyze vast datasets to identify patterns and suggest optimal design solutions based on performance, manufacturability, and sustainability criteria. An algorithm is only as good as the data behind it – so the more data that can be input from across the manufacturing process, and the real world, the stronger the AI recommendations will be.
- Simulations. Virtual physics-based replicas of products and processes allow for simulating real-world conditions, testing design variations and identifying potential problems before physical prototypes are even created.
This data-driven approach empowers manufacturers to make informed decisions throughout the product lifecycle. When parts are passed or failed in the quality control phase, these results are often not communicated back to D&E, leaving the cycle vulnerable to avoidable mistakes. Early identification and resolution of issues minimizes costly rework later in the process and ensures products are designed for optimal performance, manufacturability and sustainability.
Cross-Functional Collaboration in an Age of Specialists
It’s vital to involve all the relevant people from the start of the project, and “Shift Left” provides manufacturers with a way to share data and increase communication. This strategy is particularly helpful because today’s manufacturing companies have talent with a wide range of specializations and skills. By building teams with a mix of roles and competencies and providing them with cloud-based collaboration tools, manufacturers can bridge gaps between departments and achieve a comprehensive view of their processes.
Cross-functional teams are the cornerstone of “Shift Left.” These diverse teams whose members bring in expertise from different parts of the manufacturing process, can work together to identify and solve problems more efficiently as they occur, giving them more time to seek out and find opportunities for improvement. Group intelligence will take a “Shift Left” strategy to the next level, allowing it to become the driving force of efficiency.
“Shift Left” empowers manufacturers to embed sustainability into the core of their operations. By considering the entire product lifecycle, from design to end-of-life, companies can identify and address environmental impacts early on. This proactive approach enables manufacturers to optimize material usage, reduce waste, and design products for recyclability.
Ultimately, “Shift Left” helps build a circular economy where products are designed for longevity, repair, and reuse, minimizing the strain on natural resources. Early identification of environmental impacts, such as material selection and energy consumption, allows for timely interventions. This reduces the overall environmental footprint and enhances product performance and cost efficiency.
Identifying defects in the design phase based on data from previous quality inspections also reduces material waste, adding to sustainability benefits. By shifting the focus to the earlier stages of the production lifecycle, manufacturers can easily make sustainability a priority without jeopardizing production timelines and costs.
Implementing a “Shift Left” strategy requires a cultural shift within organizations, as it goes hand in hand with digitalization. Breaking down departmental silos, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and investing in the right technologies are crucial steps. However, the potential benefits, such as improved product quality, reduced time-to-market, and reduced waste, are undeniable:
Manufacturers who embrace the “Shift Left” approach in 2025 will be well-positioned to succeed in a competitive and environmentally conscious future. By leveraging data, fostering collaboration, and prioritizing sustainability from the design phase onwards, manufacturers can better meet the demands of tomorrow’s market.