Long-standing companies – those who make physical things in highly regulated industries like automotive, aerospace, consumer products, life sciences or who operate cyber-physical systems like utilities, power companies or communications services providers – must prepare for a future in a dynamic and less stable world.
On the one hand, they need long-term strategies that stay the course in order to deliver high-quality, safe products and systems that will last a decade or more. On the other hand, they must do this in a highly complex and unpredictable world. Customer expectations change rapidly, supply chains and geopolitics are in flux, regulators demand ever more sustainability, and challengers – unburdened by legacy systems – are finding ways to do things faster, cheaper or better.
This report draws on research with 300 senior (VP and above) decision-makers at global ER&D intensive companies. It aims to understand and share the challenges they see arising in the coming years and decades. Looking at four critical business themes, it explores their perspectives on the current state of their firms, and their future plans in each area.
