Create a lasting impact in global manufacturing and supply chain operations
Use supply chain and manufacturing operations to create winning strategies
We guide clients through the design and implementation of operational strategies that will stand the test of time, while creating agility and a product portfolio that is commercially and operationally optimized. An interdisciplinary approach—drawing insights from commercial, marketing, IT and digital, and product design—helps clients to unlock next-level productivity gains.
Take a holistic approach to transformation to capture end-to-end value
We show clients how to drive the next S-curve to discover value that is hidden at the intersection of functions—even well-performing ones. More than digitizing operations, we leverage digital and analytics to fundamentally rethink and innovate manufacturing and supply chain operations.
Transform manufacturing processes for better productivity
We help organizations to significantly boost both productivity and effectiveness of core processes, through offerings that encompass everything from digital diagnostics to plant transformations, order management, asset productivity, predictive maintenance, resource-production manufacturing, and lean warehousing.
Boost operational health by identifying skill gaps and building capabilities
Successful manufacturing requires a sweeping upgrade of skills and capabilities, as manufacturers compete with new and agile “digitally native” competitors. We partner with clients to build foundational enablers and develop skills through capability building to create rapid and sustained impact.
Foster a quality culture to create competitive advantage
We help our clients to consistently meet and exceed customer expectations at every touchpoint through benchmarking, developing quality and compliance strategies, and remediation services across the entire value chain and product life cycle.
Leverage digital and autonomous supply chain opportunities
We help clients leverage the opportunities of supply chain 4.0 by incorporating IoT, robotics, and analytics—resulting in a system that allows organizations to react quickly—improving both company performance and customer satisfaction. This digitally connected ecosystem and real-time visibility assists in the removal of silos across the supply chain, resulting in lower costs, smaller inventories, and fewer lost sales.
Featured capabilities
Innovation & Learning Centers
Our Innovation & Learning Centers are advanced tech-enabled innovation and learning hubs that guide the imagination and realization of an organization’s digital future.
SCM Connections
Fusing cutting-edge technical capabilities from SCM Connections with McKinsey’s organizational and capability change expertise delivers long-lasting impact in advanced planning system (APS) transformations.
Featured collection
Book
From Source to Sold
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An invaluable compendium of leadership wisdom and supply chain knowledge to guide supply chain professionals and their organizations.
Featured insights
Article
How product-focused operations can accelerate global shipbuilding
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A new operating model can help the global commercial and defense shipbuilding industry address bottlenecks and ramp up production...
Article
Supply chains: Still vulnerable
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When it comes to supply chain resilience, have companies taken their eyes off the ball?
Survey
Breaking operational barriers to peak productivity
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Our latest research examines how a new take on operational excellence can help rekindle productivity—and reveals five practices...
Article
Is your frontline workforce strategy right for where you are?
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With sharper local insights, a fit-for-purpose talent strategy can help manufacturers and other frontline-intensive businesses...
Blog Post
Organizational evolution and getting empowerment right
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Properly guided and supported empowerment is the great management challenge of our times.
Article
Today’s industrial revolution calls for an organization to match
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Operations technologies are here. Productivity gains are not. Why? It’s increasingly clear that to transform industrial...
Blog Post
Unlocking frontline workforce stability and productivity in operations
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To create a talent strategy that fosters frontline stability and productivity, organizations need to start by conducting a holistic...
Interview
Supply chain ‘goes rouge’: Inside Coty’s makeover
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Coty chief global supply chain officer Graeme Carter explains how the beauty company’s people-first approach to digital...
Article
Automation and the talent challenge in American manufacturing
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US manufacturing companies are facing a talent and labor crisis. Is it time they took a fresh look at their automation options?...
Blog Post
Manufacturing needs a makeover
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Can gen Z reshape the manufacturing industry by bringing fresh perspectives and values to a sector ripe for technological innovation...
Article
Decarbonizing logistics: Charting the path ahead
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Companies need to reduce their logistics emissions to meet decarbonization targets, but a new McKinsey survey finds that few...
Article
From AI to Impact: Capabilities powering Lighthouses’ 4IR adoption
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When technologies reach a certain level of maturity, the next challenge is speed and scale. Factories and entire supply networks—not...
Article
From hire to inspire: Getting—and keeping—Gen Z in manufacturing
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Gen Z workers say they’re open to jobs in manufacturing. But getting them to take these jobs, engage, and stay will mean...
McKinsey Direct
Why flow matters most in highly complex manufacturing
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To meet escalating demand for the latest advanced products, companies need a better way to handle the interactions and uncertainties...
Article
The battery cell component opportunity in Europe and North America
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Momentum for the battery cell component market is building rapidly in Europe and North America. To capitalize on this opportunity,...
Article
How manufacturing’s Lighthouses are capturing the full value of AI
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AI is defining the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and production front-runners are finding significant impact throughout the factory,...
McKinsey Direct
Vital signs: Emergency medicine for distressed manufacturing sites
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At some factories, underperformance isn’t just financial—it may also threaten safety, quality, or the environment....
McKinsey Direct
A new holistic view on circular value chains
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Reimagining the traditional linear flow of supply chains to support circularity could be a growing source of value for companies,...
Blog Post
Harnessing generative AI in manufacturing and supply chains
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Early adopters of generative AI in manufacturing and supply chains have a chance to reap first-mover advantage and provide a...
Blog Post
2024 tech takeaways for leaders
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In today’s era of ‘permanent upheaval,’ shaping your organization’s future, as well as your own, will...
Article
Adopting AI at speed and scale: The 4IR push to stay competitive
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AI has brought the Fourth Industrial Revolution to an inflection point, and manufacturers must choose a path forward: innovate,...
McKinsey Direct
More uptime, lower cost: Boosting organizational health in maintenance
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Engaged, motivated maintenance teams keep heavy industry moving. Does your organization’s maintenance culture need a tune-up?...
Blog Post
Canal delays and the impact on global supply chains
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While 2023 seemed to mark a degree of post-Covid normality, 2024 has started with a sharp reminder about how important supply...
Article
Tech-enabled transformations: Three supply chain success stories
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Enterprise-wide platform transformations (EPTs) aren’t easy, but a holistic approach is unlocking manufacturing and supply...
Article
Today’s good to great: Next-generation operational excellence
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Is tech accelerating your business operations—or getting in the way? To get lasting value from their tech investments,...
Article
Digital twins: The next frontier of factory optimization
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Digital twins are revolutionizing how decisions are made within factories, and forward-thinking manufacturers are getting ahead...
Article
Getting warehouse automation right
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A warehouse automation revolution is underway, but too many projects are not delivering the results.
Article
Digital logistics: Technology race gathers momentum
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A survey of more than 250 global shippers and logistics providers reveals that technology investments are set to increase, with...
Article
Tech and regionalization bolster supply chains, but complacency looms
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The race for resilience is changing the way global supply chains look and transforming the way they are run.
Article
Boosting Vietnam’s manufacturing sector: From low cost to high productivity
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Manufacturing has been the nucleus of Vietnam’s exceptional growth. However, faced with complex economic, geopolitical,...
Case Study
Solving the digital manufacturing disconnect: A case study
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Scaling digital transformation across factory networks can be fraught with challenges. However, one food-manufacturing company...
Article
AI: The next frontier of performance in industrial processing plants
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AI is more accessible than ever. With a wealth of historical data and existing subject matter expertise, processing plants are...
Blog Post
Supply chain resilience—in China and everywhere else
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How can overseas multinationals balance the benefits and risks of keeping their existing China manufacturing strategies?
Blog Post
Ops 4.0—The Human Factor: Apprenticeships today for skills tomorrow
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In the race to build skills for the future, it could be time to revisit one of the oldest approaches to capability building—and...
Article
Operational efficiency: A clear path to outperformance in distribution
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More efficiency in operations means more agility—and more profitable growth—in an uncertain world.
Podcast
Moving supply chain leaders to the C-suite
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The authors of From Source to Sold discuss how supply chain leaders can take a seat at the boardroom table, becoming...
Blog Post
Ops 4.0—The Human Factor: It takes two to build capabilities
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Are you and your organization sharing the responsibility for building skills and expertise?
Article
When technology meets operational excellence
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A new way to operate is revolutionizing heavy industries.
Article
The next frontier of customer engagement: AI-enabled customer service
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AI-enabled customer service is now the quickest and most effective route for institutions to deliver personalized, proactive...
Article
Battery recycling takes the driver’s seat
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Electric-vehicle demand is accelerating rapidly and so is the need for EV batteries. As these batteries reach end-of-life, significant...
Article
Maintenance and operations: Is asset productivity broken?
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A new survey finds that asset productivity programs for equipment maintenance aren’t working as well as they could. Here...
Article
Taking off: Scaling complex manufacturing in the aerospace industry
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OEMs in high-complexity, low-volume industries face skyrocketing demand. But it’s now possible to scale production in ways...
Article
Indirect manufacturing costs: An overlooked source for clear savings
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Indirect operations functions make up a significant share of total operations—and optimizing them can deliver sizeable...
Article
A new operations formula for the chemicals sector
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Facing spiraling costs, looming skills shortages, and the decarbonization imperative, manufacturers of chemicals and agricultural...
Article
The winning recipe for transforming advanced planning systems
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Most supply chain leaders will overhaul their IT systems for planning in the coming years. This article shows how to increase...
Article
Battery 2030: Resilient, sustainable, and circular
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Battery demand is growing—and so is the need for better solutions along the value chain.
Article
The next chapter: Lighthouses shape the Fourth Industrial Revolution
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The story of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is moving forward at speed, with members of the Global Lighthouse Network grasping...
Commentary
Failure is not an option: How to get resilience right
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In these uncertain times, focusing on four areas can help companies ensure their long-term survival while still meeting their...
Article
To regionalize or not? Optimizing North American supply chains
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Companies have much to consider when deciding whether to relocate all or part of their production and supply chain footprints...
Article
Great service—but who’s paying?
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Consumer goods players are meeting rising service expectations, but they must do more to recover the costs involved.
Podcast
Digital twins: Flying high, flexing fast
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Digital design and product development can provide new ways to solve complex problems. Getting implementation right means thoughtfully...
Podcast
114 down, 10 million to go: The Global Lighthouse Network’s mission
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Global Lighthouse Network members show that Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies help to deliver better workforce engagement,...
Article
Building sustainability into operations
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The path discrete manufacturing companies have taken to make their operations carbon neutral has important lessons for any business...
Article
Power spike: How battery makers can respond to surging demand from EVs
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As the auto market embraces electric vehicles, battery demand is soaring. Bold moves in gigafactory construction, supply chain...
Article
Reimagining the future of biopharma manufacturing
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Leveraging digital and analytics advances can unlock significant value for biopharma companies through gains in quality, speed,...
Article
The scaling imperative for industry 4.0
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Global Lighthouse Network organizations continue to light the way in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. To keep up, companies...
Article
Emerging from disruption: The future of pharma operations strategy
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To maintain profitable and resilient operations, CEOs and COOs of pharma companies may need to make bold changes to their operations...
Podcast
Digital twins: What could they do for your business?
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Less waste, shorter times to market, constant customer insights: the advantages of applying digital twins are many—if you...
Article
A more resilient supply chain from optimized operations planning
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To combat greater complexity and prepare for rapid demand shifts, resilient companies can integrate prescriptive analytics into...
Article
Harnessing volatility: Technology transformation in oil and gas
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Digital technologies can help oil and gas CEOs and leaders cut costs, boost output, and reduce carbon emissions. Here are five...
Book - Featured Insights
The Titanium Economy
In The Titanium Economy, McKinsey partners Asutosh Padhi, Gaurav Batra, and Nick Santhanam reveal this under-appreciated...
Article
Delivering the US manufacturing renaissance
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The stage is set for a manufacturing resurgence in the United States. Can the country’s producers make it happen?
Article
Taking the pulse of shifting supply chains
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Our latest survey shows global supply chains on the move.
Blog Post
Ops 4.0—The Human Factor: Powering the learning and development engine
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Is your organization equipped for continuous capability building?
Article
How mining companies reach the operational excellence gold standard
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Creating a culture of operational excellence is allowing the mining industry to reach new heights in sustained improvement in...
Blog Post
Ops 4.0—The Human Factor: The need for speed in building skills
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Rapid upskilling requires support in the moment, not just in the classroom.
Article
Converge IT and OT to turbocharge business operations’ scaling power
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The IT/OT stack can be a major stumbling block in digital transformation. Or, with the right changes, it can be the key to unlocking...
Article
Transforming advanced manufacturing through Industry 4.0
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Manufacturers in industries such as automotive and electronics, nearing the tipping point of digital adoption, are achieving...
Article
Mastering the dual mission: Carbon and cost savings
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OEMs will need to move quickly to achieve their “dual-saving” ambition of reducing both total product emissions and...
Article
Future-proofing the supply chain
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With supply chains in the spotlight, three new long-term transformation priorities form a fresh focus for competitive advantage....
Article
Advanced tech elevates process modeling in batch-processing industries
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In high-volume batch-processing industries, reliable models of manufacturing processes can help companies cut production costs...
Article
A better way to drive your business
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Integrated business planning is a well-known process, particularly among supply chain leaders. But in most companies, P&L...
Article
Supply chains: To build resilience, manage proactively
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Supply chain upheavals show little sign of abating. Companies can address them by reconsidering outdated, short-term strategies...
Article
Outsprinting the energy crisis
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High energy costs are hitting Europe’s industrial players hard. Bold action could protect margins today and make companies...
Article
Capturing the true value of Industry 4.0
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With digital transformations notoriously difficult to scale up across factory networks, manufacturers may need to slow down to...
Article
Navigating the semiconductor chip shortage: A control-tower case study
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One industrial company’s innovative response to the global semiconductor chip shortage proves to be a game changer for...
Article
Lighthouses reveal a playbook for responsible industry transformation
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The advanced factories of the Global Lighthouse Network show how sustainability and workforce engagement can accelerate and scale...
Podcast
Smart operators: How leading companies use machine intelligence
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Despite the recent and significant advances in machine intelligence, the full scale of the opportunity is just beginning to unfold....
Article
Transforming supply chains: Do you have the skills to accelerate your capabilities?
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Despite progress over the past several years, companies are still struggling to build the capabilities that their emerging digital...
Article
The mainstreaming of additive manufacturing
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After 40 years of development, what will it take for additive manufacturing to become more than a niche technology?
Article
Autonomous supply chain planning for consumer goods companies
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To capitalize on analytics, consumer packaged goods organizations—especially in Asia—can build an integrated system...
Article
Toward smart production: Machine intelligence in business operations
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A detailed study of machine intelligence in industrial and manufacturing operations reveals the surprisingly different paths...
Article
To improve your supply chain, modernize your supply-chain IT
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Global distribution issues and increasingly complex supply chains are forcing companies to modernize the tools they use for forecasting...
The Future of Production
Fourth Industrial Revolution Technologies are shaping the future of production. The Global Lighthouse Network of organizations are demonstrating how to capture their full potential.
Featured experts
Matteo Mancini
Senior PartnerRiyadh
Leads McKinsey’s Operations Practice and advanced industries initiatives in Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, guiding manufacturing...
Ulf Schrader
Senior PartnerHamburg
Leads McKinsey’s manufacturing and supply chain work, serving companies on operations performance transformations, operations...
Raffaele Carpi
PartnerLisbon
Leads operations-performance transformations that deliver bottom-line impact across manufacturing sectors
Rehana Khanam
PartnerLondon
Drives large-scale performance improvement and capability-building programs as a leader of our operations work
Enno de Boer
Senior PartnerNew Jersey
Leads the firm’s global work in digital manufacturing and collaboration with the World Economic Forum on technology adoption
Neelesh Mundra
Senior PartnerMumbai
Leads McKinsey’s manufacturing and supply chain endeavors in Asia while supporting logistics projects for the region.
Olivier Noterdaeme
Senior PartnerBrussels
Coleads QuantumBlack, a McKinsey company; serves clients in asset-heavy industries by leveraging advanced analytics
Sven Houthuys
PartnerAmsterdam
Advises and serves consumer-packaged-goods and energy-sector companies, with a focus on digital, capability building, large-scale...
Cinzia Lacopeta
Solutions Associate PartnerMilan
Coleads the firm’s Innovation & Learning Centers in Europe and North America; focuses on building lasting capabilities on relevant...
Kristian Kinscher
PartnerDüsseldorf
Helps global pharmaceutical companies transform operations, redefine strategies, and innovate in R&D
Careers
Interested in a career in Operations?
A career within our Operations Practice offers the opportunity to work with the biggest companies in the world, on projects that transform their core business and build resilience for the future. We are continuously seeking the best talent at all levels and for all types of roles, and are particularly keen to talk to experienced professionals looking for their next challenge.