KPMG: Canadian manufacturers optimistic

By Rob Starr, Content Manager, Big4.com

KPMG’s third annual survey of Canadian Manufacturers. KPMG’s Canadian Manufacturing Outlook 2012: Push and Pull – Reducing Costs and Investing in Innovation reports that despite a sluggish economic recovery, 85 percent of Canadian manufacturers are optimistic about the future of their business over the next two years.

However, Canada has not seen disruptive, game-changing innovation, nor has it experienced process innovation that can revolutionize and drastically improve productivity in the manufacturing sector.  Despite the lack of recent transformation, manufacturers do realize the impact innovation can have on their business and, more specifically, their bottom line – more than 60 percent of Canadian respondents say the next wave of transformational innovation is underway or will be within the next 12 to 24 months.

As the number of Canadian manufacturing companies doing business in emerging markets rises, their investment in risk management strategies should increase as well – however, this is not the case. Canadian respondents plan to spend relatively less on risk management than their global counterparts in 2012. Currently, only five percent of Canadian respondents use scenario/simulation planning to address aspects of risk management and 17 percent of Canadian respondents “don’t know” how they’re going to identify risk in their supply chains over the next 12 to 24 months.

Laurent Giguère, National Industry Leader, Industrial Markets, KPMG in Canada commented:

“Our survey tells us that Canadian manufacturers are confident in their business strategies, but investing in innovation, increasing efficiencies and managing risk are top-of-mind moving forward,” he said. “As smaller, niche players operating with a strong dollar, Canadian companies realize they need to innovate in order to compete with lower-cost global producers.”