The World Economic Forum has released a report that shows that only 25 countries are in the best position to gain as production systems stand on the brink of exponential change. The Readiness for the Future of Production Report 2018 revealed that Japan is leading globally in current baseline of production, with the US currently best placed to capitalise on the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Developed in collaboration with A.T. Kearney, the report provides a snapshot of the current situation of the global production landscape along with potential responses to emerging technologies and new production systems and/or business models.

The new framework in the Future of Production is made up of two main components: ‘Structure of Production’, which measures a country’s scale and complexity of production; and ‘Drivers of Production’ – the key enablers that position a country to capitalise on the 4IR to transform production systems.

Recognising that each country has its own unique goals and strategy for production and development, participants are assigned to one of four archetypes: Leading, with strong current base and high level readiness for the future; High Potential, with limited current base and high potential for the future; Legacy, with strong current base and at risk for the future; and Nascent, with limited current base and low level of readiness for the future.

The top ten countries in Structure of Production are Japan as number one, followed by Republic of Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, United States, Sweden, Austria, and Ireland.

Meanwhile, the top ten countries in Drivers of Production are United States, Singapore, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Hong Kong, Sweden, and Denmark.

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