From disruption to growth: Building an agile manufacturing business

With volatility defining today’s globalised environment, agility has emerged as the defining priority of manufacturing leaders. Insights from Hexagon’s 2025 Advanced Manufacturing Report reveal that 39% of C-level executives identify agility as their top strategic priority while each of the top five business challenges faced by the industry is intrinsically linked to agility.

The necessity for agility is undeniable, the opportunities it presents are vast, yet the journey to achieving it is fraught with complexity. This is because agility is no single thing. It is characterised by interdependencies. A lack of agility can be both a symptom of wider challenges and a cause of them. These nuances make it difficult to approach, but even more critical to address.

Right now, building a business defined by agility is the biggest opportunity in manufacturing. To lead with impact and shape long-term success however, we must aim to do much more than survive disruption, we need to reconfigure our businesses to thrive on it, turning uncertainty into a foundation for growth.

Manufacturing at a crossroads – navigating a changing world

Tariffs, trade disruptions and economic uncertainty dominate the headlines. Rapid shifts in markets, supply chains and technology demand attention, but they are just symptoms of a larger wave of transformation reshaping global manufacturing.

To build meaningful agility, it’s essential to understand the drivers. Structural forces such as globalisation, democratisation and evolving economic landscapes are reshaping where and how manufacturing takes place. Change is no longer confined to any single shift – it’s happening on every front at once.

Flatlining growth and tighter budgets have intensified competition, with buyers and manufacturers alike prioritising cost and quality. These pressures only amplify the need for agility.

More fundamentally, the dynamics of global production are being disrupted. Emerging markets, once seen as production hubs, have transformed into centres of innovation, shifting the balance of global influence. The

trade policy shifts we now see are magnifying these impacts and making it imperative for manufacturers to adapt.

At the heart of it all lies cost. Cost continues to dictate where manufacturing happens, but costs are never static. As emerging economies mature, rising capabilities are accompanied by rising costs, leaving established and challenger markets grappling with similar challenges. Meanwhile, new markets are becoming viable, further reshaping the global landscape. In this environment, agility is essential – businesses must think quickly, pivot decisively and innovate boldly.

When cost sets the agenda, the only enduring counterbalance is innovation.

Want innovation? You need agility

Innovation and agility are the two biggest indicators of future success for any manufacturing business. Together they help you to manifest quality at scale.

Get on the right side of innovation and you can entirely reshape demand in your sector, pretty much overnight. Get on the wrong side of it and you become an onlooker to disruption, post-rationalising competitor success and planning how to catch up from the sidelines.

The good news: disruption isn’t just a threat. Those who pivot quickly and innovate under pressure create change. They become disruptors, turning uncertainty into their competitive advantage.

But innovation without agility is fragile. The two things are symbiotic. Agility is how manufacturers pair bold innovation with fast iteration, slashing the time it takes to move their ideas from concept to customer.

Without a clear strategy for agility, businesses risk being out-innovated and outmanoeuvred. To lead in today’s fast-evolving landscape, manufacturers must reconfigure their operations for change.

A top priority entangled in your biggest business challenges.

The numbers speak for themselves. Hexagon’s 2025 Advanced Manufacturing Report found that every Top 5 business challenge identified by leaders ties back to agility – either by symptom or cause. C-level executives ranked agility as their top strategic priority with 39% saying a lack of agility is a direct obstacle to progress.

That’s because agility is both the pressure point and the solution. The complexity of the individual challenges can make solutions hard to define. But zooming out – connecting business goals and technology aims into a single vision – makes it possible to act. That’s why Hexagon’s report is such a valuable resource. It shows how agility can be accelerated with the right focus.

It is my belief from analysing the findings, that increasing agility doesn’t have to be a slow process. Insights play a vital role. Whether it’s the high cost of new product introduction (NPI) which is the top standalone business challenge of our sector, rigid manufacturing processes which are reported as a barrier by 39%, or the ability to respond to market shocks – we each need to marry our strengths and weaknesses with successful strategies and investments so we can shape flexibility in a way that matches our business needs.

With the right focus – scaling AI, addressing supply chain vulnerabilities to increase resilience, and eliminating some analogue blind spots can all happen quickly and make a huge difference.

This being said, building true, enduring agility requires a more strategic focus.

How to develop agility – actionable advice for manufacturers

Every business is unique. Culture, technology and factory configuration all differ. By providing powerful benchmarks, Hexagon’s Advanced Manufacturing Report reveals how leaders like you are addressing shared challenges, investing smartly and building resilience.

Beyond empowering you to shape a strategy and investment plan aligned with your goals, the findings show manufacturers must look beyond surface-level fixes to build the foundations for long-term success. Three quarters of manufacturing leaders (75%) see shift left as an important priority for quality. Businesses must also be bold enough to push where it hurts, leveraging technology they already have available, or adopting new ways of working to fundamentally fix the fabric of the factory with seamless collaboration and data flows.

That’s where our Manufacturing Strategy and Investment Playbook comes in. Developed from the report findings, it translates insights into action – guiding you from business goals through strategy and investment planning, and rounding off with practical steps. It shares quick wins for immediate impact, alongside longer-term strategies that ensure agility and innovation will drive your growth.

From urgent priority to competitive advantage

Agility isn’t just about surviving disruption. It’s about learning how to harness it. Whether the challenge is cost pressure, geopolitical upheaval, or the relentless pace of innovation – agile manufacturers don’t merely respond to change – they lead it.

This is the choice facing today’s industry leaders: remain reactive, or become the disruptor others have to catch up with.

If you’re ready to take agility from theory to practice, I encourage you to explore Hexagon’s 2025 Advanced Manufacturing Report and our Manufacturing Strategy and Investment Playbook. Together, they offer a pathway to turn uncertainty into opportunity – and opportunity into long-term success.

In today’s world, agility isn’t just a business priority. It’s the difference between being disrupted – and being the disruptor.