The Thomas Blog

Challenges And Opportunities In The Food & Beverage Industry

The Food and Beverage Services Global Market Report expects the global market to grow from $3.2 trillion in 2021 to $3.7 trillion in 2022. It's a promising outlook, given that just a few years ago, Fortune reported an $18 billion loss for the top 25 U.S. food and beverage companies.

As the newer generations move away from processed foods in favor of seeking healthier alternatives with cleaner labels, companies are adapting and pressing forward — that trend continues to grow at an excessive pace, signaling that some demands are more of a long-term standard.

But many major food and beverage (F&B) companies have shown that they are not as nimble as smaller companies when it comes to adapting to consumer preferences and there are still challenges the food and beverage industry faces.

Challenges And Opportunities In Medical Device Manufacturing

Encompassing items as simple as bandages all the way through to ultra-high-tech pacemakers, the U.S. medical device market is one of the largest in the world. Forbes called it a “disruptive” market of $410 billion through 2023. Today, “disruptive” is an appropriate word. 

More than a decade ago, the medical device manufacturing industry saw an increasing emphasis on design and simplicity, driven by software and technologies. And innovation contributed to a shift in power from the pharmaceutical to the medical device industry. These days, there is still a high demand for technological, intuitive devices — with a faster time-to-market than ever before. Hospitals, medical facilities, and other markets are pressuring medical device manufacturers to be more secure, innovative, cost-effective, and efficient. What are some challenges and opportunities for manufacturers in the medical device industry?

Opportunities For Manufacturers To Grow The CBD Industry

The global CBD market is anticipated to grow at a strong rate. Market projections see the recreational cannabis market expected to grow over 40% between 2020-2025 as availability increases and prices drop. With medicinal and recreational marijuana legalization increasing throughout the U.S., more consumers are exploring the benefits of cannabis products, and the market has responded with an array of innovations.

Opportunities For Manufacturers In Solar Energy Equipment

In September 2020, Thomas reported sourcing for solar energy equipment on the Thomasnet.com platform had grown by 125% year-over-year and a substantial 171% over Q2 averages. In related category searching on the platform, solar collector panels were up by 157% year-over-year in Q3 2020 and 11% over Q2 2020 figures, and searches for inverters on the Thomasnet.com platform have grown 172% year-over-year and are currently up 88% over Q4 2020 averages.

More recently, searches for solar energy equipment on the Thomasnet.com platform were up 650% week-over-week. 

Opportunities For Lithium-Ion Battery Manufacturers

In 2019, lithium-ion sourcing activity on Thomasnet.com soared, and the B2B buyer data showed the top two industries driving the trend were software and technology, and healthcare and medical. Today, there are three major lithium-ion battery markets: transportation, electronic devices, and industrial stationary. 

Technology is at the core of the transition, and the next few years will bring significant changes to the industry.

3D Printing And Additive Manufacturing Challenges And Opportunities

The outlook for additive manufacturing and 3D printing is promising. Back in 2017, Thomas reported on the increased sourcing activity for additive manufacturing. Although the base technology of additive manufacturing was developed in the 1980s, its use has become more prevalent in the last few years as advancements grow and prices drop. Sourcing activity sessions for additive manufacturing systems in 2020 was up 37.8% compared to 2019. And according to Statista, the global market for 3D printing and services is expected to grow to almost 50 billion U.S. dollars by 2025.

The Evolution Of 3D Printing

From reducing costs to increasing efficiency to spurring innovation, many people are excited about the impact that 3D printing will have on the future of manufacturing. However, the truth is, it already has made a significant impact on the industry.

Take a look back at the evolution of 3D printing to see how the phenomenon started and how it has helped the manufacturing industry evolve.

How To Grow Your Packaging Company Online

The packaging industry is expected to continue growing through the new year. In early October 2020, we reported the following major sourcing KPIs for packaging materials seeing a YoY increase vs. 2019:

• The number of sourcing sessions for packaging materials has grown by 25% 
• The number of RFIs submitted directly to suppliers through Thomasnet.com grew 140% 
• The number of supplier evaluations taking place on the Thomasnet.com company profiles of packaging material suppliers grew by 55% 

Here are some ways to ensure your packaging company’s growth plans remain on track.

The Ultimate List Of B2B Manufacturing Marketing Statistics

Like macaroni and cheese or a song and a dance, some things work better together — even marketing and sales. Without alignment, it hurts your business across the board, and it doesn't just hit one of your departments. A study from Forrester found that 43% of CEOs believed that misalignment had cost them sales. Furthermore, according to Forrester Research, companies that take the time to properly engage and nurture leads improve their sales outreach at a rate of 50% while spending 33% less.