This article is part of:Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains

• The manufacturing sector is rapidly embracing AI technologies and is making strides to become more sustainable, inclusive and dynamic.
• Four industry leaders, part of the New Generation Industry Leaders Programme, debunk five misconceptions that persist about manufacturing.
• The programme is an industry accelerator hosted by the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains. Applications to nominate leaders for the 2026 cohort are open until 1 July 2025.

When we think about AI transforming industries, manufacturing is probably not the first one that springs to mind. And, yet, the sector is embracing the technology more rapidly than oil, gas and mining, government administration, and even healthcare.

Misconceptions about manufacturing are not contained to tech, either.

Here, four New Generation Industry Leaders, part of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains, debunk five stubborn misconceptions that persist about the industry.

Misconception 1: Manufacturing is just an assembly line

Images of factories full of conveyor belts and workers doing repetitive work have long been used to represent manufacturing – a lifeless environment with people and machinery going through the motions. Not so, says Pieterjan Landuyt, Global Head of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Digital at Volvo Cars.

“I think that has changed a lot during the past five years to a decade, due to the new technology that we are using. I think we get more experts on the floor than just people assembling products. So it's a complete mindset shift and a technology shift that makes it super attractive to work in manufacturing at the moment.”

Fostering that mindset shift in the next generation is front-of-mind for Christine Francis-Schwenk, Head of Market Intelligence at OSS. “A lot of [the younger generation] think that manufacturing is labour-intensive, is repetitive. But what we should make them appreciate is that AI can take over the repetitive tasks and we as humans can focus on innovation and on the precision of things and quality, so it's a lot more exciting than they think it is.”

Sabah Derkaoui, Transformation Lead at OCP Group, agrees. “Many people will say that manufacturing is so technical and rigid. [But in] my experience, I find it very evolving and very multi-disciplinary.”

Misconception 2: Manufacturing is a dirty industry

Factories with smoke pouring from their chimneys, oily machinery… these are just some of the tropes associated with the industry. And they are very outdated, says Bruce.

“One of the common misconceptions about manufacturing is that it's thought of as a dirty environment. It's old, it's dusty, it's gritty. But manufacturing is so clean, especially if there's anything like food and beverage, pharma, consumer packaged goods ... manufacturing is hi-tech and it doesn't get recognized as hi-tech, or as a technology industry.”

Bruce has “been fortunate to go to many sites. I've seen hot dogs get made and pizza get made and I've been to mines … and everything always has this hi-tech approach to it, while still having that legacy infrastructure.”

Misconception 3: Manufacturing doesn’t move with the times

“Manufacturing is changing constantly,” says Landuyt. “Where, in the past, an assembly plant was really just a plant where bolts were put together to reach the end product, today it's a domain where the combination of human expertise with technology comes together.”

With the acceleration of frontier technologies and AI adoption over the past couple of years, manufacturing is very much full steam ahead. As the Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 points out, 58% of employers expect robotics and automation to transform their businesses by 2030, and manufacturing has seen a steady growth in relative concentration of AI technologies since 2016.

Landuyt gives the example of predictive maintenance and how, at Volvo, “we know better now than certain owners or suppliers [about] when a tool will break or not”.

Machine learning has had a big impact on Francis-Schwenk’s line of work, too. “The digital twin – a lot of companies have adopted this – I think is really exciting because you can actually foresee downtime. You are so much more efficient and you also become profitable at the end of the day, which is what most companies want.”

“Every part of our day is absolutely touched by manufacturing,” says Vicky Bruce, Global Capacity Manager of Cybersecurity Services at Rockwell Automation. It’s not just about the factory floor, she points out. “It's how we get orange juice. It's how we brush our teeth in the morning. It’s how we drive our cars, the traffic systems.”

DISCOVER

How is the World Economic Forum contributing to build resilient supply chains?

The Global Rewiring report highlighted that collective thinking on global value chains is changing due to increasing disruptions driven by geopolitical tension, climate change, and technological shifts.

The World Economic Forum’s Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains is at the forefront of future-proofing the global manufacturing industry. It supports sustainable growth by fostering innovation and accelerating the adoption of inclusive technology.

Learn more about our impact:

• The Global Lighthouse Network: We have brought together 132 manufacturing factories from various industries who are applying advanced technologies to boost productivity, enabling them to scale and replicate innovations.
• Circular value chains: We actively support manufacturers in incubating new pilots that reinforce trust in circular value chains, such as authenticating fashion products in second-hand markets and exchanging CO2 footprint data across supply chains.
• Resiliency: In partnership with Kearney, we developed the Resiliency Compass to help guide companies in navigating supply chain disruptions and enhancing their resilience.

Want to know more about our centre’s impact or get involved? Contact us.

Misconception 4: Manufacturing is unsustainable

One-fifth of the world's carbon emissions come from the manufacturing and production sectors, consuming 54% of the world’s energy sources. While traditionally one of the tougher industries to decarbonize, steady progress on transitioning to cleaner manufacturing practices is being made.

The Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network 2025 recently added 17 new members to its 189-strong community of the world’s most advanced production sites and value chains harnessing digital technologies to advance sustainability, among other achievements.

“Everyone wants to have more sustainable, innovative solutions right now,” says Francis-Schwenk.

Derkaoui goes one step further: “Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have. And we have to make sure that all of our people on the shop floor understand this, and that what they do on an everyday basis can contribute to the sustainability goals and the strategy of the company.”

Misconception 5: Manufacturing is a man’s job

Women hold over a fifth of senior leadership roles in manufacturing worldwide, finds the Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024, while only about 16% of women make it to the C-suite position. The manufacturing and supply chain sector sees one of the most significant ‘drop to the top’ at 46%. These figures represent that we are far from gender parity in the sector, but the industry increasingly recognizes the benefits to both individuals and businesses of broadening out the workforce.

“Diversity is so important because it helps prevent failure. Because when you have diverse opinions, you cover more ground,” says Francis-Schwenk. “When you just have a homogeneous group of people making decisions, you tend to be biased.”

Bruce agrees: “There is so much that a wide, diverse group of people can bring to the table when trying to implement a new idea, when trying to do problem-solving.”

At Volvo, Landuyt recognizes the advantages of encouraging a diverse factory floor. “I think it's very important to receive any kind of personality or background within manufacturing – that can be, diversity, but also education,” he says.

“I think it's super powerful, for example, to receive people who have been working in commercial, who know how important it is that the end product you hand over to the customer is high quality. It might make the difference in [terms of] how you're looking at or how you’re producing the product. So everybody is welcome on the manufacturing floor and anybody can make an impact and a difference.”

Have you read?

• We need to stimulate and sustain supply chain resilience to improve global trade. Here's how
• How AI is transforming the factory floor
• Why manufacturers should use digital twins for sustainability not just productivity