The Global Lighthouse Network is a World Economic Forum initiative. It was co-founded with McKinsey & Company, and is governed by an advisory board of industry leaders who are working together to shape the future of global manufacturing. Factories and value chains that join the network are designated by an independent panel of experts. The full list of advisory board members is Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL); Foxconn Industrial Internet; Johnson & Johnson; Koç Holdings; McKinsey & Company; Schneider Electric; and Siemens.
The Global Lighthouse Network is a World Economic Forum initiative co-founded with McKinsey. It examines the future of operations and considers how Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies are shaping production. This growing community of organizations is setting the trends of the future with their use of digital and analytics tools across the value chain to drive growth and productivity, improve resilience, and deliver environmental sustainability.
Featured insights
Article
The continuing evolution of the Global Lighthouse Network
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The growth of the Global Lighthouse Network showcases the opportunities for Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to make a positive impact for people and the planet.
Podcast
The best jobs in the world: How Lighthouses shape production’s future
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The Fourth Industrial Revolution offers companies a path to sustainability and productivity through advanced technologies. Members...
Article
Is your frontline workforce strategy right for where you are?
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With sharper local insights, a fit-for-purpose talent strategy can help manufacturers and other frontline-intensive businesses...
Article
From AI to Impact: Capabilities powering Lighthouses’ 4IR adoption
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When technologies reach a certain level of maturity, the next challenge is speed and scale. Factories and entire supply networks—not...
Article
How manufacturing’s Lighthouses are capturing the full value of AI
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AI is defining the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and production front-runners are finding significant impact throughout the factory,...
Article
Adopting AI at speed and scale: The 4IR push to stay competitive
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AI has brought the Fourth Industrial Revolution to an inflection point, and manufacturers must choose a path forward: innovate,...
The 172 Lighthouse sites enjoy outsize performance improvements
Lighthouses Live
Lighthouses Live: What the Lighthouses did next: New horizons for 4IR impact
Replay this event from October 12, 2023, broadcast from the World Economic Forum studios in Geneva and New York. Hear from founding members of the Global Lighthouse Network about how their initial investments in tech-enabled operations have inspired them to continue their journey to improve manufacturing performance, navigate volatility, and enjoy successes that extend beyond the bottom line.
Lighthouses Live: Shaping the next chapter of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
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Replay this event from Lighthouses Live on October 13, 2022, broadcast from the World Economic Forum studios in Geneva and New York. Highlights include panel discussions featuring Lighthouse CEOs and global leaders, the introduction of the Network's newest members, and insights on how Lighthouses are scaling Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies across networks and value chains.
Powering productivity and environmental sustainability: Asia-Pacific Session
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Replay this event from the World Economic Forum studios in Geneva and New York. Event highlights include panel discussions with CEOs from Lighthouses across the Asia-Pacific region, including details of the newly designated sustainability Lighthouses.
Powering productivity and environmental sustainability: North America-Europe Session
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Replay this event from the World Economic Forum studios in Geneva and New York. Event highlights include panel discussions with CEOs from Lighthouses with a focus on North America and Europe, including details of the newly designated sustainability Lighthouses.
More Insights
Putting people first: A new imperative for manufacturing
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Companies are struggling to attract and retain frontline talent. A new collaboration between McKinsey and the World Economic Forum is highlighting those leading the way in solving these challenges.
2024 tech takeaways for leaders
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In today’s era of ‘permanent upheaval,’ shaping your organization’s future, as well as your own, will involve four tech-related areas.
114 down, 10 million to go: The Global Lighthouse Network’s mission
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Global Lighthouse Network members show that Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies help to deliver better workforce engagement, improved sustainability, and increased productivity.
How businesses can drive growth through Industry 4.0
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Matteo Mancini, senior partner based in our Singapore office, explains the concept of ‘lighthouses’, McKinsey's collaboration with the World Economic Forum on the Global Lighthouse Network, and the opportunities business leaders can capture to effectively utilize Industry 4.0 technologies.
What is driving adoption and advances for Industrial 4.0 technologies across Asia?
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Karel Eloot, senior partner in our Shanghai office, discusses what is driving adoption and advances for Industrial 4.0 technologies across Asia, and shares how leaders should think about the future of manufacturing in region.
Lighthouse manufacturers illuminate path to the next normal
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The Global Lighthouse Network of leading manufacturers are using flexible automation, connectivity, and intelligence at scale to move further and faster than their peers.
A global lockdown opens up new manufacturing insights
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The ‘lighthouses of manufacturing’ initiative, which identifies the most advanced manufacturing facilities in the world, does some innovating of its own.
Sparking the Fourth Industrial Revolution in U.S. manufacturing
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An encouraging call to action rings out for U.S. factories to join the World Economic Forum’s Global Lighthouse Network of advanced manufacturers.
Up to $40b a year up for grabs in manufacturing revolution – Australian companies must act
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Australian manufacturing and resource companies could boost earnings by A$20-40 billion a year if they follow the lead of global “lighthouses” to navigate the unfamiliar waters of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
Lighting the way: New leaders in the fourth industrial revolution
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The latest additions to the network of “industrial lighthouses” confirm the impact of adopting 4IR technologies at scale and across the value chain.
The potential impact from manufacturing’s lighthouses in China
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China accounts for 5 of the 16 Industry 4.0 “lighthouse” manufacturing sites that the World Economic Forum (in collaboration with McKinsey) has identified as world leaders in successfully implementing Industry 4.0 at scale.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution’s scarcest commodity? Time
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There’s no longer much debate on whether the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is here. It is.
Industry’s fast-mover advantage: Enterprise value from digital factories
Manufacturing’s leaders in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) digital technologies are building on their head start—generating even more value across the entire enterprise.
Ramping up operations and business activity post-COVID-19
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Four strategic actions can help companies to effectively prepare and ensure a successful ramp-up of production and business activity for a post-COVID-19 world.
Resuming operations and business activity post-COVID-19
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Perspectives on how companies can return to work and resume operations and business activity as early as possible, while ensuring employees’ safety and preventing new infections.
ABOUT THE GLOBAL LIGHTHOUSE NETWORK
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Related Knowledge collaborations
Circularity in the Built Environment
The built environment is a powerhouse for change: While it is a significant contributor to emissions, accounting for nearly 40% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, it also offers one of the greatest opportunities to drive the transition to net zero. The World Economic Forum–McKinsey collaboration on sustainability in the built environment aims to explore pathways to close material loops and reduce emissions through disruptive solutions, while also investigating cross-industry opportunities and business models.
The Workforce of the Future
Talent stability and productivity are critical challenges in manufacturing today due to a global talent shortage, shifting worker preferences, and the rapid adoption of new technologies that have fundamentally changed the role of operators. The long-term viability of any manufacturing company depends on rethinking their strategy and investing in talent to improve frontline stability, foster technological innovation, and accelerate productivity growth. The importance of frontline talent has been at the forefront of transformation success for the members of the Global Lighthouse Network. This initiative focuses on solutions and sharing proven talent innovations that drive performance.