To maximize the impact of the NDIS and associated generational investments, and to deliver on the surge in demand for defense products, services, and technologies, leaders across the public and private sectors could work together in new ways. Read McKinsey’s insights on resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisition, and strengthening the economy and scaling production.
The U.S. government’s inaugural National Defense Industrial Strategy (NDIS) calls for coordinated efforts between government and industry to fortify the defense industrial base, logistical systems, and relevant global supply chains to build a modernized defense industrial ecosystem.
Resilient supply chains
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A rising wave of tech disruptors: The future of defense innovation?
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Nontraditional sources of innovation are transforming the defense sector with powerful capabilities—but they must overcome obstacles on the path to scalable success.
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Tech and regionalization bolster supply chains, but complacency looms
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The race for resilience is changing the way global supply chains look and transforming the way they are run.
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Future-proofing the supply chain
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With supply chains in the spotlight, three new long-term transformation priorities form a fresh focus for competitive advantage.
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Supply chains: To build resilience, manage proactively
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Supply chain upheavals show little sign of abating. Companies can address them by reconsidering outdated, short-term strategies and beginning the hard work of building structural resilience.
Workforce readiness
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From hire to inspire: Getting—and keeping—Gen Z in manufacturing
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Gen Z workers say they’re open to jobs in manufacturing. But getting them to take these jobs, engage, and stay will mean changing a work environment long optimized for machines, not people.
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Tradespeople wanted: The need for critical trade skills in the US
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US manufacturing and construction face a hiring crunch for skilled workers such as carpenters, electricians, welders, and plumbers. A few creative actions can help overcome gaps and boost performance.
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From the military to the workforce: How to leverage veterans’ skills
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Traditional ways of hiring make it harder for many service members to land civilian jobs. A new approach could help veterans transition to the workforce—and add $15 billion to the US economy.
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Navigating the gray-to-green transition in aerospace and defense
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The aerospace and defense industry is transitioning from an older to younger workforce, but it faces intense competition for talent. It needs a radical response.
Flexible acquisition
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Government CHIPS on the table: How higher DOD microelectronics funding is here to stay
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New US Department of Defense funding for microelectronics R&D gives semiconductor companies an opportunity—but manufacturers and designers must adapt to meet it.
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The $773 billion question: Inflation’s impact on defense spending
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How will the Defense Department deal with possible long-term inflation and price increases for its most important programs?
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Defense affordability: It’s time for a new approach
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As annual growth in defense spending slows, defense companies need new strategies for reducing the cost of their products and services.
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Modernizing military acquisition and sustainment for the 21st century
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A strategy with five ingredients can help acquisition systems deal with stretched budgets, time overruns, and the COVID-19 crisis.
Strengthening the economy and scaling production
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Evolving federal R&D to meet the challenges of tomorrow
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Maximizing the value of R&D expenditures will require taking a broader, portfolio-level perspective and accepting a certain level of risk—and failure—in the process.
Report - MGI Research
Geopolitics and the geometry of global trade
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Global trade patterns are reconfiguring. More shifts are likely and businesses need to be aware of the potential trade-offs of different paths ahead.
Report - MGI Research
Rekindling US productivity for a new era
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Regaining historical rates of productivity growth would add $10 trillion to US GDP—a boost needed to confront workforce shortages, debt, inflation, and the energy transition.
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Taking off: Scaling complex manufacturing in the aerospace industry
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OEMs in high-complexity, low-volume industries face skyrocketing demand. But it’s now possible to scale production in ways that preserve product portfolios and profitability.
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