For an industry, the ultimate risk comes from customer preferences and corresponding consumption behavior, which are also the driving forces of the industry and demand.
One of the main trends in the global market at present is that consumers are demanding more products. They want better goods, goods that they could not afford before, and want to upgrade, such as high-end furniture, the latest mobile phones and the highest quality TVs.
These preferences and the overall market growth will definitely affect the choice of production location for mass-market products and determine in which markets companies will go global. For example, one of the challenges facing cross-border e-commerce companies is how to respond quickly to changes in fashion trends. Once the viral spread on social media has aroused the desire of consumers in many countries to buy a certain fabric, companies must be able to expand production capacity quickly.
On the one hand, consumers have become more sophisticated and have more opportunities to communicate with each other through information technology; on the other hand, the combination of new technologies such as 3D printing, robotics, and artificial intelligence analysis with production has made large-scale customization of on-demand production possible. Customers will make more and more complex requests. People are beginning to become professional consumers with a knowledge level comparable to that of professionals. They will want the latest camera equipment, drones, etc., and may even make customized requirements.
This is something to look forward to. In the future, it may even be possible to customize individual products according to each person’s needs, rather than just being limited to limited options such as high-end cars as it is now. More categories of products can also be customized on demand. Companies should seize this opportunity.
In addition, the combination of information technology and artificial intelligence has not only created many new categories, but also greatly improved the efficiency of the manufacturing industry and accelerated the replacement of product models. This is also one of the advantages of Chinese consumer products. Due to the huge market in China itself, manufacturing companies can maintain close contact with the market, which is conducive to the launch and rapid iteration of new products, and further reach more markets and people around the world. This also puts new requirements on the company’s supply chain, which must be able to respond quickly and launch new products after adjustment.