MEP EP#187: Removing the Waterworld from Product Development

Removing the Waterworld from Product Development

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Mike Geyer

• Leads Marketing & Business Development for Fictiv
• True passion lies in transforming the manufacturing industry
• Having worked at Caterpillar, Autodesk, and Kaiser Aluminum, he has seen first hand the waste and inefficiencies that permeate the market
• From large Fortune 500 manufacturers to emerging technology startups, Mike has worked to solve a wide array of business challenges across the industry
• Experience with hardware entrepreneurs, manufacturing venture capital firms, large format additive manufacturing, closed-loop sensor networks, and fabrication of generative automotive chassis provide him a unique perspective on the rapidly changing landscape of manufacturing.
• At Fictiv he is currently focused on the disintermediation of traditional manufacturing supply chains and bringing distributed manufacturing to life for manufacturers of all sizes around the world

State of Hardware Report

• Trade and Tariffs
  • What has the impact of the recent Tariffs been on companies?
  • What are some ways engineers can reduce the impact of the Tariffs?
  • Counterfeit materials
• The Production Gap
  • What is the production gap?
  • Problems scaling up? Manufacturers?
    • Staying on Budget
    • Time Delays
    • Quality
  • How are companies overcoming these problems?
• People and Careers
  • What does it mean to run lean?
    • Do you think that the tariffs will have an emergent effect on lean operations? In the sense that to accommodate the increased cost of overseas business or switching to domestic fab, will business focus on other departments internally to squeeze out the fluff and fat of a product?
  • Job Titles/Descriptions
  • Happiness or Satisfaction with work?

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