The Manufacturing and Supply Chain Readiness Navigator addresses a central strategic question underpinning footprint and policy decisions: Which national industrial ecosystems demonstrate the conditions required to sustain manufacturing and supply chain competitiveness over time, and where do policy strengths or gaps influence that outcome?

It provides insights into the current condition and forward trajectory of national industrial ecosystems using a seven-factor readiness framework developed by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Kearney through a survey and consultations with over 340 operations executives and published in the white paper Beyond Cost: Country Readiness for the Future of Manufacturing and Supply Chains.

The seven readiness factors, supported by sub-factors that organize key dimensions within each factor, capture the operating conditions driving private-sector decision-making and shaping industrial resilience and long-term competitiveness:

Infrastructure: Transport and logistics networks; intelligent infrastructure; infrastructure investment; infrastructure resilience to climate disruptions
Resources and energy: Manufacturing input availability; energy security, diversity and affordability; energy transition readiness
Technology and innovation: Innovation capacity and ecosystem strength; technology adoption readiness; local industrial sophistication
Labour and skills: Workforce skills readiness; workforce cost and protection; talent mobility, diversity and inclusion
Sustainability: Climate policy commitments; natural capital and ecosystem management; resource flow efficiency; environmental technology diffusion
Fiscal and regulatory: Institutional quality and policy governance; fiscal resilience and capital openness; tax policy competitiveness
Geopolitical landscape: Political stability; international diplomatic integration; trade openness and diversification

Together, these factors provide an ecosystem-level view of nations' ability to create a favorable environment for industrial operations and investment, enabling leaders to understand not only where countries stand today but also how well their industrial ecosystems are positioned to adapt, compete, and grow amid structural volatility.

Foton Cummins - Beijing