Are factories the new frontier of big tech?

Making all the items we need and use in our everyday lives requires an intricate network of producers, suppliers, and distributors. But intricacy can have consequences: supply chains today are frequently disrupted, even as new technologies are changing everything we thought we knew about manufacturing. Long-standing processes are being revamped to try to make them more efficient, and that means a radical rethinking of the way we make things.In this special episode of Take on Tomorrow, hosts Lizzie O’Leary and Femi Oke talk with Kiva Allgood, Head of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chains at the World Economic Forum, about the impact of automation on the workforce. Meanwhile, Cara Haffey, Leader of Industry for Industrial Manufacturing and Services at PwC UK, unpacks the opportunities this shift brings for new types of businesses.Take on Tomorrow is brought to you by strategy+business, a PwC publication © 2025 PwC.