Manufacturing Leadership Awards

Artificial Intelligence Vision and Strategy: Finalists in this category have developed operational and/or corporate strategies for the use of AI to advance business goals such as greater efficiency, speed, agility, and new product/service discovery. They have developed and communicated a future-focused vision for AI and have orchestrated AI strategy across the organization to achieve consistency and impact.

Business Model Transformation: Recognizes achievement in using advanced technologies for strategic business model innovation such as discovering new products, creating service-based revenue opportunities, and deploying new business operating models and systems. Successful projects demonstrate leadership and business culture shifts, internal and external collaboration, metrics to measure success, and the ability to leverage core manufacturing strengths to maximize competitiveness.

Collaborative Ecosystems: Recognizes organizational efforts at utilizing M4.0 technologies to enhance internal and external cross-functional collaboration to boost productivity, satisfy customer requirements, accelerate innovation, achieve greater speed and agility, or build strategies to further growth.

Digital Supply Chains: Honors those who have created digitally powered supply networks that are flexible, responsive, and resilient. Finalists have developed strategies for predicting and minimizing disruptions, while also rethinking how they source materials, manage suppliers, deliver products, and service customers.

Engineering and Production Processes: Recognizes outstanding achievement in faster and more flexible product design and game-changing process improvements, including the embrace of agile, model-based engineering and advanced technologies such as AI, automation, advanced robotics, and 3D printing.

Enterprise Integration and Technology: Finalists orchestrate innovative corporate IT, OT, engineering, and communications strategies and systems to integrate the shop floor to the top floor, creating common operating systems, platforms, and data sharing strategies.

Operational Excellence: Finalists implement continuous improvement projects and harness M4.0 technologies and processes to reduce costs, streamline processes, reduce waste, improve quality, and enhance overall equipment effectiveness.

Sustainability and the Circular Economy: Finalists have made significant progress in embracing manufacturing processes, supported by digital technologies, that minimize emissions, conserve energy, reduce waste, and are economically and environmentally sound for employees, communities, and consumers.

Transformational Business Cultures: Honors organizations that have reimagined traditional manufacturing organizational cultures to create a digital-first mentality in how they think, plan and act in managing operations, fostering a continuous learning environment.

Digital Transformation Leadership: Individual finalists in this category demonstrate excellence in their commitment to digital technology leadership to drive transformational change in their companies. They rise to become role models for other individuals and companies in the industry.

Next-Generation Leadership: Honors remarkable manufacturing professionals with less than 10 years of manufacturing operations career experience. Finalists embody the leadership qualities required in the Manufacturing 4.0 era: they pioneer and execute winning strategies, inspire and manage high-performing teams, and raise awareness of the positive impacts of manufacturing on society.

Technology and consulting organizations and noncorporate organizations and institutions are recognized for their collaboration efforts and role in helping manufacturers achieve improvements in performance, processes, and overall business value. Partners are encouraged to submit nominations for their successful manufacturing client projects; entries that are selected as finalists will be recognized with a Partner in Collaborative Innovation Award.

Given to a group of select projects that show significantly forward-thinking innovations with the potential to impact the larger manufacturing industry in the years ahead. An offshoot of the Future of Manufacturing Project, this award is granted in the spirit of demonstrating the future potential of Manufacturing 4.0. Projects are determined solely by MLC leadership.

Given to the companies and individual that show best-in-class achievement. All project and individual nomination submissions are automatically entered for these awards. Winners are determined by MLC leadership.

Selected by the Manufacturing Leadership Council Board of Governors, this award is given to individuals who have demonstrated, through a lifetime of achievement, profound and lasting impacts on their companies, markets, and the manufacturing industry at large. This award is given only when exceptional candidates are identified.

The Manufacturing Leadership Council developed the Manufacturing Leadership Awards to honor manufacturing companies and leaders that are shaping the future of global manufacturing. Originated in 2005, the Manufacturing Leadership Awards have honored more than a thousand innovative projects and outstanding leaders from around the world since the program’s inception.

The Manufacturing Leadership Awards are for manufacturing companies and individual leaders within the manufacturing industry, from any industry and at any location in the world. Anyone can nominate an award candidate by describing their high-impact manufacturing-related projects and achievements using the online nomination form. Technology and consulting partners and noncorporate organizations and institutions may submit entries to recognize their manufacturing clients or customers so long as the manufacturer has approved the nomination.

There are award categories for both projects and individuals; the current list is described in the Award Categories section above. When reviewing nominations, the MLC editorial team may reassign entries to a different category if it is determined that such a change would allow the entry to be judged more competitively against similar entries. For assistance, complete the awards help form and a member of the MLC team will reach out directly.

Please see the complete rules for the Manufacturing Leadership Awards.

The only cost to participate is the $295 nomination fee. There is no fee to license, receive, or promote the award. Manufacturing Leadership Council members receive one complimentary project nomination and one complimentary individual nomination with their membership; email [email protected] to learn how to redeem this benefit. All finalists are invited to attend the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala at no charge.

Nominations for each awards season close at the end of January. See the online nomination portal for the current season’s exact deadline.

Here are two project nominations that were selected as winners in past seasons: Sample 1 and Sample 2.

All information included in the nomination form is considered confidential and will only be viewed by editorial staff along with the Manufacturing Leadership Awards expert judges. The MLC may draw on the information in developing content related to finalists and winners, but inclusion of nomination form information in any content will be subject to approval from the finalist/winner organization.

Award finalists are selected based on evaluations by a panel of expert judges comprised of experienced manufacturing operations executives from companies across many different industries. Each nomination is reviewed by three judges, and the average of these scores determines the final score. The entries that receive the highest scores are designated as Manufacturing Leadership Award finalists, and the top-scoring project in each category is designated the Category Winner.

Please refer to this table for complete details on nomination limits.

If the number of entries for any enterprise exceeds the designated limit, all contacts listed on the nomination forms will be contacted as a group to make a final determination on which entries to submit to the judging panel. Refunds will be issued for any entries that are not submitted to the judges panel.

Award finalists are notified in March, immediately followed by a public announcement through press releases, e-newsletters, and social media posts from the MLC and the NAM. Finalists also receive recognition during the Manufacturing Leadership Awards Gala, held each June as the capstone to Rethink. Category winners, Manufacturers of the Year, and the Manufacturing Leader of the Year are all announced at the Gala.