The Manufacturing Moral of the “Three Little Pigs”

There is an extremely well-known fable about three little pigs that go off into the world to find their own way. Perhaps the following hallmark phrase will remind you of the story.

“Little pig, little pig, let me come in.”
“No, not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.”
“Then I’ll huff, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in.”

Revisiting the traditional fairy tale of the “Three Little Pigs” provides insights into the challenges of dated approaches for manufacturing systems. If you think you know how the story ends, then you are underestimating the wolf in competition clothing.

At QAD, we think this story has relevance to manufacturing, but we’re not sure it ends quite like you remember. Let’s take a quick look at our revised version.

The “Three Little Manufacturing Pigs”

Three little manufacturing pigs — call them swine heroes — make their way out into the manufacturing world. Each has their own view and skillset and will make their way against the competition and challenges as best they can. The first pig is very old school and chooses to make his factory out of STRAW (Systems That Really Are Worrisome). In manufacturing terms, he is very dependent on manual systems and lots of paper. This certainly makes him vulnerable to the competition and they, unfortunately, do not look too friendly. So it doesn’t take much for a huff and a puff to send this little piggy scrambling.

The first little pig scrambles over to his sibling’s factory for protection. The second little pig is a bit savvier and chooses to make his factory out of STICKS (Systems That Intend to Connect Knowledge via Spreadsheets). In manufacturing terms, this amounts to a more automated approach made of systems that are loosely bound together. This little pig plugs the holes between his “sticks” with Excel spreadsheets and lots of customizations. To be fair he does still have his share of manual processes, so he doesn’t scold his brother that much. This second little pig’s approach still makes him vulnerable to the competition and they have caught up with our pair of manufacturing swine. Maybe our friend the wolf has to huff and puff just a little harder, but he really doesn’t have a problem sending these little piggies scrambling again.

Our straw and sticks pigs scramble to their last sibling who has chosen to make his factory and associated systems out of BRICKS (Big, Rigid, Inflexible Capability without Knowledge Sharing). Traditionally, this pig is clearly seen to be the smartest of the family. He has created an infrastructure that feels solid and robust. But it’s a funny thing about bricks. Bricks are heavy. Bricks and associated software systems are inflexible. Bricks and customized software systems are not easily maintained and modified. So although our third little pig has initially built a solid foundation, he struggles to expand, modify and react to unexpected challenges. In some ways, the choices that he made about building a monolithic, centric approach that applied to his immediate needs have resulted in the flexibility challenges that he has now.

Speaking of challenges, the competition has again caught up to our three little manufacturing pigs. We see, of course, that our swine crew scrambles into the brick factory and their well-established systems of support. The moral of the traditional fable tells us that through hard work and selection of the heaviest of solutions, the third pig has positioned himself to best resist the competition. In the fable the wolf is not able to huff and puff away at the bricks and the story ends badly for him as a competitor. The pigs feel secure that they are finally safe from his huffing and puffing. However, there may be more than a few flaws in this view of the world.

The Modern Digital Age Wolf

The traditional view of the world assumes that the wolf will predictably choose to compete in the same one and only way. It completely discounts that the wolf is evolving and changing as quickly, if not more quickly, as the pigs. But this is not your grandmother’s wolf, Little Red Riding Hood! One well-known fact is that wolves actually travel in packs, so he’ll have clever brothers as well. So it’s not long before a packmate shows up with a little more modern of an approach to the same orientation in terms of competition. Perhaps the bricks will hold up under the industrial fan, and perhaps not, but assuming that the competition will remain the same in terms of ferocity and power is naïve.

Ultimately, the full power of the pack continues to reveal itself. The modern digital age wolf does not care much for huffing and puffing. He has switched to advanced technology and his digital transformation makes him mobile and a whole new level of fierce. This wolf is most likely already hacking your systems, and it won’t be long before your secrets are his, your security is breached and he opens the doors to your brick factory with an app.

The pack then continues to show up, with online offerings and different business models that do not align with the centralized view of the single brick foundation. The wolf’s virtual approach to the marketplace actually reveals that the heavy, single on-premise solution that was first endeared as an advantage is now a liability in the modern world. How do pigs stuck in a brick-and-mortar approach reconcile their ability to compete?

We live in a time of change. Now, how does this story end? Are our little pig friends doomed to succumb to the wolf and end up as bacon on his burgers?

Ultimately, our three little manufacturing pigs can evolve as well. That evolution means surrendering the limits of papers, the siren song of spreadsheets and even the “big bang brickness” of traditional systems. The secret will always be about becoming the adaptive manufacturing enterprise, and we see the shiny new, self-sustaining manufacturing headquarters that is now supporting the pigs. They are even generating their own clean energy with solar and wind – that is some huffing and puffing that even pigs can appreciate.

The moral of our revised version of the “Three Little Pigs” story is not about bricks and protectionism from known threats. It’s about Adaptive Manufacturing.

What is Adaptive Manufacturing?

Adaptive Manufacturing incorporates the integration of data, from supplier to customer, with real-time analytics and visibility across the supply chain ecosystem. By utilizing business insights from across the enterprise, adaptive manufacturers can rapidly respond to business and market changes.

Cloud-based systems provide the flexibility and virtual expandability that is necessary for modern infrastructure. The modular systems and applications are pre-designed for change and evolving challenges. Application modularity allows for the focus on only that which is pertinent to their business and low code / no code approaches allow for adaptation to the variety, even within the virtual walls of their enterprise. IT and the associated systems can be a strategic competitive tool rather than an aging barrier to progress.

Are you fully confident that you can meet the challenges of constantly evolving competition with the solutions that you have built? What are the characteristics of an Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise that will help keep you from being blown away by these challenges?

Take our 12-question Adaptive Manufacturing Enterprise diagnostic to increase self-awareness and begin the journey to your manufacturing fairy tale ending. After all, happily ever after means adapting ever after.