4Thought Blog

The pandemic and global supply chain disruption have placed an unprecedented burden on manufacturers — and the need for automating manual processes is more pronounced than ever.

One way manufacturing companies can lower costs with technology is to upgrade controls for sales and use taxes. Let's take a look.

The credit for increasing research activities, commonly referred to as the research and development (R&D) credit, is one of the biggest and best tax breaks available to manufacturing companies.

Unlike a deduction, a credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction of a business's tax liability. Plus, there's no limit on the R&D credit amount for a particular tax year and excess credit can be carried back one year and forward up to 20 years.

Unfortunately, many manufacturers overlook this high-impact credit because they erroneously assume they don't qualify for it. If this is your business, a word of advice: Take a closer look. You may be able to claim a credit worth thousands of dollars.

Manufacturers often own the building, or several buildings, where their goods are produced for public consumption. Normally, it takes almost four decades to fully recover the cost of a commercial property through depreciation deductions.

Fortunately, there's a viable alternative that can help. By commissioning a cost segregation study, a manufacturer may be able to claim much faster write-offs. Furthermore, these tax benefits have been enhanced by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

The manufacturing supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. But how does a firm know where its weakest link lies? The answer may be found with predictive analytics.

As the name suggests, this branch of advanced analytics uses many techniques to predict where a system can break down, so it can be fixed beforehand.

Many companies have already adopted predictive analytics. And many more are expected to jump on the bandwagon over the next year.

Workplace safety is a top concern among manufacturers. Without taking COVID-19 into account, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health estimates that occupations within the manufacturing sector account for 5% of U.S. workers, yet they represent 8% of all workplace fatalities.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has added to the safety concerns that manufacturers face. At the start of the pandemic, manufacturers scrambled to implement safety measures to minimize viral spread and comply with social distancing restrictions imposed by state and local governments. As new variants continue to emerge, manufacturers must continually review their safety protocols.

Going forward, manufacturers may need to invest in new or improved safety measures to protect workers in the new normal. Here are seven protective measures that can help improve workplace safety.

There has been a surge in ransomware attacks in recent years and an even greater acceleration in the first half of 2021. Virtually every type of business is at risk, especially key links in the manufacturing supply chain.

For example, in May 2021, a high-profile attack temporarily shut down operations of the largest gas pipeline in the United States. The owners of the pipeline paid nearly $5 million in ransom to regain access to their servers.

Although the owners were eventually able to recover most of the Bitcoin transferred to the hackers, the lessons are loud and clear: Watch out for similar attacks on your company and take preventive measures to foil prospective hackers.

The basic formula for success in the manufacturing sector is simple: Produce more, spend less. So-called "lean" manufacturing is easier said than done, but there are several improvements that can increase your firm's output.

Lean companies operate as efficiently as possible, using the least possible staff time, equipment and raw materials. Here are four ideas to consider implementing this summer to help boost profits for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

Manufacturing firms normally create a business plan at year end that focuses on the upcoming year. However, today's market conditions are anything but "normal."

So, it's important to take the time this summer to revisit your company's plan. A comprehensive mid-year review can help determine whether your business is on track or your plan needs some adjustments.

Here are four pillars that will help create a solid foundation for your business plan.

As more Americans get vaccinations and an economic recovery is within sight, manufacturers can bring lessons learned during the pandemic to accelerate growth.

However, a recent BDO poll found that manufacturers are split; some are in growth mode and are focusing on product or service innovation and tech investments, while others are looking to weather the rest of the economic downturn and restructure.

During a recent webinar, BDO polled manufacturing executives on their business priorities, strategies for resilience and growth and overall outlook for their business. Here’s what we learned:

In recent years, lucrative tax breaks for energy-efficient investments have enticed many manufacturers to "go green."

At the end of 2020, the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) was enacted, which includes various provisions that expand and improve certain green tax breaks. Here are five examples that could benefit your company.