Manufacturing
Overview
The manufacturing sector ranges from industrial to fast-moving consumer goods. Genesis has extensive experience in providing services across this sector, from the manufacture of steel, cement, chemicals, resins and fertilizers to credit cards, supermarkets, cereals and tyres.
Working in this sector requires that economists quickly come to grips with technical issues of production and use of the products. At a retail and consumer level, economists must develop an understanding of competition dynamics that are often based on product differentiation through branding and marketing. They also need to understand the socio-economic impact of the sector.
In addition to the competition economics and international trade work, our Applied Behavioural Economics practice is also active in this sector. We understand that humans routinely use biases and heuristics to make decisions, and that this often results in atypical or unexpected outcomes. We have proven that businesses can derive considerable value from designing for the fallibility of human decision-making, especially in the consumer-goods sector – whether that be in product design, marketing, sales, service, channels, or other functional areas.
Projects
Working on a solution to turn around South Africa’s rust belt
The CEOs’ Initiative, a grouping of 60 top CEOs, asked Genesis Analytics to diagnose the challenges in the Vaal region and come up with a solution. Our team worked with the government and big businesses in the region to design a rejuvenation plan.
A new approach to impact reporting rolled out in Ghana with SCB
Standard Chartered Bank partnered with Genesis as impact advisors to develop a next generation approach to impact measurement and reporting. This new approach was rolled out in a case study on lending to the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors in Ghana.
Genesis helps business to return to work safely after lockdown
Genesis was retained by the Public-Private Growth Initiative (PPGI) to demystify and increase adherence to regulations on how to re-open the economy safely after lockdown and to remain open using insights from behavioural economics.
Assessment of impact of IDC clothing and textile programme
Genesis was contracted by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to provide an overall assessment of the Clothing and Textile Competitiveness Programme (CTCP) and make recommendations on how the programme could be improved to optimise its impact on the industry.
Economic contribution of beer brewing industry
To prepare for strategic engagements with the government and other stakeholders, the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) contracted Genesis to provide independent facts on the nature, size, dynamics and economic contribution of the beer industry, as well as a better understanding of the public policy issues facing the industry.
Consolidation of safety-shoe manufacture
Genesis was approached by all the major safety-shoe manufacturers in South Africa in order to assist them in assessing what the competitive effects would be of a consolidation of the industry and whether this would pass muster under the Competition Act.